Ohio Outdoor Sculpture Project Internship

My internship with the Ohio Outdoor Sculpture Project during the summer 2021 term provided me with valuable practical experience and an opportunity to apply much of what I had been learning in my information organization coursework. The project included several objectives:

· locate and research sculptural works in assigned underrepresented counties

· document works in the publicly available online database using the Omeka Classic content management system

· update records in the database in assigned range

· work on a team of former and current interns to finalize metadata standards for the project

· develop list of needed/desired updates and improvements to the public and administrative interface to improve user experience

· correspond with organizations, institutions, and media outlets in local communities to build awareness of the project

While my work on the project offers examples several of my program’s learning outcomes, I feel that it is a good demonstration of the fourth learning outcome:

“Evaluate systems and technologies relevant to a particular information context.”

This aspect of the internship involved spending a significant amount of time reviewing the Omeka Classic documentation to determine its capabilities and consider them in relation to our unique collection and user needs. Through extensive discussions as a team, we developed a list of site and system improvements for the project’s web developer to implement in the next phase of the project.

My work on the project also offers a good example of the ALA’s core competencies in the area of “Information Resources,” including:

· Concepts and issues related to the lifecycle of recorded knowledge and information, from creation through various stages of use to disposition.

· Concepts, issues, and methods related to the acquisition and disposition of resources, including evaluation, selection, purchasing, processing, storing, and deselection.

· Concepts, issues, and methods related to the management of various collections.

· Concepts, issues, and methods related to the maintenance of collections, including preservation and conservation.

This internship also enabled me to build my experience in the following areas from ALCTS’s Core Competencies for Cataloging and Metadata Professional Librarians:

Application of universal standards within a local context

· Assesses or seeks to understand local user needs for library metadata

· Sets (or advises on) local metadata practice, including selecting appropriate standards for local use

· Documents local decisions and practices

· Designs and modifies cataloging and metadata workflow processes

Another valuable experience connected to this internship was the opportunity to work with two other interns to give a presentation about the project at the DCMI 2021 Student Forum in October 2021.

Please visit the links below to find more information about the Ohio Outdoor Sculpture project, view my final internship e-portfolio, and read more about our DCMI presentation.

Link to my Ohio Outdoor Sculpture Project portfolio:

AAnderson OOS Internship portfolio