Deborah Gurt, MA, MLIS, CA the Doy Leale Mccall Rare Book and Manuscript Library University of South Alabama [email protected]

Deborah Gurt, MA, MLIS, CA the Doy Leale Mccall Rare Book and Manuscript Library University of South Alabama Dgurt@Southalabama.Edu

Deborah Gurt, MA, MLIS, CA The Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library University of South Alabama [email protected]

EDUCATION

Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ Master of Library and Information Science, 2014

Gratz College Melrose Park, PA Master of Arts in Jewish Studies, 2010

University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI Bachelor of Arts with distinction, Honors in Judaic Studies, 1994

EXPERIENCE

University of South Alabama, McCall Library Mobile, AL Interim Director, Assistant Librarian Sept 2019-present Develop collections and services to support the strategic goals of the archives and university. Coordinate accessioning and processing of incoming collections. Oversee digitization program prioritizing preservation of and access to resources. Provide research support to patrons on-premises and remotely. Supervise staff and student workers. Curate and mount exhibits and develop public programming. Actively promote scholarly and instructional use of archives resources through research, collaboration, instruction, and community outreach.

University of South Alabama, McCall Library Mobile, AL Processing and Digital Archivist, Assistant Librarian Jan 2017-Aug 2019 Accession and processing of incoming collections, arranging and describing archival materials for use. Digitize resources for preservation and access. Manage website and social media feeds while gathering and analyzing user metrics. Assist researchers on-premises and remotely. Supervise archives staff. Curate and mount exhibits. Collaborate with teaching faculty to promote scholarly and instructional use of archives resources. Research best practices and develop new projects to increase use of and improve access to holdings.

Emory University, Rose Manuscript Archives and Rare Book Library Atlanta, GA Georgia Archives Institute Intern June 19-21, 2018 Appraisal, preservation, arrangement and description of The Great Speckled Bird Records.

University of Southern Mississippi, University Libraries Hattiesburg, MS The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi - Project Cataloger Feb 2015- April 2016 Created original catalog records for a collection of 415 unique oral history interviews. Performed metadata enhancement for these Digital Collections objects. Spearheaded a special cataloging project of foreign language children’s books for the De Grummond Collection.

University of Southern Mississippi, Dept. of Philosophy and Religion Hattiesburg, MS Adjunct Professor Jan 2013–May 2014 Taught four sections of REL 131 Comparative World Religion. Prepared and delivered lectures and assignments, facilitated discussions, advised students, evaluated student work.

University of Southern Mississippi, Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage Intern Jan 2013–May 2013 Collaborated with Digital Library staff to develop, refine, and implement new metadata standards for the Center’s digital collection. Drafted metadata for approximately 300 interviews, doubling the size of the online collection. Created a workflow document for use by future interns and staff. Conducted oral history interviews for a pilot project documenting the Jewish community in Hattiesburg.

PUBLICATIONS

• Gurt, D. (2020). Surveying the Bounds of Religious Tolerance: Community-Based Archives and the Jewish Mobile Oral History Project. The Quest for Democracy 100 Years of Struggle: 54th Annual Meeting of the Oral History Association. Oral History Association. https://oralhistory.aviaryplatform.com/collections/1110/collection_resources/31446 • Gurt, D. (2019). Speaking of Africatown: a case study in community-university partnership in archiving. Society of American Archivists Research Forum, 1–7. Retrieved from https://www2.archivists.org/sites/all/files/Gurt_SAA_2018_final_rev219.pdf • Gurt, D. (2018, Summer) “Joseph Bloch: The Father of Mobile's Music.” The Rambler, 22 (3), 5. • Gurt, D. (2018) "United States Holocaust Memorial Museum," Reference Reviews, Vol. 32 Issue: 2, 32, https://doi.org/10.1108/RR-10-2017-0196 • Gurt, D. (2012) “‘A story without an end’: Yiddish writing in Australia, 1933-1950” in A Story Without an End, ed. Joseph M. Davis. Gratz College, Philadelphia, PA. • Gurt, D. (2011) “The Impact of Melbourne’s Yiddishists,” Australian Jewish Historical Society Journal, 20(3), 444-459.

PRESENTATIONS & EXHIBITS

• Gurt, D., Oral History Association Annual Meeting, "Surveying the bounds of religious tolerance: Community-based archives and the Jewish Mobile Oral History Project," Oral History Association, Baltimore/virtual. (October 22, 2020). • Gurt, D., Oral History Association Annual Meeting, ""Not all sequins and glitter:" Queering the archives through oral history," Salt Lake City, Utah. (October 17, 2019). • Gurt, D., Teaching Undergraduates with Archives, “Speaking of Africatown: a case study in art, conversation, and community.” University of Michigan Symposium, Ann Abor, Michigan, (November 7-9, 2018). • Gurt, D., Society of American Archivists Research Forum, “Speaking of Africatown: a case study in art, conversation, and community.” Society of American Archivists Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, (August 14, 2018.)

