“I think it is incredibly valuable for people to engage with collections that resonate with and are connected to their identities” : Interview with Dr. Kristen Schuster

(Archivoz) Could you tell me a little about your research background?

(Dr. Kristen Schuster) I’m a librarian by training. But, before training as a librarian I completed a degree in liberal arts focusing on art history and philosophy. I was very lucky to attend a college that encouraged interdisciplinary thinking and work, so I was able to pursue a range of different academic topics across the humanities and social sciences. 

Before starting graduate school, I worked in large museum libraries, art department visual resource libraries and small museum collections. I learned quite a bit about database management, cataloguing and preservation strategies. A hands-on approach was incredibly valuable and helped me develop my career goals. 

I completed my Master of Science in Library in Information Science with an emphasis in archives management at Simmons University. During the two-year program I focused on learning formal cataloguing practices, digital library workflow management and digital curation strategies. I was also able to continue working in visual resource libraries and began working in archives. 

After completing my master’s degree, I completed my doctoral work in library and information science at the University of Missouri iSchool. While my research focused on library history and gender politics in librarianship, I also started working on a digital humanities project. Over a four-year period, I developed strategies to integrate cataloguing and database management into humanities research. 

(Archivoz) What is your recent research’s focus? 

(Dr. Kristen Schuster) During my master’s and PhD, I developed two areas of research interest: inclusive cataloguing for cultural heritage collections, and histories of professional identities with an emphasis on gender politics in information professions. 

My work with inclusive cataloguing stems from my interest in the histories of classification and the ways technologies have claimed to innovate or disrupt systems of knowledge organization. In looking at claims surrounding innovation, I have developed strategies to think about the ways technology can act as either a driver or barrier to inclusion in the management and use of cultural heritage collections. 

My work with gender politics in information professions has evolved from investigations into the ways library infrastructures evolved during the early 20th century America and codified standards and norms for women working in public libraries into an exploration of masculinities and inclusive gender politics in contemporary British library services

(Archivoz) How often do you use archives as part of your research process?

(Dr. Kristen Schuster) All the time – but seriously, archives inform most of my research. Either as repositories with documents I want to access and study, or as organizations that invest in cataloguing, managing and preserving cultural heritage. 

I’ve been very lucky to either live near universities with archives, or to have opportunities to wrangle funding to travel and visit archives. So I’ve had many opportunities to visit, work and do research in archives all over the world. 

(Archivoz) Do you think archives should have a duty of care to support researchers and users, especially if people are doing research into topics that could be triggering or traumatizing? 

(Dr. Kristen Schuster) Yes, but this is a very tricky area of work and practice that would require effective infrastructures and training for staff across the archive. I think that archives would need to support colleagues across an archives service to ensure that mechanisms like trigger warnings are integrated into workflows and not just delegated to reference services staff. 

(Archivoz) What are some things in your experience that researchers can do to keep their mental wellbeing safe while researching difficult topics? 

(Dr. Kristen Schuster) It’s very important to engage with your institution’s research ethics protocols. While there is usually an emphasis on data protection and respecting research participants, working through official guidance can highlight areas where you can sense check, speak to colleagues and ask for institutional support. 

It’s also very important to develop professional networks so that you can discuss your research throughout your project. It’s very easy to become isolated during data collection or writing up, so taking time to ask for feedback and even just talk about what you are reading, seeing, hearing (etc.) is a way to manage your research experiences. 

Find time to take breaks – there will always be deadlines and pressures to get research and writing done. But, without some time to step away from a project it’s impossible to make sense of the effects your research is having on your mental and physical well-being. 

(Archivoz) You research gender and masculinities, has this ever brought up issues such as sexist artifacts etc. and how did you approach that archival interaction as a researcher?  

(Dr. Kristen Schuster) In my doctoral research, I worked with a very specific archival collection – The Carnegie Corporation of New York collection. I had engaged with secondary sources (books and articles) broadly discussing the politics and historical context for these records, so I wasn’t surprised per se about when and how women were described as community members or civic leaders. It did, however, contextualize my understanding of gender politics in the library profession, and was an opportunity for me to reflect on and think about why it is important to engage with recuperative historical research. 

In the project I’m wrapping up, I spent close to four years speaking to men about their experiences as librarians. I was incredibly lucky to work with participants who are incredibly generous and kind. I honestly did not expect middle aged white British men to be so generous with their time, and so open about the ways they have learned about gender and reflected on their own identities. 

My current project is still very much in progress and my use of archival materials is very much oriented around developing a better understanding of historical events that have affected potential research participants. I am juggling a few different lines of inquiry, which has helped me make sense of the absence of women in any of the records and oral histories I’m engaging with and gives me an idea of how I might approach speaking to older working-class men about their friendships and hobbies with an eye towards understanding the ways these relationships help them negotiate the rest of their lives. 

(Archivoz) Leading on from the above question, what support structures do you think an archive could have in place to make these difficult research interactions safer for the researcher’s mental health? 

(Dr. Kristen Schuster) Finding aids are incredibly important for researchers – they provide a wealth of information about date ranges, place names, personal names and topical coverage in collections. Knowing how to navigate finding aids has been an incredibly valuable skill that has helped me conduct research and remain aware of the possibility for complex and sensitive topics to appear in the collections I’m working with. I know that finding aids are incredibly time consuming to develop and maintain, so raising awareness of collections access and use through finding aids is an important part of archival work. One very small thing I would love to see is QR codes on delivery slips for documents so it would be possible to check files and boxes against finding aids at the start of a research day in an archive. 

(Archivoz) What do you think are the benefits and potential drawbacks of researchers who have positionality researching those spaces in which they are a part of. Might this prove harmful if for example a researcher with lived experience of mental health problems researched mental health related archives with potentially triggering material? On the other hand, this nexus of researcher and topic also holds the potential to bring out a unique and valuable point of view. What are your thoughts on this? 

(Dr. Kristen Schuster) I think every researcher should learn how to articulate their positionality – it’s incredibly valuable because it can help you 1) identify your assumptions about the topic you are investigating and 2) help you articulate the disciplinary practices you will be imposing on your research. In essence, it helps researchers develop functional forms of self-awareness that encourages them to acknowledge their work and practices have real world impacts. 

I think it is incredibly valuable for people to engage with collections that resonate with and are connected to their identities. Social science and humanities research should support the development of complex standpoints that make research both personal, political, and ethical. That is often easier said than done, but the only way to sustain engagement, outreach and intellectual diversity is to develop inclusive methods that encourage research that is personally meaningful. 

Investing in methods that encourage personal standpoints does require developing methods that acknowledge the possibility of research causing various kinds of trauma. Academics who mentor and supervise researchers should have resources to learn how to support their students and colleagues. Likewise, organizations that enable research should also invest in resources and protocols that encourage mental health and well-being throughout the research process. Again, this is all very ideal and easier said than done, but I do think it is important to advocate for wanting institutions to promote research as practice and process that can reflect individuals’ lived experiences, and have the possibility to evoke trauma.  

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