Jessica Sedgwick is an archivist committed to connecting people with archives and special collections in ways that are user friendly, broadly accessible, and that enable meaningful connections to the past. Jessica is Head Librarian of Local History & Genealogy at Chattanooga Public Library in Tennessee, where she leads a team working to build, preserve, and share collections that document and illuminate our shared history.
Jessica has a broad range of experience in the archival field, having worked in collections management, processing and description, reference and instruction, outreach and exhibits, digitization and born-digital preservation, acquisitions and collection development, and fundraising. She has had the pleasure of working with and learning from incredible colleagues at past positions with several institutions, including Harvard Medical School's Center for the History of Medicine, the Boston Library Consortium, Suffolk University's Moakley Archive and Institute, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Southern Historical Collection and North Carolina Collection. Jessica earned her MLS at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008 (go Heels!), and has taught Archival Access & Use (LIS 440) at Simmons since 2011.