Name: Irina SCHMID
Title: Ms
Job title: Instructor and Digital Collections Archivist, American University in Cairo
Organisation (if ICA Institutional membership): /
Country or Territory: Egypt
Region represented: Africa and the Arab Countries
Candidate Statement:
“My contributions will concentrate on digital preservation, data management, and preservation, assisting emerging specialists and/or experienced professionals. Because I speak two languages, English and Russian, I can share my knowledge with professionals from Europe, the Middle East, and Russia. Since 2020, I have directed the Digitization Center at American University in Cairo (AUC), which has seen skill development, technological advancements, changes in service delivery, increased awareness of digital preservation, and a shift toward project planning and management. Given that the Digitization Center’s primary activity is digital data generation, significant improvements have been made in data linking, data management, and data analytics to ensure that data usage and reuse objectives are achieved. The unit improved digital record-keeping, changed data access, and implemented long-term preservation methods, yielding data that is clear and unambiguous. Metadata was also updated to reflect best practices and professional standards, making it more logical, efficient, and searchable. These developments assisted the Center in improving customer service, responding competently to an ever-changing environment, managing ad hoc requests quickly and efficiently, presenting data clearly, and developing strong relationships with partners and key stakeholders. Building on our data management expertise, we intend to use data visualization to tell data stories that connect departmental and university requests to the growing volume of data. This will improve operational efficiency and ensure more consistent data storage plans.”
How can you make the voice of ICA regions underrepresented in PCOM heard?
“I believe that my work in Egypt would provide an excellent foundation for leading ICA in Africa and the Arab Region, as I am well aware of the challenges that archival management in this region faces. While working at American University in Cairo and interacting with various stakeholders (local and international), I discovered numerous gaps in understanding of best practices, as well as knowledge and expertise in metadata creation, digital preservation, and record management. Soft skills are inextricably linked with technological skills. If education and training lay the groundwork for standards and best practices, their effectiveness is determined by a person’s ability to learn new things and whether his or her soft knowledge is sufficient to complete tasks. Patchy knowledge, such as digital preservation and metadata, yields short-term returns, whereas comprehensive knowledge yields long-term gains. If we want our projects to have a long-term impact, we must invest in developing a strong understanding of best practices that people can easily comprehend. Yet, things tend to not be clear. I have noticed that the adoption of best practices is motivated by our perception of what is “best,” or what we believe to be “best” in our minds. However, archival work requires almost a scientific methodology, and a haphazard approach to data recording does not result in proper digital curation. I realized that changing people’s minds is more effective through storytelling than through policies, which some people have no comprehension of or are unwilling to read. Stories are easily remembered. And using stories that align with the project’s objectives will help us develop successful teaching approaches and achieve the project’s vision.”
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