Laura M. Gentry

Welcome to my digital resume for the webmaster position. Let's explore how my experience makes me the ideal candidate for the position and the value I can bring to the Birmingham Public Library.

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Vision

As the webmaster, my vision is to curate a multi-faceted online presence that presents information in a user-friendly way, enhances knowledge discovery, fosters digital literacy, and ultimately meets the needs of internal and external users.

Education

Master of Library & Information Science, Wayne State University, 2014

Master of Arts in History, The University of Alabama, 2008

Bachelor of Arts in History & Secondary Education, Ouachita Baptist University, 2006

Achievements

Improving Processes Through Technology

Transitioned branch programming and meeting room bookings to shared Outlook calendars.
Created an internal online passport booking system using Microsoft Bookings.
Initiated statistics for digital content production and web traffic in Google Analytics in LibInsight.
Implemented project management tracking in Trello.
Selected and purchased LSTA grant-funded overhead scanner and two digital microfilm scanners.

Digital Curation

Oversaw the migration of 556 digital collections consisting of 136,328 items totaling 526,461 images/audio files to CONTENTdm. Transformed existing MODS metadata to Dublin Core. Added OCR. Re-routed existing persistent URLs to CONTENTdm. Added finding aid URLs in metadata to direct users to ArchivesSpace.
Led a team that added 49 new collections that included 4,810 items consisting of 48,748 images/audio files to CONTENTdm.
Implemented redaction for personally identifiable information for contemporary LGBTQ+ digital collections.
Set up CONTENTdm's metadata harvesting using OAI-PMH for EBSCO Discovery Service and WorldCat Digital Collection Gateway.
Built Campus Historical Markers digital exhibit in Omeka and added GIS using Google Maps.
Created text-based and born-digital submission questionnaire using Qualtrics for Still Tide Together: Documenting Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Served as grant personnel for the National Endowment for the Humanities/Library of Congress National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) grant, wrote the vendor request for proposal, transformed NDNP-compliant metadata, and used existing PDFs with OCR to create newspaper digital collections containing 100,810 pages in CONTENTdm.
Formed a digitization partnership with FamilySearch resulting in the digitization of 207 rare books.

Programming & Publicity

Started thirty minute one-on-one Teach Me Tech appointments.
Started offering an ACT workshop, managed Eventbrite ticketing, and attracted Jefferson County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority as a financial partner to offset the cost to BPL.
5,000+ attendees at adult and teen programs during tenure as librarian II at Springville Road Regional Branch.
Created a monthly e-mail blast and grew subscribers by 75% to over 800+ people.
Doubled the number of Southern History’s Facebook likes from 500 to 1,000+ in two years.

Professional Contributions

Selected Publications & Presentations

Gentry, L.M. (2021). Digital Collections at a Distance: Telework during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Library Resources & Technical Services, 65(2), 65-75. https://doi.org/10.5860/lrts.65n2.65-75.
Gentry, L.M., Ryan, E., Rayman, J., & Bace, M. (2021). How to Wrangle Multiple Discrete Collections from One Donor: A Case Study of the Subject-based Physical and Digital Consolidation of the Wade Hall Collections. The American Archivist, 84(1), 62-90. https://doi.org/10.17723/0360-9081-84.1.62.
Gentry, L.M. (2021). Seeking Equal Justice: The Legal Cases of Freeman Long, alias John Thomas. Alabama Review 74(4), 296-322. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/ala.2021.0034.
Gentry, L.M., Topham, K., Strohm, A., Corrin, J., Allen, A.L. (2020). Rethinking Repositories for Digital Scholarship: A Novel Approach to Ensuring Access, Sustainability, and Serviceability. Virtual panel for Association of College and Research Libraries Digital Scholarship Section.
Gentry, L.M., Walton, D., Aaron, H., Olliff, M., Taylor, J. (2020). Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic, Virtual panel for Society of Alabama Archivists Annual Meeting.
Gentry, L.M. (2020). Digital Collections at a Distance. Association for Library Collections and Technical Services, Technical Services, American Library Association Annual Meeting.
Madway, L., Gentry, L.M., Kincaid, J. (2019). Tales of a New Awardee, National Digital Newspaper Program Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.
Gentry, L.M. (2019). Inside A Migration: A Reversed User Experience, CONTENTdm Users Group Meeting, Indianapolis, IN.
Gentry, L.M., Allee, E. K., Barnett, C. & Ellis, M. (2019). Can I Digitize This?: Making Alabama’s Unique Books Accessible Through FamilySearch, Alabama Library Association, Point Clear, AL.
Gentry, L.M., Newbill, M., & Ellis, M. (2017). Bringing the Bicentennial to You. Alabama Library Association Convention, Montgomery, AL.
Gentry, L.M., Newbill, M., & Ellis, M. (2016). Driving into Digital Exhibits with The Birmingham Public Library. Alabama Library Association Convention, Gadsden, AL.
Gentry, L.M. & Newbill, M. (2015). Digital Exhibits: Finding a Platform That Fits for The Birmingham Public Library. Digitorium, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL.
Chidsey, C., Gentry, L.M., Diaz, M., Kietur, K., Maynard, A., Mosseri, A., & Whitmore, C. (2013). Fedora Commons or DSpace: A Comparison for Institutional Digital Content Repositories. Digital Preservation hosted by the National Digital Stewardship Alliance, Washington D.C.
Gentry, L.M. & Whitmore, C. (2014). Web Archiving: Capturing Best Practices and Tools. Poster presented at Digital Preservation hosted by the National Digital Stewardship Alliance, Washington D.C.
Gentry, L.M., Chidsey, C., Diaz, M., Maynard, A., Mosseri, A., & Whitmore, C. (2014). Data Implementation at a Distance: A Collaborative Partnership at Wayne State Utilizing Fedora Commons and DSpace. Poster presented at International Data Curation, San Francisco, CA.