Brittany Bratcher - Information Professional

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

 

The University of Texas, Austin, TX - Master of Science in Information Science, 9/2019 – 5/2021

Relevant Coursework, Fall 2019- Fall 2020: Introduction to Information Resources and Reference Services, Organizing Information, Data Wrangling, Ontology Design, Database Management, Digital Libraries, Introduction to Programming, Introduction to Records Management, Data Storytelling

 

Western Archives Institute, San Diego, CA, 6/2018

Archival Standards and Practices (2-Week Intensive Course)

 

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA - Bachelor of Arts in History, 9/2011 – 6/2014

 

EXPERIENCE

 

Harry Ransom Center, Austin, TX - Graduate Research Associate, 9/2019 – Present

• Assist users and students access Ransom Center resources and use technology and equipment. Provide reference assistance and research services. Communicate complex processes and information.

  • Provide training to users on use of technology, and local databases and systems. 

  • Take shifts on reception desk, welcome users, and explain policies and procedures.

  • Research information on behalf of researchers, identify relevant files, locate materials using several databases and systems, communicate information to user.

• Collaborate with a team on the planning and implementation of public programming and instruction.

  • Co-led the Ransom Readers Book Club. Researched author Tim O’Brien’s Collection, selected archival materials, presented on them; led public discussion of the book, The Things They Carried. 

  • Assist with research, selection of archival materials, and presentation to class visits. 

• Assist with the research and writing of NEH and IMLS grant proposals for a student workforce program.

• Serve as a member of the privacy committee which assessed current practices that impact patron privacy.

• Support the management and curation of digital assets, records, and data. 

  • Review metadata in the local asset management system, look for inconsistencies, and edit.

  • Research MARC catalog records conversion to BIBFRAME, update mapping document, test mapping document recommendations on cataloging records. 

  • Ensure accuracy and accessibility of data in Harry Ransom Center Name Authority File.

 

Texas A&M University Library, College Station, TX – Final Capstone Project, 11/2020 – 5/2021

• Assess quality of metadata of datasets in the Texas Data Repository and research, create, and propose metadata rubric for users to ensure accuracy, integrity, and accessibility of data. 

• Train raters on rubric. Run Krippendorff’s Alpha on SPSS to assess statistical agreement levels.

 

Designing and Implementing Recordkeeping Systems (DIRKS) Project- Introduction to Records Management, University of Texas at Austin, Spring 2021

• Work closely with team, examine, document, and suggest process improvements and tools for a team members personal electronic record keeping systems based on information management theory, best practices, principles, standards, industry trends, technologies, and compliance requirements.

• Develop a business and records classification scheme and a records control schedule.

 

Benson Latin American Collection, University of Texas, Austin, TX – School project internship in Digital Libraries Course, 09/2020-11/2020 

• Facilitated the migration of the Human Rights Documentation Initiative digital assets from their current access on GLIFOS A/V streaming site to the University of Texas Library Digital Asset Management System.

  • Created workflows to identify files with issues and connect XML metadata files with their digital object. Ensured data integrity and performed quality assurance checks. 

 

Santa Bárbara Mission Archive-Library, Santa Barbara, CA – Intern, Associate Archivist & Program Coordinator

6/2014 – 8/2019

• Followed best practices to arrange, describe, preserve, and provide access of digital and physical assets. 

  • Created inventories and maintained files.

  • Prepared condition reports and wrote grants when repairs needed. 

  • Coordinated with multiple departments to schedule transfer of personnel records.

  • Handled sensitive information in personnel records with a high level of confidentiality.

• Supported digitization projects, performed document scanning, quality assurance, and image editing.

• Provided historical research and archival reference services to remote and on-site users and customers.

• Managed movements of all object inventory in archives, including outgoing and returning loans. 

  • Populated and maintained the PastPerfect database of photographic and art objects.

• Assisted with project planning and administrative, fundraising, and programming duties. 

  • Under tight deadline implemented the first institutional gala, raising over $60,000 in funds.

  • Collected and maintained statistics and assisted with report preparation for the Board. 

  • Wrote checks, assisted with budgeting, monitored, ordered, and received supplies.

• Worked closely with director to assess institutional needs and develop long-term archival strategies. 

  • Improved accessibility by migrating finding aids to the Online Archive of California.

  • Researched several Content Management Systems and made adoption recommendations. 

  • Trained, supervised, and evaluated volunteers and interns. Formalized training workflows.

  • Developed formal policy and procedure documentation around processing and acquisitions.

 

Cal Poly Special Collections and Archive, San Luis Obispo, CA- Student Assistant, 9/2012 – 6/2014

• Assisted with the arrangement, description, digitization, and access to archival materials.

 

SKILLS

 

• Basic SQL, data management

• Adobe Creative Suite

• Photography/DSLR and Document Scanning

• Oxygen XML editor

• Microsoft  Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)

 

 

LEADERSHIP AND ASSOCIATIONS 

 

American Library Association, Co-Director of UT Austin Student Chapter, 2020