Meet MLC Monday: Katie Gill

Meet Katie Gill, Digital Documents Coordinator at the Mississippi Library Commission! She processes and files all incoming state document periodicals, which are titles like the University of Southern Mississippi's Southern Quarterly. She's also currently working on a massive digitization project of Mississippi educational reports. Gill completed another large digitization project recently, making the Mississippi Library Commission's old newsletter The Packet available online. Both of those can be viewed online here. In addition to her documents duties, she also tracks down old images of Mississippi libraries for use on MLC's social media platforms and is a backup for the Reference Desk. She began at the Mississippi Library Commission in September, 2016.

Katie holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Middlebury College and a Master of Arts in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi. She is a graduate of the Mississippi Library Commission's Librarianship 101 program. Gill previously interned at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michael's, Maryland, and the University of Mississippi Museum at Rowan Oak.

Katie says she enjoys her work at MLC because it meshes with her love for history. "I love seeing primary documents in context. The realization that one event can affect multiple other things, even years down the line--it's fascinating!" Gill points to devastation caused by Katrina as a prime example. Records that were destroyed during the hurricane are obviously missing, leaving large gaps in the documentation process.

When talking about her love for libraries, Katie said she could go on forever. "I love libraries. I love reading. I love the services libraries provide. When I've lived and worked in small, rural towns, things I took for granted in a larger, more metropolitan cities weren't necessarily available. There's always a library, though, and that library always fills the hole. Go to the library and they'll get you whatever you need!"

Like we said earlier, Gill is a huge fan of reading. Unlike many readaholics, she knows exactly what her favorite book of all time is. Not only that, she owns three copies of The Picture of Dorian Gray: one on Kindle, one that she bought many years ago for a high school class, and a beloved edition with annotations and extra content. She says the book has stood up well to multiple rereads and that she's got about a billion books that are her "second favorites." Us, too, Katie! She's currently reading Kim Newman's The Hound of the D'Urbervilles, a reimagining of Sherlock Holmes's world. When she's not reading, Gill enjoys watching game shows on the Food Network and Project Runway. She writes for several music blogs, including that at the Jackson Free Press. Katie is also a newbie knitter and says she has successfully created both scarves and hats. (She's still working up to socks and gloves.)

Until next time, happy reading!