Library & Information Science Professional with Archives Focus
Resume:
PAMONA ALEXANDER
**** ***** ***. #***, ****** City, CA 90232
*********@*****.*** RESUME LIBRARIAN
EDUCATION
Masters of Management in Library and Information Science (Management, Library and Information Science)
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Bachelors of Arts in Anthropology (Archeology and Cultural Anthropology),
California State University Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA
Master’s degree candidate in Public History (African American History, U.S. History, Oral History, Archives, Museum Studies)
University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA
Requirements for the Position
I have a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from an American Library Association’s accredited program. The program taught reference work, cataloging, research writing, group leadership & conflict resolution, statistical analysis, online & digital librarianship, and the future of library work in the digital age.
I am familiar with the Dewey Decimal System.
I have over one years’ experience working as an adjunct librarian for Santa Monica Community College.
I have experience providing instruction in-person and online to teach library website navigation, proper MLA citation, and research paper gathering strategies.
I have experience conducting in-person reference services to students and faculty at a community college.
I have experience providing chat reference services online to patrons using the library website.
I have over three years’ experience providing customer service as a library page, and library aide at local public libraries. Shelving books, processing fees, book check-out, computer assistance, along with conducting library opening and closing procedures,
I have over two years’ experience conducting original and copy cataloging using LCSH, OCLC, MARC, RDA, PastPerfect, Archives Space, ContentDM, Excel, and Microsoft Word.
I was educated in non-profit business management, which included project management, employee supervision, and business leadership strategies. This was part of the Master’s training in the Library and Information Science program at the University of Southern California.
I have an educational background in Art History, U.S. History, African American History & African American Art History, Archives Management, Museum Studies, Anthropology, and Oral History Preservation.
Customer Service / Clear and Effective Communication
•I multitasked while providing positive interpersonal communication to meet the diverse needs of patrons at fast-paced academic, and public libraries, and I used non-violent conflict resolution to manage difficult situations. I believe in a user-centric approach which puts the needs, desires of patrons first. I want to help libraries, archives, and museums move toward a future where democratic access to information fosters a knowledgeable community capable of critical analysis, civic engagement, and societal uplift.
•I led a team of five students in which I set-up workflows, assigned duties, and reviewed work completed based on benchmarks and milestone timelines. I provided oral interpersonal conflict resolution for issues that hindered project completion, and team cohesion. With my leadership, we created a ContentDM photographic collection of architectural landmarks in Los Angeles. We received an ‘A’ for that project. I am educated in non-profit business management, leadership, and employee supervision from the University of Southern California’s Master’s in the Management of Library and Information Science from the Marshall School of Business.
•I am trained in collection management, including acquisitions, weeding, and the withdrawal of materials. The USC degree had a management focus, along with that, I learned core library science methods, and cataloging and archival best practices. I am trained to maintain statistical records, prepare reports, and I can facilitate literacy programs. I can do business research, conduct online searches, and provide online maintenance of the computerized library catalog. I have experience with circulation, registration, book stock, and the collection of fines.
•I completed all coursework for the Master’s in Public History at the University of California Riverside. This is a interdisciplinary program where I learned Archives policies and procedures, museum exhibit design and creation, Historical Research writing, American Art History, and oral history interview techniques. My plan is to complete the thesis paper by June 2026 and obtain the degree.
•I am a supporter of diversity and the inclusion of all populations. I take into account various socioeconomic, cultural, disability, and ethnic backgrounds, and I will employ a user-centric form of service delivery. I will follow a holistic approach to foster use, and reuse. I plan to be a leader who can facilitate patron empowerment and stakeholder engagement. My previous career path was as a case manager in mental health facilities. I worked with adults in residential, and day treatment settings. For seven years, I provided one-on-one counseling, life skills instruction, and recreational activities to increase morale and self-awareness. I am a firm believer in individual healing, and caring for the less fortunate.
Research / Business Practices / Museum, and Library Procedures
•I am currently a volunteer Archivist at Santa Monica History Museum. I use PastPerfect software to create original cataloging metadata records for photographs, artwork, objects, and documents donated to the museum. I conduct research to add high quality descriptive information to each entry. I also scan the items onto the software and conduct condition reports on each item scanned.
•I was a Reference Librarian at Santa Monica College for over one year. I provided in-person, and chat reference to library users. I helped users locate items on the library website, and guided them to items in the physical collection. I assisted with the use of the copy machines, and I also did troubleshooting for computer technical issues. I contributed to the creation of Libguides, and I was active in library department meetings. I was committed to the growth and development of library goods, and services.
