Crishuana’s introduction to information work started in 2012 from an interest in archiving campus activism projects: the founding of Afro-American Society and Dartmouth College’s decision to go co-ed in 1972. From this, she was awarded second the Edward Connery Lathem, ‘51 Fellowship with the Rauner Special Collections Library. During this time she served on the Dartmouth College Library’s Education and Outreach Committee as well as the Baker 152 committee for Digital Library Spaces. While her interest began with university archives, it blossomed at the award-winning Nashville Public Library where she started in 2014. As a reference assistant in both adult services and teen services under Librarian Linda Harrison, she was selected for the NPL Adult Services Committee. Most notably, she hosted her first professional workshop: “Defining Boundaries at the Reference Desk” aimed at sustainable solutions for mindfulness-based interactions with patrons. As Seed Librarian, Crishuana strengthened valuable community partnerships and encouraged patrons grow their own food. She says, “I really enjoyed reference work with NPL because daily, I worked towards my dreams of public access to free food and free information.”
A Shorecrest Preparatory School alumna, Crishuana went on to receive her bachelor of arts in African/African-American History from Dartmouth College. She has published work with the Hood Museum of Art on student activism and the Community Art Movement. Currently, Crishuana is working towards her masters in library and information science at the iSchool @ Syracuse University’s School of Information. In her research, she is using digital resources to investigate new forms of faith-based material discovery and cultural preservation. She is specializing in the use of digital analytics and digital literacy measurements to increase access to information for all.
