Volunteering at Interference Archive: why we do what we do!

May 8, 2016

Volunteers at Interference Archive do absolutely everything, from painting the walls between exhibitions to sorting book donations and answering questions from visiting researchers.
For those of you who don’t get to visit Interference Archive regularly, we thought we would start a series of short posts about what we do as volunteers. To kick this off, I thought I’d share a few thoughts on why I volunteer at Interference Archive, and what kinds of things I like working on.
IMG_1314Hi! I’m Jen Hoyer. I’ve been volunteering at Interference Archive since the fall of 2013, when I showed up and offered to help however I was needed. I was interested in Interference Archive because I’m a librarian and I like thinking critically about how alternative narratives of society are kept in libraries and archives, how information is a human right and gives people power, and how we can make information more accessible in different (and maybe non-traditional) ways.
At Interference Archive I get to think through these ideas while working on a lot of different projects. I love working with the cataloging group — we have regular cataloging parties, as well as an administrative group that deals with database management and talks about things like subject taxonomies. I’ve also helped curate two exhibitions, I enjoy staffing regularly, and I put my creative writing skills to use on grant applications to fund some of our programming.
If you’re interested in volunteering at Interference Archive, check out our website on info for how to get involved, or email info@interferencearchive.org. You can also support the amazing work of all our volunteers by making a financial donation.