The Silicon Valley Archives welcome Kristen Valenti

Kristen Valenti will join the Silicon Valley Archives (SVA) in the new position of Exhibits Coordinator, effective 1 September.  The SVA is a unit of the History of Science & Technology Collections in the Humanities and Area Studies Resource Group; we will be located in Hohbach Hall when it opens in January 2022, alongside the very exhibit space that Kristen will manage.

As the Exhibits Coordinator, Kristen will be responsible for our exhibits program in Hohbach Hall, beginning with the initial exhibit opening in January 2022.  She will also work closely with me and Spencer Gondorf, the Curatorial Assistant for History of Science and Technology Collections, on online exhibitions and interactive installations, as well as other projects.  Last but not least, Kristen will be available to advise and consult on exhibits and related activities conceived and managed by librarians in other units, such as the successful “open house” series pioneered by Kathleen Smith.

Kristen brings a diverse set of experiences and skills to the job.  After several years of editorial work, she worked at The Franklin Institute, The MIT Museum, The Tufts University Art Galleries, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.  Her roles and assignments have involved collection management, program development, interpretation, exhibit design and exhibit experience evaluation.  Just to pick one example, while at Tufts she spearheaded Celebrating 50 Years of Black Excellence at Tufts: Student-Facing, Student-Focused, a cross-departmental exhibition.  At the Museum of Fine Arts, she led the integration of visitor evaluation methods and perspectives into the entire arc of the exhibit design process.

Kristen earned an MA in Museum Education from Tufts University, as well as a BA in Sociology and Anthropology from Stockton University.

Please join me in welcoming Kristen to the Stanford Libraries. Until the opening of the SVA in Hohbach Hall, she can be found in 331A on the third floor of Green Library just outside the McDermott Suite.