Curriculum Vitae Updated December 2011

CYNTHIA TOBAR, M.L.S., M.A.

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, METADATA LIBRARIAN

Mina Rees Library Phone: 212.817.7072

City University of New York Graduate Center ctobar@gc.cuny.edu

365 5th

Avenue

New York, NY 10016

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 museum’s 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

2008 MARAC Workshop Attendance Scholarship, Appraisal Theory and

Practice

2006 Everett Public Service Scholar Award, New School for Social Research

2003 Mensa Scholarship, New School for Social Research

2001-2002 Hispanic Scholarship Fund Award, New School for Social Research

1999-2001 Ronald E. McNair Scholar, Hunter College

SCHOLARSHIP/RESEARCH

Publications

Refereed Journal Articles

2009 Tobar, Cynthia. Arté 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 Religion and Revelry in Shakespeare's Festive World, Theatre Survey 53.1.

Multimedia

2012 Welfare Rights Initiative Digital Oral History Project.

http://wri-voices.org

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.

2010 Alice Guy Blaché: Cinema Pioneer edited by Joan Simon. Broadside, newsletter

for the Theatre Library Association, v. 38, n.1, Fall 2010 issue, p. 28.

2010 George O’Brien: A Man’s Man in Hollywood by David W. Menefee. Broadside,

newsletter for the Theatre Library Association, v. 37, n. 3, Summer 2010,

p. 21.

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.

2011 Tobar, Cynthia. “Welfare Reform.” Facts on File, Inc., 2010-2011. Women in

American History: An Encyclopedia New York: Facts On File.

2011 Tobar, Cynthia. Creating Harmony at Carnegie Hall, Performance! (newsletter

of the Society of American Archivists Performing Arts Roundtable),

Spring/Summer 2011, p.16-19.

2011 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.

2011 Tobar, Cynthia. March Workshop: An Introduction to EAC-CPF: Archival

Authority Control Metropolitan Archivist, v.17, n.2, Summer 2011, p. 31-

32.

2011 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/

2011 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.

2011 Tobar, Cynthia. Creating Harmony at Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Archivist, v.17,

n.1, Winter 2011, p. 10-13.

2011 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.

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/

2010 Tobar, Cynthia. April Workshop: Semantic Web: Linking Up Libraries and

Beyond, Metropolitan Archivist, v.16, n.2, Summer 2010, p. 29.

2009 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.

2009 Quoted in Member Feedback: ART’s Future, Metropolitan Archivist, v.15, n.2,

Summer 2009, p. 16-18.

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.

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.

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.

2010 Alum Community Leaders panel, Welfare Rights Initiative’s Community

Leadership Seminar, Invited panelist, Hunter College, December 8, 2010.

2010 Welfare Rights Initiative: A Digital Oral History Project, Invited talk, New Media

Lab general meeting, CUNY Graduate Center, November 16, 2010.

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.

2010 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.

2009 There’s More Than One Way to Enter the Room: Increasing Access to Digital

Collections, Invited talk, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, May 2009.

2000 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.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

2011- CUNY 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.

2010-2011 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.

2010 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.

2007-2008 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

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://gc-

cuny.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://gc-

cuny.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://gc-

cuny.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 Working-

Class 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, 2011-

Budget Committee, Library Association of the City University of New York, 2011-

Delegate, Library Association of the City University of New York, 2010-

Member, 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, 2010-

Member, GC Sustainability Committee, 2009-2011

Department Service

Member, Metadata and Digitization Committee (MDC), 2009-

SERVICE 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, co-

sponsored 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, 2010-

RELEVANT SKILLS, LICENSURES AND LANGUAGES

Technology: Omeka, Drupal, Collective Access, Wordpress, Expression Engine, HADES

(NYPL’s 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, Cataloger’s Desktop, MarcEdit.

Metadata Tools: MARC, RDA, EAD, XML, Dublin Core, DCRM(G), AACR2, DACS, APPM.

Languages: Fluent Spanish and working intermediate-knowledge of French.