In this paper, I analyzed the conflict between the core values of access and privacy in the case Ahmad v. University of Michigan, a legal battle over researchers' desire to access archival papers held by the University of Michigan's Bentley Historical Library that were closed to researchers per the donor's gift agreement. The case was one I grappled with personally. When I was an undergraduate student at UM, I accessed his collection to research a legal case he filed under the Michigan Environmental Protection Act and wrote about his advocacy on a public history website about the environmental movement in Michigan. Only after my graduation did I learn that Tanton's work with environmental groups hinged on his nativist beliefs, which led him to found several right-wing, anti-immigration organizations. I regretted how I, as a novice researcher, framed his work due to my limited access to his papers.

I considered the dilemma cultural heritage institutions face when they seek to acquire controversial materials that a donor may want to keep private. Granting the request will limit the public's access to the materials indefinitely or for a given time. However, refusing the request might guarantee the public will never access the materials. I identified comparative case studies and analyzed how other archives navigated the conflict between the core values of access and privacy. Finally, I prepared a poster about Ahmad v. University of Michigan and presented it to my classmates.

The leadership case study for LIS 707 challenged me (in the role of Director of the fictional Middletown Public Library) to take a stance on a community member's objection to offering resources and programming related to anti-racism and Critical Race Theory. In my statement and presentation to the MPL Board of Trustees, I defend the MPL's offerings by correcting the record on Critical Race Theory and explaining that the core values of access and intellectual freedom guided my decisions. In our current political climate, where community pressure to ban books has led libraries to lose public support and funding, I knew that leading this statement with my support for anti-racism and Critical Race Theory would only perpetuate the community's divide. Instead, I decided to fight misinformation with information and grounded the discussion with a reminder of the philosophies that guide practice in library settings. I am proud of the statement I produced as it aligns with my personal and professional values. The assignment served as practice for future leadership roles in which I will need to take a stand on divisive issues and explain my decisions.

With Free 'Em All Radio Archive project lead Kaitlyn Griffith and fellow student collaborator Leah Kirchhoff, I wrote a session proposal for the 2024 Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting. While our proposal was ultimately not accepted, the process was a valuable learning experience. I learned to craft a proposal catered to a conference theme and collaborated with colleagues to identify learning goals and a target audience. 

In August 2024, I attended the SAA Annual Meeting with an Archival Professional Development Scholarship from the Illinois State Historical Records Advisory Board. It was my first in-person professional conference, and I loved the experience. It was exciting to meet archivists from around the country and discuss their perspectives on topics I have learned about during graduate school. Attending the sessions helped me identify the shortcomings of our proposal. For example, I realized that the format we proposed differed slightly from the typical panel session at the conference. What I learned while attending the SAA conference will guide me when I write conference proposals in the future.