Introducing our 2019 Roselani Intern

Our 2019 Summer Roselani Intern is Shannon Devlin. Shannon has been working in audiovisual archives for the past two and-a-half years and recently graduated with her Masters of Library Science from Indiana University. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, Shannon enjoys karaoke, watching movies and reading. She also really loves and misses her cat.

Prior to her time with ‘Ulu’ulu, Shannon had never set foot in Hawai’i! Shannon’s six weeks with us have flown by and are almost over, but we didn’t want to let her go without asking some questions about herself and her time with us, and having the opportunity to share.

What brought you here to ‘Ulu‘ulu? What are some of the things you’re hoping to learn during your internship with us?

I found ‘Ulu’ulu through my boss and professor Andy Uhrich, at the Indiana University Moving Image Archive, as well as a posting on the Association of Moving Image Archivists website. Andy promoted the position in his Intro to Moving Image Archive class, when it came available. I had wanted to apply to the position when it first came available that year, but felt that it may not work for me at the time, but when it came available this past semester, I really wanted to try my luck!

I have learned so much from working at the ‘Ulu’ulu Moving Image Archive, both in working with the newest incoming collections, as well as the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, the Pacific Islanders in Communications collection, and the Juniroa Productions Collection. For me, it has been particularly eye-opening to see the differences that size and budget make in an archive. I think that ‘Ulu’ulu is a great place that is doing so much good work for the Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Island collections that they hold.

What projects are you working on at ‘Ulu‘ulu?

A new incoming collection, which was the film and video collection of a local Hawaii filmmaker. (There’s more exciting news to come concerning this collection!) I have been helping to inventory and inspect the many film and video formats within it. I am also working on the PIFSC collection, for which I have been performing quality control and writing up descriptions of the digitized films for the archives Mavis database, and selecting clips for the ‘Ulu’ulu website. I am also working on cleaning, prepping, and performing quality control on the Juniroa Production materials, and the Pacific Islanders in Communications collection, for which I cleaned up metadata, and have been rehousing and finding new homes for the materials that were previously in boxes in the vault.

Shannon inspecting videos from an incoming collection.

Is there anything about the videos you are working with that is surprising or unexpected?

I really enjoyed learning about the people living on the island of Lana’i, who were highlighted in part of the Juniroa collection which I QC’d. There was also a whole video I described that had a mama and a baby seal cuddling a beach!

Now that you have worked as a Moving Image Archivist and with Hawaiian cultural materials, what is your favorite aspect of the job and why?

I love inspecting film! It’s still my favorite part of being a Moving Image Archivist. There is something exciting about seeing beautiful images on film, and learning about/seeing interesting film damage.

Shannon and Processing Archivist, Hoku, inspecting film.

Receiving a massive collection.

So you’ve been here for a few weeks now, what are you enjoying most about Hawai‘i?

It’s beautiful! I love that I am both near the mountains and the ocean. This is the furthest I’ve ever been from home, and it has been so interesting to both learn about the Hawaiian culture and Hawaiian language, as well as just see the natural beauty that is Hawai’i. Also, everyone I’ve met has been so nice!

Do you have any advice for future Roselani Media Preservation Interns?

Maybe plan out things that you’d like to do in Hawai’i before you get here, as I’m still kind of figuring out what I want to do before I go. I would also recommend having an open mind, being prepared to work with multiple different kinds of materials. Also, be prepared for some weird film decay, if you end up working with film here!

As always, we want to give thanks to the generous support of the Henry Ku‘ualoha & Muriel Roselani Giugni Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, the Roselani Media Preservation Internship is offered each year at ‘Ulu‘ulu to give a student of merit who is committed to the preservation of our media history the opportunity to acquire practical experience in a moving image archive.