Next in our series of interviews with Digital Library Program staff. Today, William (Bill) Ghezzi, Digital Production & Metadata Librarian, answers questions about his work.

What does a Digital Production & Metadata Librarian do?
As Digital Production Manager I work closely with the Digital Library Program and staff in the Digital Production Unit to plan and execute scanning and photographic projects for the Library. A large part of the digital production aspect of my work is project management. I convene the DLP Production Group where we design workflows, troubleshoot problems, share information, and generally shepherd projects through the DLP process. As Metadata Librarian, I work in Cataloging & Metadata Services to design and implement workflows for the creation of metadata for print and digital content. Our primary task in Metadata Services is to create a metadata database of record for all of our digital collections and publications.

How did you get here? That is, what was your path to becoming a Digital Production & Metadata Librarian here at Dartmouth?
I am in my twentieth year in the Library. I began as a Librarian in the Catalog Department. I worked with Cataloging staff on original cataloging of books, music scores, sound recordings, serials, and electronic resources. My work entirely focused on the Dartmouth College Library Catalog. Over the years, as we began to license more electronic resources, the focus of my work became more closely connected with digital resources and electronic resource management. In 2012, my position changed to half time as Metadata Librarian and half time as Digital Production Manager.

What’s a notable (interesting, challenging, unusual) project that you’ve worked on recently?
I would have to say the Stone Family Papers was one of the more interesting recent projects, mainly because it demonstrates the collaborative nature of the Digital Program. The Digital Production Unit worked closely with the Library Conservator to prepare and photograph the manuscripts. The DLP Production Group worked with the Digital Library Technologies Group and Cataloging & Metadata Services to develop a new local image viewing software to deliver the images online. We like to describe the work of the Digital Program as distributed across departments, and the Stone Family Papers project exemplifies that collaborative process.

What do you wish that most people knew about digital production?
The Digital Production Unit is in a secured area in the Library. This is to protect some of the valuable materials that we work with. I wish more people were able to just walk into the department and see what we are up to. Certainly, I welcome anyone who would like to learn more about what we do to come and visit. Just email me and I can set something up.

Who are you when you’re not being a Digital Production & Metadata Librarian?
For almost fifty years now, I have been performing and teaching the classical guitar. There is more about that at my website.

Are there innovative or transformative digital projects that other institutions have done that make you think “why don’t we try something like that here at Dartmouth?” (question from Mina)
There is a small interest group in the Library investigating linked open data. We spent some time looking at Linked Jazz, a site that considers jazz history through the many connections and relationships between jazz musicians. It’s a great site to learn about jazz, jazz musicians, and linked data at the same time.

What question would you like another member of the Digital Library Program staff to answer?
What’s the most unusual item that you’ve come across in your work with the DLP?