• Exhibit: Palaemon Press Limited 1975-86. September 2019. University of South Alabama Marx Library, Mobile, Alabama. • Exhibit: Joseph Bloch: Father of Mobile’s Music. September-October, 2019, Temple B’nai Israel, Hattiesburg, Mississippi. • Exhibit: Joseph Bloch: Father of Mobile’s Music. April-May, 2019, Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama. • Exhibit: Robert Eugene Bell: An Ordinary Extraordinary Man. April 1-May 31, 2019, University of South Alabama. • Exhibit: Joseph Bloch: Father of Mobile’s Music. February 1-March 12, 2019, Springhill Avenue Temple, Mobile, Alabama. • Exhibit: Joseph Bloch: Father of Mobile’s Music. November 1-30, 2018, Troy University Library, Troy, Alabama. • Exhibit: Mobile’s Jewish Community: At home in the South. October-November, 2018, University of South Alabama. • Exhibit: Alabama Corrections. Sponsored by Common Read/Common World Program, September- October 2018, University of South Alabama Student Center, Mobile Alabama. • Exhibit: Joseph Bloch: Father of Mobile’s Music. September 2018, Congregation Ahavas Chesed, Mobile, Alabama. • Exhibit: Joseph Bloch: Father of Mobile’s Music. May-August, 2018, History Museum of Mobile, Mobile, Alabama. • Exhibit: Joseph Bloch: Father of Mobile’s Music. April 11-13, 2018, Alabama Library Association Convention, Florence, AL. • Exhibit: African Roots and the Art of Israel Lewis III, January 10-February 28, 2018, University of South Alabama. • Exhibit: The Broad View: Erik Overbey’s Panoramas, September 2017, University of South Alabama. • Exhibit: Robert E. Bell Collection, May 1-June 30, 2017, University of South Alabama. • Exhibit: Agnes Tennenbaum: A legacy of learning, April 1-30, 2017, University of South Alabama. • Gurt, D. “Speaking of Africatown: a case study in art, conversation, and community.” Conference on Teaching and Learning, University of South Alabama, (May 7-8, 2018.) Poster presentation • Gurt, D. “Speaking of Africatown: a case study in art, conversation, and community.” Alabama Library Association Convention, Florence, Alabama. (April 12, 2018.) Poster presentation • Exhibit: Capturing Light: Snapshots from the History of Photography, July 1-August 31, 2017, University of South Alabama. • Gurt, D. “Agnes Tennenbaum: Life and Legacy.” Presented at OdysseyUSA Luncheon, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama. (May 19, 2017.) Invited Presentation. • Exhibit: War and Remembrance on the Alabama Gulf Coast, January 17-February 27, 2017, University of South Alabama. (In conjunction with Center for the Study of War and Memory.)

Intellectual Contributions In Submission

• Gurt, D., Cooke, K. J. Building Archives and Creating Conversation: Under-Represented Voices from North America's Amazon. In Building Representative Archives: History, Memory, Community. Crummé, H. C., ed. American Library Association Press. Expected 2021.

AWARDS AND GRANTS

Funded:

• Gurt, D. (Co-Principal), Cooke, K. J. (Principal), Jackson, K. M. (Co-Principal), Messenger, D. A. (Co-Principal), "Immersive Civic Learning through Local and Community History: Emerging University Scholars and the Communities of Southern Alabama," Sponsored by David Mathews Center for Civic Learning, External to the University, $5,000.00. (August 15, 2020 - August 31, 2021).

• Gurt, D. (Principal), Meola, D. A. (Supporting), “The Jewish Mobile Oral History Project,” Sponsored by the Alabama Humanities Foundation, External to the University, $7,000. (February 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020).

• Gurt, D. (Supporting), Cooke, K. (Principal), Marshall, D. A. (Principal), Jackson, K. M. (Supporting), Hamilton, M. L. (Supporting), Finch, B. (Supporting), "Sharing Stories: Oral History in Blakeley Bluff and the Greater Mobile Tensaw Delta," Sponsored by The Alabama Humanities Foundation, External to the University, $6,400. (April 1, 2019 - May 31, 2020).

• Gurt, D. (Principal), "Seed Grant in Support of the Arts and Humanities," Sponsored by University of South Alabama, Internal to the University, $1,500.00. (November 1, 2017 - October 31, 2018).

• Gurt, D. (Principal), Webb, P. L. (Co-Principal), Meola, D. A. (Co-Principal), "Project Completion Grant," Sponsored by Southern Jewish Historical Society, External to the University, $1,000.00. (August 1, 2017 - July 18, 2018).

