MLIS 2012
Digital Archivist and Archives Assistant
Hammer Museum and Skirball Cultural Center
Los Angeles, CA USA

What I am doing now.

At the Hammer Museum:

• Survey the digital assets within the museum with the eventual goal of implementing a digital asset management system.
• Interview staff to determine types of assets and location.
• Conduct searches in specialized databases.
• Conduct research on digital asset management systems, draft recommendations based on research, and test systems.
• Train staff to use digital asset management system.

At the Skirball Cultural Center:

• Assess and inventory multi-media collections.
• Process and rehouse internally-generated publications.
• Digitize, ingest and apply metadata to photographs.

What are the most valuable skills I use in my job?

My classes in information retrieval have proved very useful when designing search terms for the digital asset management system at the Hammer; it helps to have some idea of users’ thought processes when figuring out how they will search. Knowing the basics of EAD is also helpful, since it a written expression of organizing principles.

It continues to surprise me that administrative skills from previous jobs are always useful. Many archivists are “lone arrangers” and it is helpful to be able to do everything that needs to be done; and sometimes that includes changing the toner cartridge in a printer.

Contact Permission

It is OK to contact this alumni.

Send email to: Shaula Stephenson