An Interview with Kimberly Windham, Humanities Subject Librarian
Kimberly Windham is the new humanities librarian for History, Religion, Philosophy, and Classics. FSU History social media intern Annalia sat down with her to talk about her position and the ways students can utilize the university’s library system.
K: Hi! I’m Kim. I am the humanities librarian for Classics, History, Philosophy, and Religion. I’ve been here at Florida State University as a subject librarian since May, but I’ve been a librarian for a long time. My training is actually as an art and architecture librarian and as a historian.
A: How long have you been at FSU?
K: I moved here in 2001 when I enrolled at FSU to pursue my history undergrad degree, and I’ve lived in Tallahassee ever since!
A: Wow! You must really like Tallahassee, what’s your favorite part?
K: I love all the nature and trails, especially Wakulla Springs. I got married there, and there were manatees that day, so that’s one of my favorites. It’s also very historically significant. I recommend the lodge there to students interested in architectural history.
A: Tell us about what it’s like being a humanities librarian, especially working with history.
K: Of all the departments I serve history is the largest and the most active with the libraries. This means I spend a lot of time working on history. My history background is super helpful because being a history librarian is very specific. It helps when you can understand what historians do and how they practice the craft of history, you get a great handle on primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. It also helps us understand the various sub-disciplines of history. I’m an Americanist, but I can still understand what East Asian historians or European historians need from the library even if I’m not caught up to all the nuances of their field. To be from outside of history entirely, there’s a double-whammy of catching up.
A: How do you help connect researchers to information?
K: I’m trained as an architecture librarian, so my real home is within public history. I work with people to help them find traditional sources but also to challenge them to look outside of what they might be accustomed to thinking of as history. We, as historians, are used to looking at documents and reading, but there’s this entire built environment made by people around us. Textiles for example. Thinking about objects and cultural history through the spaces and places we make is often a new challenge for historians. It’s fun for me to bridge that gap. You don’t have to be trained as an architect to understand architecture, and you don’t have to be trained as an art historian to understand that art has historical and cultural significance.
A: That’s super interesting! People tend to ignore nontraditional sources.
K: Exactly! I have this really holistic view that I hope is helpful to people. Art museums or galleries are often sources that historians can and sometimes do access but maybe aren’t natural for them to think of. Hopefully, opening that up to people makes them think- Oh yeah, maybe I should go to the National Gallery of Art to research, they have a library and an archive that can be a valuable resource.
A: How can history students or historians develop a more comprehensive view of sources?
K: I think history can be a little intimidating. There’s a reason why in graduate school you have your major fields and minor fields, they encourage you to think beyond the narrow focus on what your dissertation is about. I would say read beyond your narrow interest. Read beyond the things that speak to your next paper. People think they can only read history by historians. By, for example, reading Tolstoy you can approach it as a historian and see how War and Peace is a bit of cultural history.
A: What’s your favorite thing about being the humanities librarian at FSU?
K: My first favorite part is working with people. I became a librarian because I like working with people. My second favorite part is developing the collections. A big part of what I do is considering what students and faculty need and how I can build a collection that supports teaching, learning, and research.
A: How can students reach you?
K: I have office hours for history students in the Bellamy building. I also have standing Zoom office hours. I encourage students to just drop in whenever they can if they have any questions or need advice. I have something that I call resting librarian face. People everywhere stop me and ask me for information! In the store, on the street, in Italy, these nuns stopped me and asked for directions! It even happens on ponytail and jeans days. It’s cool, I talk to all kinds of people.
A: Is there any other advice you want to give to students?
K: Chase those opportunities that are only available to you as a student. When I was an MLIS student I worked at FAMU in the architecture library. Those experiences reinforced each other- I was learning the practical physical application of working in a library during the day and then at night I was learning theoretical applications of materials in the library, how to evaluate them, and how to connect people with those resources.
I was working throughout my MLIS degree, so I didn’t get to do internships or fellowships that are only available to full-time students. By going back to school, this time to do a Ph.D. in History, I became eligible for all of these amazing programs only available to students. That’s how I got to study at the Library of Congress as a fellow. If you’re able to swing it, don’t miss out on that part of being a student. Look and apply for internships seriously and use the Career Center to help you with your materials! It’s a great resource for students.
Contact Ms. Windham at kwindham@fsu.edu and find out more at www.lib.fsu.edu.