Clara Nguyen
Clara Nguyen, our new Collections Assistant for Government Information, is a familiar face to many on campus. Last fall, Clara served as Interim Assistant Curator in the Van Every/Smith Galleries. She’s now getting settled in on the East side of campus and is excited to be back at Davidson.
Clara’s background is in art history. She has a B.A. from East Carolina University and an M.A. from George Washington University. While completing her M.A., she held internships at the National Portrait Gallery, the National Archives and Records Administration (where she worked in the vault, where most of the treasures are stored), the private collection of the Kiplinger Washington Edition, and the Ellen Frank Illumination Arts Foundation. She acquired extensive experience cataloging and researching documents, art objects, and artifacts, and also became a proficient illuminator.
Clara’s cataloging experience is serving her well in her new position in the library, where she manages the day-to-day operations of our federal depository collection. With her experience processing and researching art objects and documents, the vagaries of government publications do not daunt her. As she notes, after moving and handling so many large framed paintings and prints, the library’s collections are usually – maps aside – quite manageable!
Clara recently revisited some of the paintings and prints that she cataloged in the Van Every/Smith Galleries, in the library. Several information literacy librarians took part in the “Art in Offices Program” offered by the Gallery, and when they proudly showed Clara their selections, she smiled at the familiar pieces and started telling her new colleagues all about them.
We are delighted to welcome Clara to the library and encourage you to get to know her.