•I worked independently, and I collaborated with other professionals in the Cataloging and Metadata Department. I added metadata to photographs located in the Miriam Matthews digital archive. This included extensive historical research, and image description to improve the user’s search and recovery of items in the collection. I used Microsoft Excel to add information to the database. I used Word to write, and edit scope and content notes. I researched various websites, including Ancestry.com, historical newspapers, county, state, national government records, and the Library of Congress Subject Headings. The archive contains 4,500 images, and within one year I processed over 2,700 of them. This was a one-year contract position, and I completed the contract.
•At the Petersen Automotive Museum, I organized a physical collection of photographs, magazines, and manuscripts. I documented their description which included the size, date of creation, and their relevancy to the museum’s mission statement. I worked with the head archivist, Laura Fisher on how, and what methods to use to preserve, document, and share information about the collection online. I created metadata for the materials consisting of scope & content notes using Library of Congress Subject Headings.
•At the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, (LACMA) I created an online finding Aid. I uploaded information about the Tamarind Lithography Workshop’s collection onto LACMA’s website. I used the Archives Toolkit to create the finding aid for the collection. I researched the collection, to decipher its relevance to LACMA, its socio-political impact on local communities, and how art can be used as a catalyst for change. I used the Getty Institute controlled vocabularies, and other data from textual materials. My experience at this internship is the basis of my thesis paper for the completion of the Master’s degree in Public History at the University of California Riverside.
•I prepared a written audit on all the exhibits displayed at the California African-American Museum (CAAM). The audit included artist(s) demographic data, and exhibit dates. I documented on whether the exhibit was a traveling one or a CAAM curated one. This report was used to prove to local government officials the significance of CAAM’s work. Due in part to the audit, CAAM was able to obtain government funds for future museum operations. At CAAM I organized the shelves, and I provided reference services to visitors to the museum’s research library. Along with this, I answered phones, and assisted the head librarian weed the collection. Finally, I performed copy cataloging.
•The Institute for Arts & Media (The Tom and Ethel Bradley Center), is an archive of photographs taken by Los Angeles based African American professional photographers. My main duties consisted of uploading images for online access to items housed in the physical photonegative collection. The photographs depicted prominent Black Los Angelinos of the 20th Century. I added metadata to the photographs, and I digitized photo-negatives by scanning them onto computer software. I used Library of Congress Subject Headings, controlled vocabularies, and national newspapers to obtain, and then apply the appropriate descriptive information.
•I possess an in-depth knowledge of MARC records, and RDA. I am familiar with policies and issues related to linked data, Web 2.0, and the Semantic Web. I am knowledgeable of best practices for public libraries, and archives. I wrote a manual on online cataloging platforms for my thesis paper at USC. My paper is on the history of MARC, its significance, and ways library professionals may adopt newer platforms. This manual is a training manual for library professionals who do not have the time, or the means for job trainings on these subjects. The manual has an annotated bibliography highlighting recent journal articles on MARC and its alternatives. Along with this, at USC I performed original cataloging using ContentDM.
•I type 37 words per minute, and I have over 2 years’ experience doing data entry, and providing customer service. I can operate Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I have over one years’ experience with Outlook. I can operate Windows 10. I have experience with Archives Space, PastPerfect, and copy cataloging using OCLC.
RELEVANT WORK HISTORY
Volunteer Archivist
06/2024-present
Santa Monica History Museum
1350 7th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401 Anne Wallentine
************@*****.***
Reference Librarian
08/2023-11/2024
Santa Monica College 1900 Pico Bl.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Walter Butler
*************@***.***
Library Assistant III in the Cataloging and Metadata Department
07/2018-07/2019
University of California Los Angeles
Young Research Library
Martha Steele
********@*******.****.***
Museum Library Intern in the Archive Department
03/2017-11/2017
Petersen Automotive Museum
6060 Wilshire Bl.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Laura Fisher
*******@********.***
Museum Research Library Intern
06/2016-09/2016
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Bl.
Los Ángeles, CA 90036
Jessica Gambling
**********@*****.***
Library Assistant Intern
10/2014-12/2014
California African American Museum
600 S. State Drive
Exposition Park
Los Angeles CA 90037
Denise McIver
*******@*********.***
Digital Metadata Clerk Volunteer
11/2012 -02/2013
The Institute for Arts & Media (The Tom and Ethel Bradley Center)
California State University Northridge
1811 Nordhoff Street,
Northridge, CA 91330
Keith Rice
***********@*****.***
Library Aide Front Desk
11/01-04/04
Culver City Julian Dixon Library
4975 Overland Ave
Culver City, CA 90230
Contact: Library Headquarters
Contact this candidate