{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-article-tsx","path":"/primefuturelibrarians","webpackCompilationHash":"fd74fdbb38aa2eda4a30","result":{"data":{"primeArticle":{"headline":"Taking a Stand From the Stacks","author":"DELILAH BRUMER","authorbio":"","authoremail":"","authortwitter":"","coverimg":"http://oink.dailybruin.com/packages/prime.futurelibrarians/image/1OMRq7zXfEGu9v6qCY2lEMx-N5K0nhNVx/","covercred":"Photos by Brianna Carlson","coveralt":"Photograph of Abigail Chapuis smiling in front of a wall of wires and equipment.","articleType":"article","updated":"Correction: This article was updated April 8 at 5:00 p.m. to correct an incorrect pronoun referring to Sam Helmick.","content":[{"type":"text","value":"First, there was the UCLA rejection email during her initial round of graduate school applications. Then came the Trump administration’s museum and library grant cuts. And then there was the employment fair, featuring primarily unpaid internships."},{"type":"text","value":"There have been many reasons that could have dissuaded Abigail Chapuis from becoming an archivist. But she was determined."},{"type":"text","value":"Libraries and archives have taken on an increased political spotlight in recent years. In 2024, the American Library Association tracked challenges against the availability of more than 2,400 unique book titles in libraries across the country – the third-highest year on record. Librarians have also faced direct threats – including those of violence – in recent years, according to the ALA. In March 2025 the Trump administration terminated more than 90% of competitive grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which provided about $266 million in funding to public libraries, museums and archives in 2024. Public libraries and museums took another hit in April 2025 when the National Endowment for the Humanities laid off 65% of its employees, making the grant application process more challenging."},{"type":"text","value":"Although the industry has undergone immense changes, UCLA continues to attract aspiring librarians and archivists. Chapuis is one of about 80 students in her Master of Library and Information Science cohort. In the past decade, applications to the two-year program have nearly doubled, despite the political precarity of the field. Part of the program’s allure stems from its incorporation of social justice into its coursework."},{"type":"text","value":"\"At UCLA, our information studies department is very different than other information studies departments around the country in that we really center a social justice approach to doing the work,\" said Michelle Caswell, a professor in the department of information studies. \"We really encourage our students to think critically about the work they’re doing.\""},{"type":"text","value":"To Chapuis, the role of archivists and librarians is to organize information in a way that is accessible, structured and culturally responsive. Through the program, students are able to specialize in one or more subfields across archival studies, informatics, library studies, media archival studies and print and visual culture. MLIS coursework ranges from community and cultural archives to database technology and research methods."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"So much of my work is already stamped from the top as DEI-related work.\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"For example, Caswell teaches a hands-on archives class focusing on small, independent community organizations. The class starts with lessons on the history and theories of community archiving before transitioning into real-world projects students work on. One of the recent collaborations facilitated through the class is a digital mapmaking project of a former agricultural community in El Monte, California, for La Historia Historical Society Museum. Other students have worked on digitizing and processing collections and archives for the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California."},{"type":"text","value":"However, these educational pursuits have been met with federal resistance. Thuy Vo Dang, an assistant professor of information studies and Asian American studies, focuses on community archiving and oral histories in her research. Neither she nor her students shy away from tough discussions about the past, present and future of library and information studies in her classes, which makes her work susceptible to federal scrutiny. Vo Dang saw a federal grant application she had submitted get disqualified in March 2025. The grant would have funded an institute at UCLA, through the School of Education and Information Studies, to train K-12 educators in teaching the history of Southeast Asian refugees. Vo Dang had organized curriculum, field trips and guest lectures for the proposed institute prior to the disqualification."},{"type":"text","value":"\"Since last January, that’s the kind of crisis after crisis we’ve faced in having either grants canceled or applications canceled,\" she said. \"So much of my work is already stamped from the top as DEI-related work.\""},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"A photograph of wires and equipment.\",\"url\":\"http://oink.dailybruin.com/packages/prime.futurelibrarians/image/1urYD3bj4zpR2gCCUqAZqtGiQuAwyw53p/\",\"credit\":\"Brianna Carlson/Daily Bruin staff\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"To see the world of librarianship and information access as something to fight for may have been more of an anomaly a few decades ago. In the past, librarians, researchers and archivists have not been known for public-facing advocacy or savvy public relations."},{"type":"text","value":"The recent rise in book challenges has, in many cases, led to library and school book bans. Some of the most banned books in 2025 focus on themes of LGBTQ+ experiences and racism, according to PEN America."},{"type":"text","value":"A <a href=\"https://journals.library.wustl.edu/pollib/article/8771/galley/25567/view/\">2023 study</a> from Washington University in St. Louis described the disconnect between the necessity of librarians’ work versus their comfort with standing up for this work as the \"library advocacy gap.\" Nevertheless, Sam Helmick, the president of the national chapter of the ALA, believes a shift away from this attitude is important for the future of the industry."