Friend of ICPSR: Kaylee Alexander
Meet Kaylee, a Research Data Librarian at the University of Utah who is both a scholar and a storyteller. Whether she’s getting students excited about ICPSR datasets, watching Stranger Things, or indulging her pet beagle, she brings enthusiasm, curiosity, and a sense of humor to everything she does.
Where do you work and what is your job title?
Research Data Librarian, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah
What is a favorite memory or instance you have working with ICPSR? What makes ICPSR a great place?
We were launching an event series at the University of Utah focused on all things research data management and data literacy, especially for students and folks in the humanities and social sciences. The folks at ICPSR were so supportive in helping us find ways to tie into their own programming and engage our students. We ended up having an ICPSR orientation session as the first event of the series and it was exciting to see how excited our attendees were about working with ICPSR datasets.
Where are you from?
I’ve been in Salt Lake City since 2022, but I grew up in Danbury, CT (home of the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant).
What is your favorite part of working with ICPSR?
How enthusiastic and supportive everyone is about data initiatives at member institutions.
What’s one ICPSR dataset you find fascinating, unusual, or you’ve had a hand in getting deposited?
I’m particularly fascinated by the ‘Strikes and Labor Activity in France, 1830–1960’ dataset, probably because every research trip I’ve taken to France has had some sort of strike-related interruption. During my dissertation research, I even managed to get unintentionally pepper-sprayed after making the mistake of looking out my window to see what the gilets jaunes were up to.
How long have you worked with ICPSR?
About a year.
What do you do when not at work?
I’ve got an infant and a needy beagle that take up most of my time these days, but I am also an avid AFOL (aka Adult Fan of LEGO).
What have you read/viewed/listened to/etc. recently?
I’ve been working through the final season of Stranger Things.
What might surprise us about you?
I’m a shameless Swiftie.
Anything else that you’d like to share with us?
I wrote a book about 19th-century cemeteries in Paris, and now I am working on an edited volume on libraries and collective grief.
Photo captions: Headshot (top of page) Kaylee in Washington Square Park, pretending it hasn’t been a decade since graduating NYU; Photo with dog: Kaylee and her beagle, Fritz, at the Bonneville Salt Flats
Thanks, Kaylee!
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Representatives, data depositors, and other members of the ICPSR community are invited to fill out a 10-minute questionnaire (choose the one appropriate to your role): Representatives & Friends form, Depositors form, Researchers form, and Staff form. Please note that submission does not guarantee selection.