This post was written by Noah Garcia, who attended the 2025 DLF Forum as a Student Fellow. The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Digital Library Federation or CLIR. 2025 Student Fellowships were supported by a grant from MetaArchive.

Noah Garcia is an emerging information professional and lens-based artist pursuing an M.S. in Library Science – Archival Studies (2025) and an M.F.A. in Studio Art – Photography (2026) at the University of North Texas. His work specializes in the digitization and preservation of cultural heritage materials. As the Graduate Services Assistant in UNT’s Digital Projects Lab, he has developed expertise in imaging technologies, metadata, and digital library standards, contributing to projects for The Portal to Texas History and UNT Digital Library. In 2024, he received the Texas Conference on Digital Libraries Student Excellence Award for his innovative digitization tools. His work has been presented at state-wide and regional conferences.

Attending the 2025 Digital Libraries Federation Forum as a Student Fellow was incredibly enlightening and a huge privilege. I am very grateful to CLIR and DLF for the Fellowship. Without the financial and logistical support provided through the program, I would not have been able to attend the conference.

The 2025 DLF Forum was my first national conference. Listening to and learning from information professionals from a diverse collection of institutions was beyond helpful. As I close out my time within my MS-LS program, it was beneficial to realize what I do know and have experience with – and what I do not. These realizations do not feel like limitations, but rather more like a roadmap of new skills to learn and continue developing as I transition from a student to an emerging professional.

I have worked within the UNT Libraries Digital Projects Lab as the Graduate Services Assistant for two and a half years, which has fostered a particular interest in digitization and the preservation of archival cultural heritage materials. I have primarily worked with 2-D materials, so the session We Thought It Was One Tape, One Record: Metadata Mayhem and Workflow Lessons from a Large-Scale A/V Digitization Project by Louise Smith, Katie Ehrbar from the University of Southern California provided lots of valuable insight into the digitization of A/V materials in seventeen different formats and the metadata that followed after. I particularly enjoyed seeing the creativity involved in the digitization of vinyl records, where records had to be recorded physically upside down and backwards and then digitally reversed to correct the recordings. I am always reminded about how creative one has to be while digitizing unique materials, so it was fun to see that reflected within their presentation.

As expected, several of the presentations and conversations revolved around technologies like artificial intelligence and ways that institutions are engaging with and adapting to the rapidly changing models of AI. As both a library student and visual artist, the implementation of AI feels both exciting and something I am very tentative about. This was certainly reflected in the post-presentation discussions and questions, where enthusiasm for efficiency met apprehension over ethics and an overall desire for clearer best practices.

Outside of the presentations and case studies, I particularly enjoyed meeting new friends, mentors, and colleagues from around the country at the coffee breaks and mealtimes. I am especially thankful for the DLF Mentor/Mentee program which allowed me to connect with my DLF mentor Snowden Becker and fellow mentee Ying Hu before, during, and after the conference proceedings. These more informal conversations proved to be some of the most meaningful, allowing for guidance and reflection on professional paths, upcoming challenges, and personal insights that extended beyond the conference themes. Building these connections reinforced the community-based nature of the field and affirmed my pathway within digital libraries.

Overall, my experience at the 2025 DLF Forum was grounding and motivating as I finish out my MS-LS studies and prepare to enter into the world of GLAM institutions and digital libraries. The Fellowship not only made my attendance possible, but also affirms the importance of including student voices within dialogue about current and future library practices. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to attend the Forum, and I look forward to hopefully returning in the future!