Museums & Archival Experience

Delaware Historical Society

Digitization & Metadata Intern (2023)

Digitized high-value archival materials (manuscripts, photographs, three-dimensional objects) for inclusion in the Delaware Historical Society Digital Collections platform from the following collections:
Described and assigned appropriate metadata to digitized materials according to common library descriptive standards, including Dublin Core, Library of Congress Name and Subject authorities, Thesaurus of Graphic Materials, and Library of Congress Genre terms
Created reparative descriptions where appropriate in the collections above to remediate harmful or outdated descriptive language about marginalized peoples from original catalog records in ArchivEra
Safely handled and scanned archival materials on flatbed scanners
Processed high-resolution scans (.TIFFs) by creating derivative formats in Adobe Photoshop (.JPGs, .PNGs, etc.) and uploading digital facsimiles to DHS's digital management systems and secure network

Edward Alexander Porter Intern (2020)

Processed, described, and arranged the Simms and Joslyn Family Collection, including writing a finding aid and digitizing collection materials
Traced and documented the architectural and cultural history of the Cook-Simms House in Willingtown Square through the 19th and 20th centuries using online databases and archival records/materials in DHS’s Research Library
Created week-long Instagram “takeover” of DHS’s Instagram, The Vault, to highlight the history of the Cook-Simms House from the 18th to 20th centuries

2020, 2023

The Cook-Simms House in Willingtown Square, Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware

UD Museum Studies Collections Aid

Howard High School of Technology, Wilminton, DE

Collaborated with team members and Howard High alumni to process, arrange, describe, and rehouse archival materials on behalf of the Howard High School Alumni Association
Processed archival material from Howard High School's long-time librarian, Pauline A. Young's private collection using MPLP ("more product, less process") workflow
Arranged, cataloged, and rehoused 1500+ books, periodicals, and printed ephemera from the collection, including assessments for conservation work as needed
Described and arranged archival materials following standard descriptive practices
Revised workflow and developed access requirements/suggestions based on processing project for future use of the collection by Howard High students, faculty, and alumni

January 2023

Processing Pauline A. Young's book collection at Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington, Delaware

Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

Graduate Assistant, Winterthur Library

Inventoried library’s Rare Book Collection (18,500+ items) for possible damage, cataloguing errors, storage issues, and missing objects/records
Curated two public exhibitions, drawing on Rare Book and Manuscript materials from the library's collections
Assisted with bindery requests of print periodicals/serials for long-term storage
Arranged and reorganized print periodicals/serials and digital archives to reconcile patron-facing information with in-house finding aids and metadata
Processed donated collections of books, periodicals, and printed ephemera — including rare books and prints — for cataloguing and storage
Cleaned up digital files and metadata to better facilitate patron access, interlibrary loan requests, and digital preservation of collections
Provided teaching assistance for Book Connoisseurship seminar of Winterthur Program in American Material Culture (WPMAC) fellows
Created Encyclopedia of the Anomalous Book website via WordPress to showcase projects completed by WPMAC fellows

2020-2022

Reviewing a bound chromolithographic print proof from the Joseph R. Downs Collection of Rare Books and Print Ephemera, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library

Relevant Coursework & Academic Experience

Rare Book School, University of Virginia

H-185v African American Print Cultures in the 19th-Century United States

Week-long seminar taught by Dr. Derrick Spires on the pamphlets, periodicals, colored conventions, and other aspects of Black print culture of the long nineteeth century (1780-1914)

University of Delaware

MSST602 Archives & Paper Collections

- Studied archival theory and completed hands-on projects on archival processing, organization/cataloging, and development of finding aids for the Delaware Historical Society Research Library

MSST600 Introduction to Museum Studies

- Introductory survey on museum management (governance, structure, financials), collections management, preservation/conservation, exhibition development and implementation, visitor experience, interactives/digital technology and other emerging trends in museum field

EAMC600 British Design History

- Completed hands-on fieldwork on 19th century art pottery in the United Kingdom

ENGL874 The Power of Objects in Early American Literature

- Analyzed the representation of material artifacts in 18th- and 19th-century American literature and art

ENGL846 Ocean Cultures of the Long 19th Century

- Conducted archival work on The Sailor's Magazine and Naval Journal at the Independence Seaport Museum of Philadelphia

University of St. Thomas

GENG699 Master's Essay

- Conducted original archival research on Mary Shelley's Keepsake manuscripts at The Carl H. Pfzorheimer Collection of the New York Public Library

GENG598 Beatrix Potter to Harry Potter: Modern and Contemporary British Children's Literature

- Conducted archival research on adaptations of C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at the British Library