Beverly Ingle
University of North Texas
What drew you to library and information sciences?
Libraries have always been my refuge, my “happy place,” and my primary resource to fuel insatiable curiosity. Some of my greatest discoveries were made in the countless hours spent in libraries: learning to read with my mother at the Austin Public Library; uncovering the meaning of my maiden name, Rudkin (Flemish; “little red one”) in the library at David Crockett High School; dusting off an obscure book about saints and their symbols that I read cover to cover (twice) in the Fine Arts Library at the University of Texas; and reverently examining some of the oldest manuscripts in the National Library of Scotland’s collection.
What’s your dream job after graduation?
I am fortunate to enjoy what has been, and continues to be, a long and very successful career in marketing. Yet whenever anyone has asked what I would be if I weren’t a marketing strategist, without any hesitation I have always professed “a librarian!” That answer was never a surprise to anyone that knows me well, as they also know my love of books, manuscripts, documents, research and the thrill of discovering new information. After my most recent declaration of “I want to be a librarian,” my husband looked at me pointedly and simply said, “Then be one.”
I am currently working toward my MSLS at the University of North Texas from where I am scheduled to graduate in December 2017 with a graduate certificate in archival management, as well.
I hope to leverage and apply my experience in consumer psychology and marketing to increase the appreciation of and improve usage of archives and special collections, thus widening access to information and resources not typically read by the general population. A precise description of my dream job is still a little elusive, but I can adamantly say that I would love to be an archivist for an organization that knows its history is important and relevant, and wants to create an archives from scratch.
What do you like most about NMRT?
I enjoy NMRT because it is a pathway for new members to connect with one another and the larger ALA family.