LANGUAGES

French – intermediate reading and conversational fluency Hebrew – basic reading and conversational fluency Yiddish – basic decoding skills

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS & CERTIFICATIONS

Oral History Association (2020-present) Academy of Certified Archivists (2019-2024) Southern Jewish Historical Society (2017-present) Society of American Archivists (2017-present) o College and University Archives Section o Oral History Section

o Archives Management Section o Manuscript Repositories Section o Encoded Archival Standards Section o Professional Writing Group

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Faculty/Staff reading Group, "How to be an Antiracist,” Mobile, AL. (July 10, 2020 - August 21, 2020). • Workshop, "Understanding Social Movements" University of South Alabama, Mobile. (August 4, 2020 - August 11, 2020). • United Way 21-Day Equity Challenge (September 8- 29, 2020). https://www.uwwashtenaw.org/21- day-equity-challenge-michigan-edition-catalogue • SAA mentorship program participant – mentee of Samantha Dodd, C.A. University of Texas at Arlington, August 2017-18. • Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS), Society of American Archivists 16-part course, August 25, 2017. • New Faculty Scholar, University of South Alabama, 2017-18. • ACHE Open Educational Resources Workshop, University of South Alabama, February 23, 2018. • The Modern IR: A Necessary Campus Investment, BePress Webinar, March 29, 2018. • Primary Sources in Teaching: Collaborations Between Libraries and Faculty, ACRL-Choice Webinar, April 24, 2018. • Reading and Engaging with Existing Digital Humanities Projects, ACRL-Choice Webinar, April 26, 2018. • Formalizing DEIA Efforts, Jeff Witt, Lyrasis Webinar, May 4, 2018. • Conference on Teaching and Learning, University of South Alabama, May 7-8, 2018. • Georgia Archives Institute, June 11-21, 2018. • Cultural Diversity Competency, SAA Webinar series, July 2018. • Building a Diversity Plan, Jeff Witt, Lyrasis webinar, October 12, 2018. • Archival Collections Management Systems, SAA Webinar, October 15, 2018. • Serving A Diverse And Changing Demographic: Optimal And Effective Engagement, University of South Alabama, October 24, 2018. • Digital Humanities Community Mapping Workshop, SJHS Conference, October 29, 2018. • Teaching Undergraduates with Archives, University of Michigan Symposium, November 7-9, 2018. • Studer Education Leadership Development Institute, series 2018-19. • Documenting Your Community: Planning Skills for Oral History Projects, Oral History Association Webinar, accessed January 28, 2019. • Queer History South Conference, Birmingham, AL March 28-29, 2019. • Safe Zone Training, University of South Alabama, April 5, 2019. • Southern Mississippi Institutional Repository Conference, April 25-26, 2019. • Creating an Inclusive Collection—Selecting and Evaluating Diverse Resources, ACRL-Choice Webinar, May 21, 2019. • OpenRefine: Basics of Tidying up your Data, Lyrasis Webinar, July 31, 2019. • Society of American Archivists annual meeting, Austin, Texas, August 1-4, 2019. • Academy of Certified Archivists Examination, August 2, 2019. • Introduction to the Oral History Metadata Synchronizer (OHMS), Doug Boyd webinar, August 20, 2019. • Qualitative Research Methods Workshop, University of South Alabama, October 8, 2019. • Oral History Association conference attendance, Salt Lake City, Utah October 16-20, 2019. • Southern Jewish Historical Society conference attendance, Charlottesville, Virginia, October 24-27, 2019.

SERVICE

University Libraries • Marx Library Collection Development Committee, 2017-present. • University Libraries Safety and Emergency Committee, 2017-present.

• USA Libraries Biomedical Library Archives Merger working group, 2017. • Recorder for Libraries Forum, 2018-present. • University Libraries Technology Committee, 2018-present. • University Libraries Leadership Team, 2018-present. • University Libraries Instruction Team, 2018-present. • University Libraries Exhibits and Programs Committee, 2018-present. • University Libraries Statistics Committee, 2018-present. • Editor for University Libraries newsletter 2019-present

University of South Alabama • Honors College population liaison, 2017-present. • Honors College Faculty Advisory Council, 2020-present

Regional/Statewide • Network of Alabama Academic Libraries (NAAL) Digital Content Committee, 2017-2019. • Gulf Coast Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education Planning Committee for the exhibit “Genocides of the 20th Century,” 2019.

National • Southern Jewish Historical Society 2018 Conference Planning Committee, 2017-2018. • Peer Reviewer for Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies (JCAS), 2018-2020.

Community Member, Board of Directors, Congregation Ahavas Chesed, Mobile, Alabama, 2017-present. Vice President, Congregation Ahavas Chesed, Mobile, Alabama, 2019-present.