Librarian Research Associate
Kula: Library Futures Academy | University of Victoria Libraries | Victoria, BC
Where I Come From
I grew up in a country where the state decided what was worth knowing. That experience turned into a career built on the opposite conviction: most knowledge should be accessible to all. I research how libraries can make that real — through open scholarship, community-driven collections, and critical reflection on the profession's own standards. At Kula: Library Futures Academy, that question drives everything I do.
Who Shaped Me
My grandfather Artur Schmidt (ca. 1963)—farmer, bricklayer and storyteller. Photo: private collection.My family is blue-collar: farmers, bricklayers, and builders. Hard workers, but also avid readers and storytellers who pass on their experiences and knowledge across generations.
On my father's side are the readers. Like my grandmother, he always kept shelves filled with books — unusual for a farming family — with narratives different from those we heard at school. They both knew their collections were a family treasure, but one that multiplied through sharing, and so they generously lent their books to friends, neighbors, and community members.
My mother's side carries the storytellers. She and my grandfather shared a gift for using anecdotes, fables, and tales to keep memories alive and to make sense of the world around us. Their stories were full of humor and wit, but also tragedy and loss.
These private libraries and kitchen-table stories were my first encounters with knowledge that challenged dominant narratives. They taught me that access to information is always a political question.
How I Got Where I am
Ambassador photo in the local newspaper for the biggest literature festival in East Germany (2007). Photo: M. Schmidt, Thüringer AllgemeineAfter the Wall came down, I became the first in my family to attend university. Next, I trained as a professional bookseller — a centuries-old trade in Germany. In 2015, I graduated from HTWK Leipzig with an undergrad librarian degree, in 2018 from Humboldt University Berlin with a master's degree in Library and Information Studies.
Along the way I came to understand that both the independent book trade and libraries are built on the conviction that most knowledge should be accessible to everyone.
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