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Career Goal
To
make meaningful contributions in the field of information science
as part of work teams that creatively use, challenge, and develop
my expertise in print and digital information organization and
publishing.
Employment
January
2005 to present Manager,
Database Design & Analysis,
EBSCO Publishing, Ipswich, MA: Manage all day-to-day
aspects of timely implementation and quality checking for new
and upgraded bibliographic and full-text databases, from a design
perspective, for all EBSCO-owned interfaces (including EBSCHOhost,
Novelist, Online Reader, and subject-specific interfaces, with
Z39.50 support), plus maintenance of existing products:
- assessment
of database design projects and assignment of appropriate resources
in context of other project priorities and business needs;
- daily
coordination with related in-house business units,
including software developers, production operators, project
managers, and customer satisfaction groups, to ensure projects
run smoothly and are completed on target, while meeting intended
requirements and quality standards;
- scheduling
and management of database projects with offshore partners on
a daily basis, including new product development and quality
checking of updates and rebuilds for existing products;
- development
of expert staff through hiring and on-going
training of designers, quality assurance and quality control
personnel
June
2003-December 2004 Database
Designer,
EBSCO Publishing, Ipswich, MA: Implement bibliographic
and full-text databases for EBSCHOhost and Z39.50 interfaces,
acting as project
manager throughout the database creation
process:
- analyze
and assess raw data for implementation potential;
- write
formal design specifications
for converting IP data to XML and/or in-house formats and for
implementing products via proprietary interfaces;
- develop
key source files required for implementation;
- create
and refine product test builds in collaboration
with developers and production operators;
-
work
closely with QA
to ensure that data mapping and beta test builds successfully
conform to design specifications;
- troubleshoot
problems through examination of raw data, MARC/XML
files, load programs, display forms and other aspects of database
structure and content;
-
collaborate on system-wide projects that
have database functionality and design implications;
- serve
as technical expert
for database maintenance, future upgrades, and reloads;
-
develop customer help documentation
- coordinate
design projects with overseas partners
on a daily basis
1997-2003
National Geographic Society, Washington, DC: Evolved
professional information management skills through a variety of
increasingly complex duties, acting as:
Database
Indexer/Cataloguer—catalogued textual
and non-textual items in MARC format, and developed, assigned,
and controlled subject terms, in a library management database
containing 23,000 products and publications and more than half
a million page-level references to books and magazines. Required
demonstrated understanding of US MARC, AACR2, LCSH, and metadata
principles and schema, including Dublin Core.
Information
Architect—developed web-based visual architecture
for a dynamic subject term taxonomy with live search capability
in a bibliographic citation index database. [See
a sample screenshot...]
Web
Designer—designed and maintained an intranet
site with more than 70 HTML pages, with custom graphics and
access to two live databases and multiple static research tools;
compiled metrics
reports and analysis. [Explore my current
websites...]
Index
Author—wrote back-of-book indexes for
19 adult trade books in the areas of space, travel, natural
history, archaeology, geography, wildlife, and photography,
in cooperation with editors and designers; annually edited and
co-edited 36-page print citation index to four major magazines
using MARC data extracts from OPAC, data manipulation in MS
Access, and editing and styling in Quark CopyDesk; compiled
customized annual subject indexes published in TRAVELER and
ADVENTURE magazines, and year-in-review keys to content for
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine. [See
a list of my published work, plus online examples...]
Product
developer—collaborated
on content and structure development for editorial index of
ADVENTURE magazine; consulted on project to provide downloadable
MARC records in an online store; provided proofreading and database
editing for production of a trip-planning CD-ROM software package.
Reference—assisted
a staff of more than 1,500 editors, authors, photographers,
and researchers in a deadline-driven environment via email,
phone, and on a walk-in basis, using ProQuest, Factiva, Nexis,
various citation indexes, and specialized collections in news,
natural history, science, and geography; compiled on-demand,
time-sensitive, topical bibliographies for staff.
1996-1997
CoreStaff (formerly Telesec Staffing Services), Kensington,
MD: Developed information organization skills during
an 11-month temporary assignment in the National Geographic Society
Library News Collection. Duties included:
Collection
development—selected
stories daily from major national and international newspapers,
and assigned subject headings to each clipping from a controlled
hierarchical vocabulary; filed clippings and maintained condition
of closed collection.
Reference—conducted
reference interviews by phone, email, and in-person with a staff
of more than 1,500 researchers, editors, authors, photographers,
and provided access to a closed collection of more than 1 million
news clippings on more than 33,000 topics.
1992-1996
Willard J. Houghton Memorial Library, Houghton College,
Houghton, NY: Provided a variety of essential services
in an academic library environment.
Student
worker—circulation
desk services, interlibrary loan processing, directing reference
questions to appropriate staff, shelving and shelfreading, and
exhibits design.
Leadership & Volunteer
Experience
Indexing (2002-2005):
Founder
and operator of freelance book indexing company,
Indexcel.
Self-publisher
of two print genealogy-related indexes; produced numerous free
online indexes for genealogical community.
[See
a list of my published work, plus online examples...]
Web
portals (2000-2005):
Director
and developer of two non-profit, research-oriented
websites for historical and genealogical researchers (both official
partners with the American
Local History Network [ALHN]):
>
Jefferson County, New York, Local History & Genealogy
(since 2001). Research, author,
and design materials for researchers;
coordinate content with a virtual network of volunteers.
>
Town
of Hounsfield, New York, Local History & Genealogy
(since 2001): Conceived, researched,
authored, and designed more than 100 original web articles
detailing local history.
Founder, director, and webmaster of the Rock
Island Lighthouse Historical & Memorial Association
(since 2000): Perform research
at major repositories to produce original written histories
about the site and its staff; publish first-hand accounts of
station life via interviews with past occupants; supplied New
York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation
with original content for brochures (2001);
provided letter of support for state restoration grant (2002).
Technical Skills
Data
Formats & Manipulation
MARC21;
DialogB;
EAD;
XSLT;
XML; HTML
Software
Library
& Indexing:
EBSCOhost; Cindex for Professionals; Voyager (MARC-based
cataloging) and WebVoyage (OPAC), including Unix-based bulk
record importing.
Data
design: XMLSpy; MS Access; MS Excel.
Web
design: HTML authoring
and custom graphics design for navigation and content using
Macromedia MX design studio, including Dreamweaver and Fireworks;
able to design and troubleshoot for most popular browsers including
Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape; ftp.
Desktop
publishing: Quark CopyDesk; Adobe Acrobat/PDF.
File
management: MKS
Source Integrity; Docs Open.
Word-processing:
MS Word; UltraEdit; Notepad.
Hardware
Proficient
at using both Windows
(including XP) and Mac
systems.
Experienced at scanning
text and images for use in web and print documents.
Education
Master
of Library Science, with
honors, August 2002
College of Information Studies, University of Maryland, College
Park, Maryland
(with a concentration in Archives)
Bachelor
of Arts, with honors,
Sociology & Religion, May 1996
Houghton College, Houghton, New York
(with a concentration in Linguistics)
References
Available upon request
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