Each year, the Paul D. Fleck Library and Archives supports a Practicum program for emerging information professionals with a passion for the arts. This six-month intensive work-study is designed to provide new librarians and archivists with practical experience in collection development, public programming, outreach, cataloguing, and public service, among other skill-building tasks.

By working with a team of experienced Library Clerks, an Archivist, and a Head Librarian, Practicum participants gain firsthand knowledge of the daily operations, processes, and procedures of the special library environment.

In addition to receiving continued mentorship from the library’s manager, Mark Black and Archivist, John Yolkowski, Practicum participants complete a Directed Independent Study related to an aspect of librarianship and archival studies that aligns with their career aspirations and research interests.

Projects undertaken during the Practicum include digital initiatives, new library services, public programs, and research publications – any activity that increases the visibility of the library’s present collection and its potential to stimulate experimentation and curiosity towards the surrounding world.

The Women in Music project was born out of collaboration between Library Practicum, Angélique Roy and Archives Practicum, Amy Scarlett seeking to design an outreach event accompanied by a digital component using the open-source scholarly publishing platform Scalar. The event taking place on February 8th is designed to showcase the recently acquired Ann Southam and Ina Dennekamp fonds.

The event and exhibition will serve as a celebration of women in music, both historical and contemporary. The objective of the project is to develop best practices for how these combined collections can be leveraged for greater access and use by Banff Centre staff, practicums, residents, and community users, as well as making materials available to a broader Canadian audience. By integrating archival photographs and documents with live performance, sound and video recordings, and library materials, Practicum participants will create a celebration of women’s impact on music culture across both genre and decade!