Curriculum Vitae

Updated December 2011 CYNTHIA TOBAR, M.L.S., M.A. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, METADATA LIBRARIAN

Mina Rees Library City University of New York Graduate Center 365 5th Avenue New York, NY 10016

Phone: 212.817.7072 ctobar@gc.cuny.edu

EDUCATION M.L.S., Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science, May 2008 Certificate in Archival Management M.A., New School for Social Research, May 2006 Political Science Master's Thesis: The Social Movement Perspective Regarding NPOs: Using Resource Mobilization Theory to Understand Collective Action within NPOs in Puerto Rico. B.A., Hunter College, May 2001 English, Writing Concentration, Philosophy minor AREAS OF INTEREST AND SPECIALIZATION Special collections and archives (see PUBLICATIONS, SERVICE TO THE DISCIPLINE AND PROFESSION, SPECIAL PROJECTS) Documenting the context of memory, performing arts, community documentation, gender studies, attacks on memory, identity politics, crisis of representation, history and storytelling, media and print culture, social and political theory. (see PUBLICATIONS, SPECIAL PROJECTS, PRESENTATIONS) Digital preservation & metadata (see SERVICE TO THE DISCIPLINE AND PROFESSION, SPECIAL PROJECTS, PRESENTATIONS) EMPLOYMENT HISTORY Professional Appointments Mina Rees Library, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY Assistant Professor, Metadata Librarian, December 2009-present Catalog materials in all subjects and formats, with specialization in cataloging special collections, digital resources and other non-print formats. Perform original cataloging for CUNY Ph.D. theses. Supervise one full time employee and multiple interns.

Participate in digital project planning and implementation including the development of standards and best practices, creating metadata for digital resources. Assist patrons at the Reference Desk and at library workstations; serve as subject liaison to the Political Science, Sociology, Social Welfare and Theatre doctoral programs. Serve as back-up to the volunteer archivist. Assist with photo rights and reproduction requests.

Museum of the City of New York, New York, NY Senior Metadata Creator, June 2009 December 2009 Created descriptive and structural metadata in Argus museum database for prints and negatives for digitization for the museums Collections Portal. Evaluated and maintained quality control of metadata records in Argus museum database. Produced standards manual and transformed cataloging policies. Assisted Digital Project Coordinator with creation of controlled vocabularies, metadata schemas and properly encoding digital assets. Analyzed metadata needs and provide estimated metadata timeline for proposed projects. Supervised metadata creator and intern. Assisted with re-housing of photographs. New York Public Library, New York, NY Archivist/Cataloger, May 2008 May 2009 Arranged, described and preserved political, social, and historical archival collections for the Archives and Manuscripts division. Performed original and complex cataloging and classification of collections processed by archival staff. Conducted catalog maintenance and revision of records in various formats in OCLC, CATNYP and Millennium. Surveyed, arranged and described theatre and dance archival collections for the Wilson Processing Project. Created finding aids in EAD using Xmetal. Conducted inventories of music and theatre archival collections. Performed original cataloging and classification in OCLC, CATNYP and Millennium of archival collections processed by archival staff. Created item-level records for rare books. Participated in the planning and execution of preservation projects. Entered descriptive metadata of Circle in the Square Records photographs for NYPL Digital Gallery. Project Archivist, Jan. 2007 - Apr. 2008 Arranged, described and preserved image and archival collections at the Billy Rose Theatre Division. Participated in accessioning and surveying collections, planning and execution of collection moves, preservation projects and field assessment of collections under consideration for acquisition. Marked up finding aids in EAD using XML and created catalog record. Provided reference assistance to patrons. Worked with design and digital consultants in creating databases and digital metadata for Lighting Archive , adhering to timeline of NYS Council of the Arts grant.

Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn, NY Library and Archives Assistant, October 2007 March 2008 Inventoried and cataloged rare books, serials, ephemera and library materials. Maintained image collection subject guide and cataloged images in PastPerfect museum database. Scanned photographs for patron requests and researched images for museum exhibition. Surveyed new accessions and processed manuscript collections. Conducted conservation survey of Reading Room stacks. Provided reference assistance to patrons. Vera Institute of Justice, New York, NY Knowledge Management Assistant, May 2006 August 2006 Provided bibliographic instruction and researched key issues in juvenile justice policy and practice and edited documents for Vera staff. Assisted in Inter-library loan and developed collection development policy. Formulated user surveys and focus groups for Vera users. Expanded list and budget for print and online journal subscriptions. Developed effective serials control program, including check-in system and retention guidelines. Teaching Experience Pratt Institute, School of Information and Library Science, New York, NY Graduate Teaching Assistant, September 2006 December 2006 Class: LIS 653 Knowledge Organization Provided Instructor of Knowledge Organization course with technical assistance for presentations. Researched articles in cataloging/metadata creation and subject analysis. Communicated class assignments and procedures to students, providing additional instruction to students as necessary. NYC Teaching Fellow, New York, NY English Language Arts/ESL Teacher, 2004 - 2005 Student-taught Remedial English for summer school course for students at Bushwick High School in Brooklyn. Designed and taught English Language Arts curriculum for sixth grade students at Joseph Pulitzer Middle School, IS 145 in Jackson Heights, Queens. Composed and graded exams, quizzes and papers. Designed and taught English as a Second Language course for summer school course for incoming high school students at Newcomers High School/Academy for New Americans High school in Long Island City, N.Y. ACADEMIC AWARDS AND HONORS 2009-present Beta Phi Mu, Theta Chapter (library school honorary society)

2008

GATEWAI (Graduate Archives Training and Education Work & Information) Scholar, Pratt Institute MARAC Workshop Attendance Scholarship, Appraisal Theory and Practice Everett Public Service Scholar Award, New School for Social Research Mensa Scholarship, New School for Social Research Hispanic Scholarship Fund Award, New School for Social Research Ronald E. McNair Scholar, Hunter College

2008

2006 2003 2001-2002 1999-2001

SCHOLARSHIP/RESEARCH Publications Refereed Journal Articles 2009 Tobar, Cynthia. Art Cubano: A Reference Guide to Cuban Art Resources at the New York Public Library, Art Documentation v. 28 no. 2 (Fall 2009) p. 67-71.

Refereed Book Chapters 2012 Tobar, Cynthia. Documenting the Untold Stories of Feminist Activists at Welfare Rights Initiative: A Digital Oral History Archive Project. Recent Developments in the Design, Construction and Evaluation of Digital Libraries, eds. Cool, Colleen and Dr. Ng, Kwong Bor. Forthcoming in IGI Global.

Refereed Reviews 2012 Multimedia 2012 Welfare Rights Initiative Digital Oral History Project. http://wri-voices.org Religion and Revelry in Shakespeare's Festive World, Theatre Survey 53.1.

Nonrefereed Articles 2011 Tobar, Cynthia. Music to My Ears: The New York Philharmonic Digital Archives, D-Lib Magazine, 17. (July/August ). Accessed September 29, 2011. http://www.dlib.org/dlib/july11/tobar/07tobar.html

Book Reviews 2011 Sarah: The Life of Sarah Bernhardt by Robert Gottlieb. Broadside, newsletter for the Theatre Library Association, v. 38, n.2, Spring 2011 issue, p. 21. Alice Guy Blach: Cinema Pioneer edited by Joan Simon. Broadside, newsletter for the Theatre Library Association, v. 38, n.1, Fall 2010 issue, p. 28. George OBrien: A Mans Man in Hollywood by David W. Menefee. Broadside, newsletter for the Theatre Library Association, v. 37, n. 3, Summer 2010, p. 21.

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Other Articles 2011 Tobar, Cynthia. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Facts on File, Inc. 2010-2011. Women in American History: An Encyclopedia New York: Facts On File. Tobar, Cynthia. Welfare Reform. Facts on File, Inc., 2010-2011. Women in American History: An Encyclopedia New York: Facts On File. Tobar, Cynthia. Creating Harmony at Carnegie Hall, Performance! (newsletter of the Society of American Archivists Performing Arts Roundtable), Spring/Summer 2011, p.16-19. Tobar, Cynthia. TLA Symposium III: Holding Up the Mirror: Authenticity and Adaptation in Shakespeare Today, Broadside, newsletter for the Theatre Library Association, v. 38, n. 2, Spring/Summer 2011 issue, p. 7-11. Tobar, Cynthia. March Workshop: An Introduction to EAC-CPF: Archival Authority Control Metropolitan Archivist, v.17, n.2, Summer 2011, p. 3132. Tobar, Cynthia. Shanghai Surprise, LACUNY News, Vol. 29, n.2, Winter 2010/2011. December 2010. Accessed June 13, 2011. http://lacuny.org/news/winter10/2011/03/07/shanghai-surprise/ Tobar, Cynthia. Documenting Ephemeral Performance at the BAM Archives, Performance! (newsletter of the Society of American Archivists Performing Arts Roundtable), Winter 2010/2011, p. 16-18. Tobar, Cynthia. Creating Harmony at Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Archivist, v.17, n.1, Winter 2011, p. 10-13. Tobar, Cynthia. October Workshop: Born-Digital AV: A Primer for Archivists and Caretakersof Moving Image and Sound Collections Metropolitan Archivist, v.17, n.1, Spring 2011, p. 32.

