{"id":2705,"date":"2021-12-16T07:41:08","date_gmt":"2021-12-16T07:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ischoolgroups.sjsu.edu\/saasc\/?p=2705"},"modified":"2022-02-23T20:48:07","modified_gmt":"2022-02-23T20:48:07","slug":"the-university-of-nevada-las-vegas-archives-featuring-cyndi-shein","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ischoolgroups.sjsu.edu\/saasc\/2021\/12\/16\/the-university-of-nevada-las-vegas-archives-featuring-cyndi-shein\/","title":{"rendered":"The University of Nevada, Las Vegas Archives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author: Sereen Suleiman<\/span><\/p>\n

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With time flying by so quickly, we come to our final event for the fall 2021 semester with guest speaker Cyndi Shein and her experience at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) archives. However, UNLV was not her first job. In fact, she took several archive jobs step-by-step to obtain her current position. Let\u2019s take a look at her journey!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Originally, Cyndi wanted to be a cataloger, and she aimed for cataloging jobs. What she needed to take into consideration, though, was that she is a mother. As a result, she had to switch gears and she decided to apply for the <\/span>Baseball Hall of Fame Internship<\/span><\/a>. Although she had to take out loans to do the internship and the pay was marginal ($5,000 for 10 weeks), it was \u201cworth every penny\u201d for her, as the experience turned out to be quite exciting! As part of the internship program, Cyndi had the opportunity to attend professional baseball games, deliver public presentations in baseball museum galleries, and handle their manuscripts and photo archives.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Next step on her journey was the University of California, Irvine (UCI) archives. There, she was an archival collections assistant, which is an entry level position. With Michelle Light as her supervisor, she processed archival collections and received instruction on primary sources. The aspect she enjoyed the most at UCI\u2019s library was the variety of collections and visual materials.<\/span><\/p>\n

The third institution Cyndi joined was the J. Paul Getty Museum (<\/span>please refer to our previous blog on the J. Paul Getty Trust for more information<\/b>). This time, however, she obtained a <\/span>professional<\/span><\/i> job, which was an assistant archivist position. Initially, she was reluctant to leave her special collections position at UCI, but an opportunity at the Getty was (and still is) too good to pass up. As an assistant archivist, she accessed records and even learned how to drive forklifts, as some of the items were too heavy to lift. This brought Cyndi to emphasize to the presentation attendees that archives may require frequent manual labor unless you choose the media and digital archives route.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, after accumulating much experience, Cyndi landed her current position as the Head of Special Collections & Archives Technical Services at UNLV. Even though she does not interact with the collections as much, she gets to improve their archival program, work with preservation staff and cataloging staff, and advocate for funding. Interestingly, she was able to have an opportunity to put her skills to the test when UNLV was selected to host a Folger Shakespeare First Folio book. To meet the conditions necessary for the book, Cyndi made sure humidity controls were in place, created visitation schedules for the public, and collaborated with other groups of people (historians, English faculty, librarians).<\/span><\/p>\n

Being that Cyndi started her career path at the <\/span>age of 41<\/span><\/i>, I found this quote from her to be inspirational and a fitting end to this blog:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Also, for those concerned about ageism. I would encourage you to embrace your maturity as a benefit to the organization that hires you. Your life experience will (hopefully) help you steer clear of office politics or drama. I’ve never found my silver hair to be a barrier to advancement. Even though I <\/span><\/span>am<\/b> a grandmother, I try not to dress like one at work. \ud83d\ude42 I dress businesslike – mostly solid colors and subtle patterns (avoiding frills and florals). The most important thing is that you exude positive energy and respect your supervisor (even if they are half your age).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, here are some final tips from Cyndi to kick start your careers in the archival world:<\/span><\/p>\n