Biography

Cornelia Posch is a PhD Candidate in the Disaster Science and Management program at UD, where she also works as a Graduate Research Assistant in the E.L. Quarantelli Resource Collection at the Disaster Research Center. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Romance Studies/Italian Language and Literature from the University of Vienna, Austria, and a Master of Arts degree in Library and Information Science from Humboldt-University of Berlin, Germany.

In more than five years at a research library in Rome, Italy, Cornelia developed her interest and skills in emergency preparedness in libraries, and the field of conservation and preservation. Her research at UD is focused on the intersection of cultural heritage and disasters, investigating ways cultural assets must be protected and how cultural institutions, in particular libraries, contribute to community wellbeing and resilience. Her dissertation explores how Delaware public libraries supported their communities during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cornelia collaborates in projects with DLDI (Delaware Libraries and Disasters Initiative), HENTF (Heritage Emergency Task Force), and DEMA (Delaware Emergency Management Agency), is co-chair of the AIC (American Institute for Conservation) Emergency Committee and a volunteer with the National Heritage Responders.
 

Degrees

• MA, Library and Information Science, Humboldt-University of Berlin, Germany (2018)
• MA, Romance Studies/Italian Language and Literature, University of Vienna, Austria (2012)

​PhD Advisor

Dr. Jennifer Trivedi