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2010

Tobar, Cynthia. Semantic Web: Linking Up Libraries and Beyond, LACUNY News, Vol. 29, n.1, May 2010. Accessed September 9, 2010. http://lacuny.org/news/spring10/semantic-web-linking-libraries-and-beyond/ Tobar, Cynthia. April Workshop: Semantic Web: Linking Up Libraries and Beyond, Metropolitan Archivist, v.16, n.2, Summer 2010, p. 29. Tobar, Cynthia. ART Workshop: Digital Asset Management and Institutional Repositories: Case Studies Addressing the Development and Implementation of Systems, Metropolitan Archivist, v.14, n.1, Winter 2009, p. 30. Quoted in Member Feedback: ARTs Future, Metropolitan Archivist, v.15, n.2, Summer 2009, p. 16-18.

2010

2009

2009

Works in Progress In prep: Finding their voices: The Untold Stories of Feminist Activists at Welfare Rights Initiative, Oral History Review (Forthcoming) In prep: Metadata policy implementation. Co-authored with Dalia Leonardo. (Forthcoming) In prep: From memory studies to memory work: Investigating the moral implications of digital appraisal and collection development for archivists. PRESENTATIONS 2011 Changing Trends in Collecting, Preserving, and Accessing Performing Arts Archives session, Chair, Society of American Archivists Meeting, Chicago, IL, August 26, 2011. Omeka as a Tool for Developing Digital Library Projects, Invited presentation, CUNY Digital Humanities Initiative (CUNY DHI) meeting, CUNY Graduate Center, February 9, 2011. Grassroots Organizing and Working-Class Feminist Activism at Welfare Rights Initiative: A Digital Oral History Archive Project, Invited presentation, New Media Lab general meeting, CUNY Graduate Center, January 25, 2011. Alum Community Leaders panel, Welfare Rights Initiatives Community Leadership Seminar, Invited panelist, Hunter College, December 8, 2010. Welfare Rights Initiative: A Digital Oral History Project, Invited talk, New Media Lab general meeting, CUNY Graduate Center, November 16, 2010. Metadata vs. Cataloging: How is this different from cataloging?, Moderator/panelist, Metro Digitization Special Interest Group meeting, Metropolitan New York Library Council, November 11, 2010.

2011

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Descriptive Metadata for Digital and Non-Bibliographic Materials: Implications for Archives & Special Collections session, Moderator/chair, New York Archives Conference, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY, June 4, 2010. Theres More Than One Way to Enter the Room: Increasing Access to Digital Collections, Invited talk, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, May 2009. Gender Tensions in Civil Rights Organizations of the 60s: Case-studies of the NWRO and SNCC, Ronald E. McNair Annual Conference, Conference paper presentation, Wisconsin, May 2000.

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2000

SPECIAL PROJECTS 2011CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, City College. Metadata/Digital Media consultant for the Spanish Paleography Digital Teaching and Learning Tool project, in collaboration with the Hispanic Society of America as part of a National Endowment for the Humanities Level-2 Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant. Mina Rees Library, CUNY Graduate Center. In collaboration with Mina Rees librarians, developed metadata standards, best practices, and metadata creation for Remember Me to Herald Square: Thirty-fourth Street from River to River digital exhibit. CUNY Graduate Center, Center for the Humanities. Consulted on the development of current and emerging trends, issues and best practices in tools and technologies related to digital repositories and digital collection development for the Lost & Found Archive faculty, administrators and staff. The New York Public Library. Collections processed and finding aids made available for public access. Tobar, Cynthia. Guide to the Aldyn McKean Papers, 1978-1994. Aldyn McKean Papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library, October 2008. http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/mckeana.pdf Tobar, Cynthia. Guide to the Carol Lynn Papers, 1896-1959, (S) *MGZMD 209, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, July 2008. http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/danlynn.pdf Tobar, Cynthia. Guide to the Bertha Kalich Papers, 1866-1955,*T-Mss 1991-005, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, June 2008. http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/thekalic.pdf

