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Thank you to all of our excellent candidates for standing in the 2025 Metadata and Digital Object Section (MDOS) election. Please take some time to review their candidate statements and get to know them so you can make an informed choice.
You will be voting for:
Three year terms:
Ballots will be managed by SAA staff through Survey Monkey; keep an eye on your inbox for when the ballot opens!
The following candidate is running for the Co-Chair position:
Digitization Specialist, University of Kansas Libraries
I am the current Digitization Specialist at the University of Kansas Libraries. Before, I worked as a Digitization Specialist at the Wisconsin Historical Society, a Digital Processing Specialist at the Penn State University Libraries, and as a Digital Imaging Technician at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Prior to NARA, I worked as a graduate student at the State Historical Society of Missouri and the St. Louis Mercantile Library. Over the last four years, the bulk of my professional service has focused on understanding the problems archival workers encounter as we develop digital collections. As I served on the SAA 2023 Program Committee for the Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., I helped select sessions that focused on developing metadata and creating digital objects for collections that told the stories of marginalized groups such as Native Americans, women, and the LGBTQ+ community. As a Mentor in the SAA Mentoring program, I have worked with mentees interested in archives and digital collections. My service on the SAA Mentoring Sub-Committee has taught me the importance of connecting mentors with mentees that can facilitate discussions on how to develop future archival practitioners. As I currently serve on the 2025 DLF Forum Program Committee, I am helping to curate sessions that focus on developing and preserving digital content that tell diverse stories about our communities and share them with our peers. All these experiences demonstrate a strong sense of service to help archival professionals learn how to manage metadata and preserve digital objects more effectively.
My professional experiences in digitization have made me aware of the challenges when it comes to developing metadata and creating digital objects for collections documenting the histories of Native Americans, African Americans, women, Early Modern Japan, and the LGBTQ+ community. I helped MDOS serve the SAA community as I took notes at the 2022 Annual Meeting for the section that documented discussions on large-scale metadata creation for digitization and other initiatives. I participated in the “Re-Envisioning MDOS” focus group in January 2023 where I shared my ideas and learned from others on what should be the goals and priorities of the section. My experiences as a Steering Committee Member during the last two years have expanded my knowledge about how we can serve as a community of practice for our peers, and this has emerged as one of the key takeaways from the “Re-Envisioning MDOS” report. I look forward to implementing this activity for MDOS members in the “MDOS – First Thursday MetaChat!” meetings that started in May 2025. I am eager to contribute to these discussions.
I strongly believe that MDOS has a role to play when it comes to promoting topics relevant to developing, preserving, and providing access to digital collections. I look forward to collaborating with everyone to accomplish these objectives, and I hope to do so as the next Co-Chair, continuing the work I have helped to encourage over the last two years. Thank you for your time.
The following candidates are running for the section steering committee:
Digital Archivist, UNC Charlotte
Hi MDOS, I'm Tyler Cline, the digital archivist at UNC Charlotte, where I've worked since 2017. My primary responsibilities are for the appraisal, ingest, arrangement, description, preservation, and access for born-digital records. I earned my Digital Archives Specialist certification in 2015, served on the DAS subcommittee from 2019-2021, and currently serve on the Electronic Records Section steering committee.
I'm excited by the opportunity to help shape the future of MDOS, and would bring nearly twelve years of experience working with digital records. In my day-to-day work I collaborate closely with my library's metadata librarian, digital production team, and collections management archivist to develop and implement functional minimal description for digital records. I'm a firm believer in the Mark Greene MPLP school of processing for access, while working to increase discovery and meet researcher needs.
Manager for Digital Archives, Harry Ransom Center
Brenna Edwards is currently Manager for Digital Archives at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. She is also involved with the Software Preservation Network Coordinating Committee as Administrative Coordinator. Previously, she was Project Digital Archivist at the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library at Emory University. She has a BS from Tennessee Tech University and an MSLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In her spare time, she can be found knitting or at the movies.
Over the past few years, I've been helping migrate and develop metadata fields for born-digital processes and content within our new content management system. This has really made me consider what metadata is needed for these materials, and has expanded into international conversation around born-digital film-related materials specifically. I'm interested in continuing these explorations and conversations as a Steering Committee Member of the MDOS Steering Committee, as well as helping develop programs and resources for the community. Having served on several SAA Section Steering Committees, I find the community building and programming to be beneficial in my everyday work, and the experience of organizing said events to be rewarding.
Research Assistant in Native and Indigenous Archives and Linked Data, University of Maryland
Ugoma Smoke (she/her) currently serves as a Research Assistant at the University of Maryland, where she supports Native and Indigenous Archives and Linked Data initiatives, including Council for the Preservation of Anthropological Records (CoPAR) and IndigenizeSNAC. She brings over nine years of experience working in academic libraries, public libraries, museums, and as a metadata specialist. In her current role, Ugoma focuses on reviewing and enhancing metadata for archival records, assisting with project coordination, and supporting community-centered descriptive practices. Her work emphasizes ethical metadata approaches, culturally appropriate representation, and improved access to digital collections that document historically marginalized communities.
I would like to self-nominate for the Metadata and Digital Objects Section (MDOS) Steering Committee. My work centers on community archives, BIPOC heritage preservation, and metadata governance. With a background in Art History, Cultural Anthropology, and an MLIS specializing in Digital Preservation and Archives, I bring a strong foundation in both theory and practice. I’ve supported community-led initiatives as a Local History Research Assistant serving BIPOC communities, and my current role at the University of Maryland continues this work through metadata support for Native and Indigenous archival projects. I am particularly interested in metadata as a tool for ethical representation, access, and long-term preservation. Serving on the MDOS Steering Committee would allow me to contribute to collective efforts in the field, deepen my knowledge, and support ongoing conversations about inclusive and sustainable metadata practices.
Information Management Archivist, State Archives of North Carolina
After more than 20 years as a writer and editor, I pivoted in 2021 to pursue a career in archives, drawn by my love of everything old, odd, and presumed lost. My decision was influenced by many factors, including extensive historical research that I carried out as editorial director of History Factory, my longtime "hobby" of indexing digitized assets for a friend who is a audiovisual archivist, and my ever-deepening appreciation for historical publications and primary source material. After participating in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting's Public Broadcasting Preservation Fellowship in 2022-2023, I worked as a contract archivist for the Winthrop Group, AM Digital, and Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center before taking on my current role as Information Management Archivist at the State Archives of North Carolina.
When I became an archivist, I grasped very quickly how significant metadata is in shaping archives users' experience and success. As an experienced writer, I embraced the challenge of metadata creation with relish and I realized I have something valuable to contribute. First, perspective: I had stood on the other side of the reference desk for more than 20 years. I use that perspective to craft metadata that cuts through confusion, answering more questions than it raises. Second, discipline. I work efficiently and communicate clearly. I understand the hows and whys of standards and naming authorities. I know when to trust my instincts and when to collaborate. Above all, I enjoy metadata creation. It's endlessly fascinating. In my role at the State Archives of North Carolina, I help facilitate digital preservation through archival assessment, workflow planning, quality control, and metadata review for our collections, which comprise millions of government, education, military, audiovisual, and private records. The focus of this steering committee is also the focus of my day-to-day work. As a midcareer professional and an early career archivist, it's important for me to engage in big-picture conversations about our profession, continue to learn as the landscape inevitably shifts, and give back where possible. Service in this section makes all that possible and more. Thank you for your consideration.