Welcome back to our staff spotlight series! Over the next few weeks, we’ll catch up on featuring recent hires and new roles of staff in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library here at the University of Virginia.
K Lighty is the Digital Archivist in Special Collections’ Technical Services division. They began their position in June of this year. Read more about them in their own words below.
I have a BA in English from the University of Texas at Arlington, a MS In Women’s and Gender Studies from Minnesota State University and my MLIS from the University of Arizona. I’ve lived all over the US and I love traveling and meeting new people. I also love trying new foods and playing board games of all varieties.
What was your first ever job with books or libraries?
My first library job was when I was working as a graduate assistant for my MLIS, but my first book/print related job was working as a copyeditor for the school newspaper during my undergraduate studies. Between that and my English studies, I spent a lot of time reading the stories other people were creating. Either way, I’ve always loved books, reading, and stories. All of these things, combined with a love of computers and internet culture are what lead me to pursue a career in digital archives!
What was the first thing you collected as a child? What do you collect now? (oh, c’mon, admit it).
The two things that come to mind are rocks (like completely normal everyday rocks you’d pick up off the ground) and Pokemon cards. I’ve continued to collect trading card game cards over the years, but have also an unhealthy amount of dice these days. They don’t see a lot of use because a lot of my D&D and other tabletop games are played online these days, but they sure are fun to attempt to stack. There’s nothing like seeing a 20 dice-high tower come falling down.
Hopefully you’ve been roaming Grounds and Charlottesville a bit since your arrival. What’s your favorite new discovery other than Special Collections?
Special Collections is great though! That being said, I think my favorite thing is just the climate in general. After spending five years in the desert (which was beautiful, don’t get me wrong), I’m just glad to be living somewhere with actual grass and trees and flowers. We haven’t quite made it to fall yet, but I’m really looking forward to all of the autumn colors and it not being 90 degrees in November! (If you ever visit Arizona, I recommend going in January).
Tell us what excites you about your job?
Everything, but to be more specific, I’m really excited by the focus on reparative archival work being done in Special Collections. Archives and other historical records have a long legacy of being centered and written by and for dominant cultures and socio-economic groups, so doing work to create records that acknowledge this legacy and attempt to mitigate the harm done by past records is something that I find really important. I am always overjoyed to hear about the work the other members of special collections have been doing in this area!
Tell us something about Special Collections or UVA that is different from what you expected.
So many hills. Every University I’ve worked or studied at has been on pretty flat land. It’s definitely taken some getting used to when walking anywhere! I’ve also been surprised (in a good way) by just how welcoming and kind everyone has been here at UVA. I’m not saying that there has been a lack of goodwill at any previous place I’ve worked or studied, but there is just an overabundance here and it has been so refreshing. I’m also looking forward to project weeks, as they sound like a really awesome initiative that is different from anything I’ve seen elsewhere.
If you could be locked in any library or museum for a weekend, with the freedom to roam, enjoy, and study to your heart’s content, which one would you choose?
Probably the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian! I’ve always had a fascination with outer space ever since I was a child, and the opportunity to be able to explore the history of our exploration of the cosmos would be the ultimate indulgence. With how close Charlottesville is to Washington, D.C., I’m hoping to have the chance to take a weekend to explore the space museum and many of the other Smithsonian museums.