2010-2011

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2007-2008

Tobar, Cynthia. Guide to the Dale Harris Papers, 1939-1995, (S) *MGZMD 201, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, May 2008. http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/danHarris.pdf Tobar, Cynthia. Guide to the Peter Wexler Photographs and Designs,*T-Vim 1998-044, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, February 2008. http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/THEwexler.pdf Emmons, Beverly, Knowles, Barbara and Tobar, Cynthia. Richard Nelson Papers and Designs, *T-VIM 2000-014. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 2007. http://www.nypl.org/ead/4903 2008 Brooklyn Historical Society. Collections processed and finding aids made available for public access. Tobar, Cynthia. Guide to the William Patton Griffith Papers, 1861-1937. Brooklyn Historical Society, ArMs 2006.030, April 2008. http://gccuny.academia.edu/documents/0077/0095/arms_2006_030_william_patton_griffit h_papers.pdf Tobar, Cynthia. Guide to the Amote Sias Papers, 1945-1993. Brooklyn Historical Society, ArMs 2008.017, March 2008. http://gccuny.academia.edu/documents/0077/0099/arms_2008_017_amote_sias_papers.pd f Tobar, Cynthia. Guide to the Theatre Collection, 1733-1939. Brooklyn Historical Society, ArMs 1977.041, February 2008. http://gccuny.academia.edu/documents/0077/0093/arms_1977_041_theatre_collection.pdf 2007 The New York Public Library, Theatrical Lighting Database, Digital Metadata consultant for New York State Council of the Arts funded project. http://lightingdb.nypl.org/

SUBJECT RESPONSIBILITIES Political Science Library Guide: http://libguides.gc.cuny.edu/political_science Sociology Library Guide: http://libguides.gc.cuny.edu/sociology Social Welfare Library Guide: http://libguides.gc.cuny.edu/social_welfare Theatre Library Guide: http://libguides.gc.cuny.edu/theatre

Library/Bibliographic workshop: Theatre Research and Bibliography (Professor Judith Milhous); September 2010. GRANTS 2011-2012 PSC-CUNY Enhanced Research Award, Grassroots Organizing and WorkingClass Feminist Activism at Welfare Rights Initiative: A Digital Oral History Archive Project, 2011-2012 ($10,277.44).

SERVICE TO THE INSTITUTION University Service Institute Planning Committee, Library Association of the City University of New York, 2011Budget Committee, Library Association of the City University of New York, 2011Delegate, Library Association of the City University of New York, 2010Member, Emerging Technologies Committee, 2010 Organized Semantic Web: Linking Up Libraries and Beyond workshop for Emerging Technologies Committee, Graduate Center, April 10, 2010. Co-chair, Junior Faculty Research Roundtable, 2010-2012 Organized the following: Tenure information session, Graduate Center, January 24, 2012. Networking skills for academic librarians, Graduate Center, October 24, 2011. Organizational meeting/Networking skills, Graduate Center, May 17, 2011. Grant-writing/funding session, Graduate Center, March 22, 2011. PSC-CUNY grant information session, co-sponsored with the Professional Development Committee at Graduate Center, December 17, 2010. Open Access meeting at Borough of Manhattan Community College, Nov. 9, 2010. JFRR Business/Organizational meeting at Graduate Center, September 8, 2010. College Service Library Representative, New Media Lab, 2010Member, GC Sustainability Committee, 2009-2011 Department Service Member, Metadata and Digitization Committee (MDC), 2009SERVICE TO THE DISCIPLINE AND PROFESSION American Theatre Archive Project (ATAP); 2010 New York City Team Co-Chair, 2010-Present. https://sites.google.com/site/atapnyc/ Web Committee Member, 2010-Present. http://americantheatrearchiveproject.org/ Archivists Roundtable of New York (ART-NY); 2008 Chair, Certified Archivists (CA) Exam Committee, 2010

Co-organizer, Academy of Certified Archivists Accreditation meeting; Fashion Institute of Technology, October 18, 2010. Discussion group, 2010-Present Co-facilitator, Creative Uses of Archival Collections discussion at the CUNY Graduate Center on September 19, 2011. Education Coordinator, 2009-2011 Organized the following workshops: An Introduction to EAC-CPF: Archival Authority Control presented by Daniel Pitti at the Fashion Institute of Technology, March 7, 2011. Taxonomy & Metadata: Not just for DAMS workshop at Trinity Church on January 4, 2011. Raising Private Monies to Support Archival Programs, co-sponsored with the Society of American Archivists and held at Trinity Church, on November 19, 2010. Born-Digital AV: A Primer for Archivists and Caretakers of Moving Image and Sound Collections, co-sponsored with and held at METRO on October 6, 2010. Introduction to Digital Libraries and Digital Archives, co-sponsored with the Society of American Archivists and held at the American Numismatic Society on April 30, 2010. Semantic Web: Linking Up Libraries and Beyond, co-sponsored with LACUNY and METRO, at the Skylight Room, CUNY Graduate Center on April 10, 2010. Accessing Oral Histories at Brooklyn Historical Society on November 19, 2009. Implementing More Product, Less Process, co-sponsored with the Society of American Archivists, at American Numismatic Society on October 13, 2009. Using Omeka to Build Digital Collections for Libraries and Archives, cosponsored with and held at METRO on September 11, 2009. Education Committee member, 2008-2009 Organized the following sessions: Understanding Photographs: Introduction to Archival Principles and Practices workshop, which was co-sponsored with the Society of American Archivists, at the New York Public Library on May 7-8, 2009. Digital Asset Management and Institutional Repositories: Case Studies Addressing the Development and Implementation of Systems workshop at NYU Kimmel Center on November 10, 2008. Using the Archivists Toolkit (AT)* in Archives and Special Collections workshop held at New York Public Library on April 10, 2008. Metropolitan NYC Regional Library and Information Organization coalition representative, 2009-2010. New York Archives Conference planning sub-committee, 2009-Present Organized Descriptive Metadata for Digital and Non-Bibliographic Materials: Implications for Archives & Special Collections panel for the New York Archives Conference at Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY on June 4, 2010.

