Bergis Jules & Laima Augustaitis Receive Paul Evan Peters Fellowships
Washington, DC — The Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), which is sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and EDUCAUSE, is pleased to announce the selection of doctoral student Bergis Jules and master’s student Laima Augustaitis as the 2018 recipients of the Paul Evan Peters Fellowships for graduate study in library and information sciences. The fellowship was established to honor the memory of Paul Evan Peters CNI's founding executive director; it recognizes outstanding scholarship and intellectual rigor, a commitment to civic responsibility and democratic values, and imagination.
Bergis Jules is university archivist at the University of California (UC), Riverside, where he is currently enrolled in the public history PhD program. He holds masters' degrees from Indiana University in library and information science and in African American and African Diaspora Studies, and a BA from Earlham College. Jules is already well established in the archives community for his notable contributions to web archiving, which is also the focus of his doctoral research. Specifically, he is interested in documentation practices around marginalized communities participating on the web and he is exploring new methods and tools that will inform how non-academic spaces, such as community-based archives, participate in collection building from the web. Much of this research will be inspired by his work in the Documenting the Now Project, which focuses on ethical practices and tools for social media archiving. "The relevance of Bergis’ work cannot be underestimated, especially at a time when the information that is shared on the web is routinely being abused and falsified. His productivity is frankly exceptional, and his drive and commitment to his research are exemplary," wrote Juliette Levy, UC Riverside associate professor of history, in a letter of recommendation submitted on Jules's behalf.
This year’s recipient of the master’s level fellowship, Laima Augustaitis, is a student in the Master of Science in Information program at the University of Michigan (UM), where she previously earned a BS in movement science. She became interested in using data-driven methods to address social inequalities while working with patients during clinical hours as part of her undergraduate degree requirements. "My career goals include bringing analytical skills into organizations and projects that often do not have access to these tools," wrote Augustaitis in her application essay, "and advocating for the use of information to uplift people’s experiences rather than place negative stereotypes on populations." In a letter of recommendation, UM professor Gary W. Harper wrote, "I have come to know [Augustaitis] as an extremely passionate, competent, and inquisitive scholar who is dedicated to using technology to address social issues," stating, furthermore, that the support offered by the fellowship "will spark her continued development as a scholar and advocate who utilizes the power of information technology to create lasting positive social change for communities." Currently, Augustaitis works with a team at UM's School of Public Health examining international and domestic health disparities. She is analyzing survey data demonstrating challenges and violence that female-assigned at birth sexual and gender minority (SGM) people experience in Kenya and helping with a project working to increase LGBTQ-conscious training for health care providers in Southeast Michigan. She also serves as an affordable housing advocate for low-income students.
