Beth McDonald

Archivist, theatre kid, travel junkie, and cat lady Beth McDonald has more than a decade of professional experience in archives and museums. As an archival consultant, Beth provides guidance in a number of essential areas, including strategic planning, archival development and organization, processing and cataloging, arrangement and description, oral history planning and development, and exhibit planning and implementation.

She has worked extensively with performing arts and community archives, focusing on transforming complex projects into engaging and accessible collections. Her work has been presented at the Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting published in The Journal of Western Archives, and shown in exhibits at California State University, Dominguez Hills and ONE Archives at USC Libraries.

Most recently an archivist with ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California Libraries, working with collections related to the LGBTQ community in Los Angeles, Beth has also plied her trade in the archival programs at California State University Dominguez Hills, Wilmington Historical Society, San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park, University of Southern California, and Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park.

Beth received her MLIS in Archival Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles, a BFA in Theatre from Auburn University, and holds a certification through the Academy of Certified Archivists.