Bridging Technology and History

This is a space for all not-quite software projects that still required a lot of technical and project management skills. My first career was working in museums and one of my favorite things to work on was digitization or digital preservation projects.

Woodland Cemetery Historic Preservation Project

August - December 2023

Technologies: SQL, Data Modeling, Research

As part of my graduate research at Clemson University, I contributed to a historic preservation project focused on the Woodland Cemetery. The main goal was to build a data model that linked historical records about enslaved individuals and their enslavers. My role involved:

Developing the relational data model.

Ensuring it could be used in future web applications for historical research.

You can learn more about this project here: https://www.clemson.edu/about/history/woodland-cemetery/index.html

BMC Archives Digital Preservation Project

January - December 2022

Technologies: The Museum System (TMS/Embark), Metadata Standards

I worked as a Digital Archivist at the Asheville Art Museum on a project to digitize and preserve over 1,500 objects in the museum’s collection. Some of my contributions included:

Implementing metadata standards to make the collection more accessible.

Using TMS/Embark for cataloging and managing the collection.

This project also allowed me to work with a development team to bring the museum's collection online. It sparked the idea for BMC Yearbook, which I worked on at the tail end of this contract. You can view this project here: https://collection.ashevilleart.org/

Photograph & Audiovisual Digital Preservation

August - December 2021

Technologies: OmekaS, WordPress

In another digital archiving role, I worked with Penland School of Craft to preserve their audiovisual collection, which included:

Oral histories of the school’s community.

Instructional videos on craft techniques.

I built a custom metadata schema and helped integrate the collection into OmekaS, making it available online via their WordPress website (which is sadly no longer available). It was rewarding to help preserve Penland’s history and make it accessible to a wider audience.

Archivist Services App

August 2020 - December 2021

Technologies: UX Research, Usability Testing

For my UX research project at the University of South Florida, I collaborated on building an Archivist Services App designed to connect historians and archivists with people seeking research assistance. My contributions included:

Conducting user interviews and usability testing.

Collaborating with designers to refine the app based on user feedback.

This project sparked my love for UX.. which led to bootcamps in UI/ UX.. and ultimately informed the way I build web applications as a software developer now.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have also helped with short-term digitization projects with the Florida Museum of Natural History's Lepidoptera collection (DNA vouchers, iDig) and the Appleton Museum of Art's collections management efforts (The Museum System, TMS), both throughout 2018. From 2015-2017, I also helped in digitizing all of the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum's collections and exhibition records (PastPerfect) while working as a collections assistant and registrar.

Main image credit: Mountain Dream Tarot: A Photographic Deck by Bea Nettles