Tara Humphrey
Community Involvement
Something I have truly come to appreciate as I have learned about libraries is community. Although I grew up doing a lot of things in my city and being involved, my MLIS classes helped remind me that people and community are truly the foundation and purpose of libraries and daily living. I am very interested in my community and have found various ways to get involved, both through volunteer work and attendance at many different events.
Volunteer:
Special Needs Activities Program (SNAP) - participated in crafts, church services, a dance, Special Olympics, and a talent show with a local girl with special needs.
National Archives - helped transcribe documents online to make them available and accessible for the public.
Hale Center Theater Costume Rentals - interned during the Halloween season to rent out surplus costumes from a local theater.
Community Theater - performed with my family in a local playwriter's play, Through Emma's Eyes, as well as Draper Arts Council's Guys and Dolls.
Student Nutrition Access Center (SNAC) - sorted fruit and stocked shelves in the USU SNAC room to provide food and produce for students in need.
Val R. Christensen Service Center - worked with a team of volunteers to clean out leaves and debris from an abandoned building near the USU campus.
Trebuchet - lifted beams and moved sandbags to help a fellow history major build and operate a historically accurate medieval trebuchet that was used in the North Logan Pumpkin Toss, providing a learning opportunity for USU students and local residents.
Draper Library - volunteered at my local library doing odd jobs in various departments of the building.
Church Youth Leader - planned service-oriented activities with a leadership team for fellow youth in my church.
Medieval Club - served as president of my high school Medieval Club, providing a safe place for history-lovers in my school community to explore new hobbies.
Check out the photos and video below that logs the building and launching of the medieval trebuchet, uploaded by the project leader, Daniel Bertrand.
Involvement/Events:
Certificate - completed course in small business development in libraries.
Local Businesses - learned about and shopped at local businesses to promote community growth and to build local economy.
Farmers Markets and CSAs - attended farmers markets and utilized Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes to obtain local produce and support farmers in and near my city.
Cultural Festivals - took part in cultural events for various groups including Vietnamese, Greek, Hispanic, Asian, and Italian festivals to learn about and interact with diverse people within my community.
Interfaith Services - sat in on interfaith services meant to bring the community together across religions.
Clicker Guy - created a website for, and helped build and deliver products for my mom's self-run business, Clicker Guy.