Library Science Grad Student Selected for Alaska State Library Internship Project

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 18, 2016) — Library science graduate student William Henley, in the University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information's School of Information Science, has been selected as one of three interns to work on the Alaska State Library Internship Project in summer 2016.

The goal of this project will be to provide assistance to public libraries in Alaska who lack staff expertise to sustain long-term projects that would benefit their libraries and communities. The interns selected will be provided with housing, travel and a weekly stipend while they are working on projects for the local public library system.

Henley will be hosted by the Homer Public Library in Homer, Alaska. He will convert a collection of 2,200 books to subject-based classification as part of the "Alaska Books for Alaska Kids" project. The project's goal is "compiling an up-to-date, accessible and useful bibliography of accurate, culturally relevant, recommended books for youth about Alaska and the North."

"Since all of my experience is with literature for teenagers, I'm excited to get to dig into a collection of picture books and learn more about literature for the youngest readers," Henley said. "As a teacher, I strived to provide multicultural literature for my students, so they all had the opportunity to see aspects of their own identity represented in the books they read.  I want to continue to do this as a librarian, so helping to create a bibliography of culturally relevant texts for children about Alaska, Native Americans and the North in general will allow me the chance to hone this skill even more."

The School Librarian Program track is one of the most popular in the Library Science master’s program and offers licensed teachers the opportunity to earn their Master of Science in Library Science degree concurrently with school library media certification.

Maria Cahill, who advises students in the School Librarian Program, received the news of Henley’s internship with enthusiasm. 

“I love to see good things come to great students!” she told school representatives.

Henley begins his internship June 13, 2016.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Harder, 859-323-2396, whitney.harder@uky.edu