Professional
- With Yale University Library’s Digital Collections Phase 2 Working Group, developed the library’s Digital Collections (https://collections.library.yale.edu) and ensured that all legacy collections slated for migration were successfully migrated to Digital Collections.
- From 2017 through 2022 and with collaboration from colleagues, created Yale Library’s Manuscripts and Archives (MSSA) Processing Manual; MSSA’s processing capacity matrix; and other key acquisition-to-access documentation and workflows.
- From 2013 through 2016, arranged, described, and cataloged materials in the Yale Collection of Western Americana, the Yale Collection of American Literature, and the General Collection; processed over 340 linear feet of archival collections and cataloged more than 320 small collections and single items.
- With Archival Workers Emergency Fund Organizing Committee, and through the generosity of colleagues, raised over $130,000 in mutual aid funds for archival workers affected by the Covid-19 crisis.
- With Digital Library Federation Born Digital Access Working colleagues, developed “DLF Born-Digital Access Working Group Access Values” (osf.io/ed7vk/), September 2020 and wrote “Collecting User Experiences, Needs, and Desires for Accessing Born-Digital Archival Collections” white paper (osf.io/wd29k), March 2020.
- With team of practitioners, develop curriculum for Born Digital Access Bootcamps; led two inaugural, all-day bootcamps at the New England Archivists Annual Meeting and Digital Archivists of Philadelphia, 2017; and led a third two-hour bootcamp at the Digital Library Forum meeting in Henderson, Nevada, 2018.
- With Society of American Archivists Committee on Education, reviewed and refined SAA curriculum for arrangement and description; created Arrangement & Description certificate program
- With research team, designed and conducted an exploratory study to document current born-digital access practices in cultural heritage institutions. A preliminary report of findings is available.
- With the Membership Committee of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of the American Library Association, revised the RBMS Careers FAQ and the RBMS Educational Opportunities Directory
- Planned and piloted UH Special Collections Brown Bag Series with an inaugural presentation focusing on UH’s Texas Music Collection
- Conducted finding aid creation and ongoing digitization project metadata review for the University of Houston Libraries‘ Early Texas Documents Collection, comprising the library’s exemplary collection of Texana
- Completed collections survey for the University of Houston Libraries Special Collections of over 106 collections, in order to compile processing priorities and conduct an audiovisual and digital materials survey
- Completed capstone project processing and creating a reading room exhibition and blog post for The Daniel Stern Papers at The Harry Ransom Center
- Created EAD and MARC records for The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History‘s Bringing Hidden Collections to Light project; converted over 200 EAD records to MARC
- Assisted with exhibition preparation, writing, and editing for exhibitions at The Morgan Library & Museum, including for “In the Company of Animals: Art, Literature, and Music and the Morgan” and “Charles Dickens at 200“
- Created access audio files and descriptive metadata for The Paris Review Audio Archive database, forthcoming in The Morgan’s reading room
- Created comprehensive inventory of 130 manuscript items mounted in an extra-illustrated first edition of John Forster’s Life of Dickens
Academic
- Curated exhibition catalog on literary textual revision for course on the Book Arts
- Researched, wrote, and presented a paper on Winnie Allen, archivist of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History from 1936-1960. Conducted research and writing for the paper under the supervision of David B. Gracy II; presented the paper at Indiana University, Bloomington. This paper is currently in the process of revision with an eye toward publication.
- Served as team leader for a Preservation Needs Assessment of the University of Texas Classics Library; focused on handling and preservation; collection management; digitization and reformatting; and emergency plan.
Alison Clemens 