},{"type":"text","value":"\"Advocacy is not a dirty word,\" Helmick said. \"It’s awareness because, if our communities don’t know about how wonderful their libraries are, their lives can’t change.\""},{"type":"text","value":"An example of this is the reinstatement of IMLS grants in November 2025. Following news of the IMLS cuts, attorneys general in 21 states – including California – sued to stop the grant terminations. In November 2025, a Rhode Island District Court judge ordered for them to be reversed. But uncertainty remains with library funding more broadly, Helmick said."},{"type":"text","value":"\"When you look at librarians, they are one of the most publicly trusted faces of government, and, in order to defund them, you have to diminish that social cache,\" Helmick said. \"The only way to do that is to create a narrative. Call them groomers. Intimidate them. Challenge hundreds of books at a time, whether those books exist in the catalog or not of that library.\""},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"When you look at librarians, they are one of the most publicly trusted faces of government.\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"At about the same time, Chapuis helped with the organizing of the MLIS internship fair through her role as the co-president of UCLA’s chapter of the ALA, equipped with a list of organizations offering internships that were set to be at the fair. Then, when the Trump administration cut grants and instituted widespread federal layoffs shortly before the fair, she watched as many of the internships went from paid to unpaid."},{"type":"text","value":"The challenge of finding full-time work is shared among generations of MLIS students. Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada, the former president of the national chapter of the ALA, faced the recession job market when she graduated from the UCLA MLIS program in 2007. However, she believes the librarianship industry – and the threats it faces – have evolved."},{"type":"text","value":"\"Going into librarianship today, in 2026, is very different than 20, 30 years ago,\" she said. \"The political landscape for librarians differs depending on where you are – whether it’s a red state or blue state. But even in blue states, we still have book challenges. We still have folks who disagree with ensuring that folks have access to information.\""},{"type":"text","value":"Amid the national uncertainty of her profession, Chapuis finds it beneficial to foster a sense of community for her cohort. As the social chair of the UCLA MLIS student governing board, she organized a screening of \"Party Girl,\" a 1995 film that follows a rambunctious thrill-seeker who ends up becoming a New York City librarian. As Chapuis put it, \"Party Girl\" is \"like the Indiana Jones\" of her profession. She said it is important to create lighthearted moments because the work can typically feel serious."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"A photograph of Abigail Chapuis working on a computer.\",\"url\":\"http://oink.dailybruin.com/packages/prime.futurelibrarians/image/1W_MORzXN_xC_Xb-zpjXQeGUgGnx-LlUu/\",\"credit\":\"Brianna Carlson/Daily Bruin staff\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"The discovery of the joy in reading can be formative for a career in librarianship. Emilia Marrujo, a student in library and information studies, said her parents – a kindergarten teacher and a community college professor – instilled an excitement about libraries, museums and learning in her as she grew up. The Coronado Public Library was across the street from her high school, so she went there every afternoon while she waited to be picked up, she added."},{"type":"text","value":"\"For them, it was really important to take us to museums and take us to art galleries and take us to the library to continue that emphasis on how important education is and that it’s not just school education, but it’s about curiosity,\" Marrujo said. \"It’s about wondering and being interested in the world around you.\""},{"type":"text","value":"During her undergraduate years, Marrujo interned at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Her passion for community archiving stems from incorporating Indigenous pedagogies and practices into her work. Working with her peers, supervisors and museum patrons to share Indigenous culture convinced her that this was the path she wanted to take long term."},{"type":"text","value":"\"Remember that, whether you know it or not, you’re impacting people every single day,\" Helmick said."},{"type":"text","value":"Librarianship and archiving are industries changed, and, when it comes to government and philanthropic funding, industries diminished, Helmick said. But that does not mean they are any less important, they added. Libraries provide not only books but also troves of digital information, computer and internet access, basic needs resources, literacy services, air conditioning during extreme heat and classes on topics ranging from cooking to the citizenship application process. Because of this, Helmick encourages students to focus on their small wins."},{"type":"text","value":"\"Have a C- day because a C- is still moving us forward,\" Helmick said."},{"type":"text","value":"As for the uncertainty of the industry, Marrujo said it is a frequent thought for her, but she is OK with it because this is her life passion. Pelayo-Lozada’s advice to early-career librarians is to keep an open mind about where they work, as well as the form it takes. Meanwhile, Chapuis is set to graduate from UCLA in June, and she plans to work in digital media archiving. Although she is unsure if she will work at an audiovisual company, an academic institution, a museum or another cultural space, specifics matter less than ensuring her job is impactful and sustainable, she said."},{"type":"text","value":"\"It (The current political environment) re-emphasizes the need for us to continue the work we’re doing and fight for libraries and fight for people to have access to books,\" Marrujo said. \"And preserving historical information. And preserving archives. And having that be a reliable source for people who can trust because there’s so much mistrust of information these days.\""}]}},"pageContext":{"isCreatedByStatefulCreatePages":false,"term":"winter26","slug":"prime.futurelibrarians"}}}