By Stephanie Gilbert

While intended to be humorous, the above picture isn’t entirely untrue. As an introvert now working from home, several aspects of my work method have changed. Since my job has taken an interesting turn, for this blog I thought I would update you all on what life is like away from the office and the new project I’ve undertaken!
I am very introverted and have always been a homebody, so I’ve handled the office to home transition well! While I miss my in-office co-workers, my mom and pets have proven to be wonderful temporary substitutes. As I get older, I continue to better understand the importance of family time, so I am thankfully not stuck at home, but am safe at home with those I love! I’ve enjoyed starting my mornings slow, setting my own work hours (in the afternoon as I am a night owl), and finding simple daily pleasures like enjoying the sunshine outside while working on metadata (oh, and not having to find parking in downtown Columbia). This time at home has challenged me to find creative ways to stay focused and energized but has also taught me a lot about my work ethic and allowed me to enjoy my job in a new way.

When we transitioned from office to home, I only had one folder scanned in advance from the M. Hayes Mizell collection. However, not having access to my digitization workstation and accompanying equipment in order to complete my regular work has freed up my schedule to allow for the completion of a full metadata assessment for the Mizell collection. As metadata work kept me quite busy in the office, reviewing content already uploaded to our CONTENTdm repository was not an immediate priority. Now that I have time, I am carefully reviewing every object that has been uploaded, looking through the metadata for any errors in order to correct those and better the online information. To help keep track of my progress, I have created a spreadsheet (pictured above) where I make note of what needs editing, what is correct or already edited, and what objects will need transcripts added. I have reviewed approximately 540 out of 583 object level items so far.
Once I complete the assessment I will start editing and uploading transcripts for approximately 470 objects. I usually do this in CONTENTdm, but since these objects are already uploaded, I will be using a program called OmniPage to create the text. The program scans the item, generates a transcript, and then selects the words it does not recognize for the editor to review. Once I am content with the full transcript, I simply have to copy and paste it into CONTENTdm. Unfortunately, this is a slower process, but as we are in the midst of a pandemic, I have all the time in the world.
Coronavirus hasn’t gotten my spirits down! Even with the changes to my work environment, I’m enjoying the metadata assessment and staying busy! Hopefully soon I’ll be writing these blog updates from my desk in the office at Digital Collections. But until then, stay safe, stay happy, and please enjoy some images of my ‘helpful’ new coworkers!

