Experiential learning is a central component of all courses and programmes in the Department of Library and Information Studies. Students are required to gain experience by working as an intern in an institutional context of their choice. In this series, “What I Did Last Summer”, students and graduates share their internship experiences.

Hi!! My name is: Roxanne Rollocks, a student in the Master of Arts in Archives and Records Management programme, and this is what I did last summer!

Chinese philosopher and writer Lao Tzu said “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. Tzu’s adage is the personification of my internship from June 2023 to July 2023 at the Central Bank of Barbados. I embraced this educational opportunity as a simple mission; to be diligent, have an adaptive mindset and learn something new every day.

Thinking back on my internship at the Central Bank of Barbados in 2023, all the lectures from earlier semester classes, seemed to have joined forces to evoke all the teachings imparted by my lecturers, to the daily transactions in an information center. In brief, all of the tasks for this internship programme involved the application of knowledge concerning most of the fundamentals in library management, archival and records management. For me, this meant specific duties and responsibilities in the Records Centre and the Library.

My internship experience embodied ‘learning on the job’. The staff and contractors were always cordial, professional, and would often share their work experiences and knowledge about their occupation. I observed the diversity in the workplace, including various professionals with different cultural backgrounds. Daily, I would interact with an employee who enquired about archival research, and records management.  I was assigned to the Research & Economic Analysis Department (READ) in the Library and Information Services Unit (LISU) Section, but worked in the Records Information Centre (RIC). LISU is regarded as one of the most extensive and specialized libraries, ‘dedicated to research into the economy and banking in Barbados’.

There was an interconnection between the theories, as taught in the study of archives and records management and its actual application

LISU has a Records Management scope, as a result of the merging of LISU and the RIC in 2002. As such, the Central Bank of Barbados (CBOB) via its Records Information Center, is currently developing a collection of materials of archival importance to the bank. The CBoB records management system supports the objectives of the organization’s vision, mission, and goals, compliance and security, productivity, governance, storage, and responsibility for the destruction of the records.

There was an interconnection between the theories, as taught in the study of archives and records management and its actual application.  On this account, I felt that one of my lecturers conspired with the universe to assess my comprehension of ARCM 6003, Disaster Planning, Response and Recovery in Tropical Environments, when Tropical Storm Bret hit Barbados on June 20^{th –} 21st, 2023. As the LISU intern, I was positioned to observe, participate, and experience the activation and implementation of the Banks Emergency Disaster Plan. Some aspects of the Banks disaster planning programme involved a responsive Emergency Team, Security personnel, and the Communication Unit. Another component of the Banks disaster plan for LISU, in which I participated, involved the removal and relocation of the library furniture from the windows; encasing all the library stacks to prevent initial water damage to the library collection, furniture and other assets.  See the photograph below.

Encountering Tropical Storm Bret, is one of my memorable internship experiences that linked the concept, or theories studied on Emergency (Disaster) Planning. All of what I was taught in the classroom, was influential in my grasping all the emergency and disaster management activities at the Central Bank.

Another feature of the Central Bank of Barbados that piqued my interest, apart from its core function to the economy, is the Frank Collymore Hall (FCH). This cultural venue, is housed by the Central Bank and was created in honour of Frank Collymore, the famous, talented Barbadian writer, actor and painter’. The Frank Collymore Hall is a ‘community space for all Barbadians’ and is used by the Central Bank and other stakeholders, in support of art, heritage, and cultural displays. It is also used for exhibitions, meetings, film screenings, concerts, visual art collection, and a museum.

My internship at the Central Bank of Barbados presented numerous opportunities to apply professional skills, use initiative, and gain new experiences. During my internship, I journalized all that I learnt, observed, puzzled me daily, the places I visited and the people I met.   This exposure was not limited to the Central Bank but included scheduled visits to other repositories of information, places of memory, heritage festivals and the archives. Some of the historical places I visited was the National Library of Barbados, the Central Bank’s Museum named Barbados National Trust (Building of Historic Interest), the Barbados Museum & Historical Society. Others included, the National Archives of Barbados and the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

My internship provided hands-on experience in dealing with archival preservation issues, developing a more resilient approach to coping and managing setbacks in different ways. It also touched on networking with other information professionals who are also preserving and communicating their histories

Choose any of our Bachelor of Arts (BA) programmes in Librarianship, Information Studies and Computer Science OR the Master of Arts (MA) in Archives and Records Management, or Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) offered in the Department of Library and Information Studies.