Processing Metadata Shame: Imposter Syndrome in the Archive

Archivists and record keepers, do you feel good about your neck, but bad about your metadata? You are not alone. Too often, we get caught in the back-eddy of perfectionism, chasing standards that we can’t (and maybe no one can) meet 100%, and overwork. Collections grow ever-larger, researcher needs expand, and overwork is common if not ubiquitous.

Developments in the field—notably Greene and Meissner’s seminal paper, the concept of the Total Cost of Stewardship, and applying manufacturing efficiencies to collection preparation—have allowed us to reconsider, collectively and individually, how we can approach our work in new ways.

By thinking about our end goals, understanding how to prioritize, and (above all) supporting one another individually and professionally, we can be less burdened by metadata shame and imposter syndrome and more effective in our stewardship of collections. We might even feel better about our necks and our metadata.

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Jodi Allison-Bunnell is the Head of Archives and Special Collections, Senior Archivist, and an Associate Professor at the Montana State University Library. Prior positions have included independent consultant, program manager for the Orbis Cascade Alliance, archivist at the University of Montana, and project archivist at the University of Maryland at College Park. In 2023, she was named a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists. She holds an MA and an MLS from the University of Maryland at College Park and a BA summa cum laude from Whitman College. She enjoys teaching both college students and fellow professionals; metadata; and the quirky collections and people in archives.

LinkedIn: https://www.lib.montana.edu/directory/2250875/jodi-allison-bunnell