TDL Member Profile: Nerissa Lindsey
The May/June TDL Member Profile features Nerissa Lindsey, Catalog Librarian at Texas A&M International University. Below is the full member profile with background information and a question and answer session with Nerissa.
Background
Education
- 2010: Master of Information Sciences, University of Washington
- 2006: Bachelor of the Arts, Anthropology with minors in Philosophy and Comparative Literature, University of California, Davis
Professional Experience
- September 2010 – present: Catalog Librarian (Assistant Librarian), Texas A&M International University
- As the catalog librarian I’m responsible for leading and managing the cataloging unit of the library. I supervise 6 section employees: a library information specialist, a library assistant, two part-time clerks, and two student employees. I do original cataloging of library materials in all formats including special collection items. I am responsible for metadata for content in our digital repository. I have served as the coordinator/lead for many projects over the last six years. In coordination with the TAMU Ex Libris consortium leader I facilitated the implementation of a new Voyager OPAC in 2011. I was the project lead for the implementation of WorldCat Local in 2012, and for the migration from our Ex Libris Voyager ILS to WorldShare Management Services in 2014. I’m currently serving as the coordinator for migrating the library website to the university’s Cascade server.
- October 2008 – June 2010: Student Assistant, Special Collections, University of Washington
- In this position I created a digital finding aid for a collection of historic photographs following EAD and DACS standards using XMetal. I completed the physical processing labeling and final boxing of the photographs.
- September 2009 – December 2009: Intern, Getty Images
- In this internship, I used the metadata applied to digital images to construct Boolean search queries to disambiguate names of people with digital images in the Editorial section of the Getty Images website. I also edited terms and input new entries into the in-house controlled vocabulary.
- August 2006 – February 2008: Copy Cataloger, Shields Library, University of California, Davis
- In this position, I edited OCLC bibliographic records following AACR2 standards for monographs in English and French. I downloaded edited records into the local Ex Libris Aleph system, added LHR’s and item records.
- August 2005 – August 2006: Laboratory Supervisor, Center for Archaeological Research at Davis, University of California, Davis.
- In this position I sorted and cataloged debitage/stone tools, ran samples through the flotation machine, and did botanical sorting. I did data entry, and supervised interns.
- October 2004 – December 2005: Laboratory Assistant, Inglefield Land Archaeology Project, University of California, Davis
- In this position I illustrated digitized archaeology site maps using Adobe Illustrator which were then dropped into a larger scale map of Greenland using ArcGIS. I also organized and digitized project notes/files and labeled artifacts.
Professional Affiliations/Memberships
- Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T)
- Online Audiovisual Catalogers (OLAC)
Involvement with TDL
- Committee Work
- 2016: Texas Digital Library Awards Committee
- 2014: Texas Conference on Digital Libraries Planning Committee
- Working Groups
- Current: TDL DSpace Education Working Group
- 2015: TDL DSpace 5.0 Working Group
Presentations
Enhancing discovery and slaying workflows: Using the WorldCat Digital Collection Gateway to Sync Repository Metadata to worldcat.org, 24×7, Texas Conference on Digital Libraries, May 2016 (https://conferences.tdl.org/tcdl/index.php/TCDL/TCDL2016/paper/view/949)
Increasing user satisfaction doesn’t have to create more work for staff, OCLC webinar, April 2016 (https://www.oclc.org/events/2016/Tex_AM_Intl_WMS_Story_Apr19.en.html)
Essential Skills and Qualifications of Cataloger/Metadata Librarians in the Digital Era, speaker panel, Texas Library Association Annual conference, April 2015
Question and Answer
1) Why did you choose to work in libraries?
I didn’t take a direct path towards working in libraries. I studied to be an archaeologist as an undergrad. When I went to archaeology field school, I found that I enjoyed the sorting, organization, and cataloging of the artifacts after they were out of the ground more than the process of excavation itself. After I graduated I worked on contract for an archaeology firm, but there wasn’t much lab work involved (in fact we spent one dig just recovering the remains of one 500 year old human body on a construction site in Owens Valley). After that dig I decided I wanted to try something different, and I saw an open position at UC Davis Library Cataloging department for a 1 year temporary copy cataloger. I had no clue what copy cataloging was, but it sounded cool and mysterious. Before I applied, I went to the department and spoke with the head of copy cataloging and asked her what the job would entail. She showed me a printed out MARC record and asked me if I’d ever seen one… I hadn’t, but I found it strange and compelling. I ended up getting the job, and I enjoyed it so much that it ended up being the catalyst for me to pursue librarianship as a career.
2) What projects or initiatives are you most excited about at your library?
There are a lot of potential projects to choose from, as we are just getting started in the realm of digital initiatives. I’m not sure which projects will get the green light first, but I’m particularly excited about a couple of unique media collections we plan to digitize and make available in the repository. The first is a collection of 244 audio cassette tapes which contain radio interviews of public figures of Los Dos Laredos carried out by Laredo musician and journalist Mr. Juan Edmundo Lozano Calzado (1932-2004) in his weekly radio program El Mundo de Mundo. The other is the Jorge González Streets of Laredo Collection. This VHS collection contains historic footage of the city of Laredo from the 70’s and 80’s.
3) What is your most memorable TDL experience?
I’ve enjoyed all of my TDL experiences, but serving on the on the 2014 TCDL planning committee stands out as a particularly enjoyable/memorable experience. I had never been involved with the planning of a conference before, so it was a neat experience for me. I worked with a great group of people, which made me look forward to all our conference call meetings. I have a particularly fond memory of meeting for dinner the night before the conference started, because I finally got to meet everyone in person, and I got to share my love of pink gin.