Metropolitan Library Council (METRO) Digital Services Advisory Council, 2008 Digitization Special Interest Group, Co-convener, 2009-Present Organized the following sessions held at METRO:

Semantic Technologies & Linked Data for Digitized Collections, March 7, 2012. Digitizing Workhorse Collections: The Benefits and Obstacles of Digitizing Heavily Used Collections, October 20, 2011. Digital Preservation, May 31, 2011. Introducing the Newly Re-designed OCLC CONTENTdm, May 16, 2011. Metadata vs. Cataloging: How is this different from cataloging? November 11, 2010. Basic Imaging for DIY Digitization Projects, October 7, 2010. Next Generation ILS, in collaboration with Library 2.0 Special Interest Group, May 5, 2010.

Society of American Archivists (SAA), 2007 Performing Arts Roundtable, Steering Committee, 2010-Present Proposed, organized and chaired Changing Trends in Preserving and Accessing Performing Arts Archives panel for Archives 360: Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archivists Meeting in Chicago, August 22-27, 2011. Co-founder/President: Student chapter of SAA at Pratt, 2007-2008. Theatre Library Association (TLA), 2010 TLA Board member, 2011-Present TLA Book Awards, Co-Chair, 2011-Present Symposium III-Holding Up the Mirror: Authenticity and Adaptation in Shakespeare Today, Publicity committee member, 2011 TLA Book Awards committee member, 2010 PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS Archivists Roundtable of New York (ART-NY) Library Association of the City University of New York (LACUNY) Metropolitan Library Council (METRO) Society of American Archivists (SAA) Special Libraries Association (SLA) Theatre Library Association (TLA) RELATED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, New York University, New York, NY Event Coordinator, 2006 Planned and implemented the Human Rights and Jurisdiction in Latin America Seminar Series; met strategic goals of the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center. Conceptualized themes, presented ideas, researched requests, assessed feasibility, and made recommendations to ensure the implementation of a successful, targeted event. Consulted with Director and Associate Director on management of the large-scale event; researched vendors, options, pricing structures, etc. Projected expenses; determined staffing, space, and equipment needs.

Milano Graduate School of Urban Policy, New School University, New York, NY Project Coordinator, 2001 2003 Assisted Director with contracts, grant routing and proposal submission to Development Office. Assisted Community Development Fellow and Milano Finance Lab staff with annual conference coordination, course planning and implementation. Coordinated the production of edited business plans and other publications with Finance Lab director, fellows and support staff; conducted research on foundations and banking institutions. Coordinated production of The Milano Review; acted as liaison between Editor, publication houses, graphic designer and authors; followed up with collaborating authors for timely release of articles for journal entry. Acquired necessary permissions to reprint articles from publication houses; edited drafts of publication copy. SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY Welfare Rights Initiative, Alum Advisory Board, 2010RELEVANT SKILLS, LICENSURES AND LANGUAGES Technology: Omeka, Drupal, Collective Access, Wordpress, Expression Engine, HADES (NYPLs metadata creation interface), Xmetal, Oxygen, Archivists Toolkit, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, PastPerfect, Argus, Windows 98/NT/00/XP, MAC OSX, HTML, PHP, CSS, ease with creating and using wikis, blogs and RSS feeds. Cataloging Tools: Aleph, OCLC Connexion, Innovative Interfaces' Millennium and Geac Advance library systems, Catalogers Desktop, MarcEdit. Metadata Tools: MARC, RDA, EAD, XML, Dublin Core, DCRM(G), AACR2, DACS, APPM. Languages: Fluent Spanish and working intermediate-knowledge of French.