CV

JA Pryse

Senior Archivist III, Instructor
japryse@ou.edu
Norman, Oklahoma

Professional Summary

Results-driven digital archivist with 14 years of progressive experience designing and managing large-scale congressional and cultural heritage repositories. Proven track record supporting state and federal agencies in the acquisition, appraisal, and lifecycle management of records across all formats. Leads institution-wide records management programs, including retention scheduling and disposition reviews, ensuring legal compliance and public access. Smithsonian-trained fellow and Ph.D. candidate in Information Science, advancing research in adaptive, AI-assisted workflows. Skilled in policy development, born-digital acquisition, metadata standards (DACS, EAD, PREMIS, Dublin Core), and preservation platforms (Preservica, ArchivesSpace, AWS). A recognized mentor, collaborator, and educator, I’m committed to public service, inclusive access, and archival innovation.

Core Competencies

• Records Disposition Scheduling and Facilitation
• Records Appraisal and Backlog Reduction
• Access Review & Restricted-Data Handling
• Electronic Records Management & Policy Development
• Public-Facing Outreach & Social-Media Promotion
• AV & Legacy-Media Reformatting, Repair, Preservation
• User Training, Outreach & Documentation
• Grant & Budget Stewardship (>$3 M secured)
• Team Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Risk Assessment & Emerging-Tech Monitoring

Professional Experience

University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma

Senior Archivist III and Curator, Carl Albert Congressional Research Archives (2018–Present)
Instructor of Information Science (2018–Present)

• Direct stewardship of 175.5 TB of digital congressional assets
• Designed and implemented ERM framework, retention schedules, and automated ingest workflows
• Led $1M Preservica migration; authored SOPs now adopted across 5 repositories
• Improved access via AI-assisted triage and backlog elimination
• PI/co-PI on NEH, NSF, and DISC-funded initiatives
• Manages FTEs, students, and interns with training and weekend rotations
• Delivers annual workshops on records management and digitization

Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Director of Digital Archives / Archivist III (2016–2018)
Digital Archivist III (2015–2016)

• Managed statewide digital program: 13M legislative pages, 118K maps, 3K oral histories
• Created the first born-digital transfer policy and backlog reduction workflows

Archivist I–III / Projects Archivist (2011–2016)

• Promoted across roles, working with diverse AV and textual formats from the Territorial era

Education

• Ph.D. (Expected 2025), Archival Informatics – University of North Texas
  Dissertation: Adaptive Learning Models for Efficient & Standardized Archival Processes Focus: large-scale records management, adaptive learning model development, AI toolchains, Python automation
• M.L.I.S. (2015), Library & Information Science – University of North Texas
  Focus: large-scale records and digital content management, adaptive learning model development
• M.S. (2011), Museum Science – University of Oklahoma
  Focus: Focus: digital asset management, large-scale records management, institutional content management
• B.S. (2007), Criminal Justice – University of Central Oklahoma Focus: forensic technology, surveillance, data analysis

Advanced Training

• Smithsonian Institution Research Fellow (2014)
• Data Curation Network Workshops (2019, 2023)
• Archival Education & Research Institute, LSU (2023)

Technical & Media Engineering Expertise

• Cloud & Transfer: AWS S3/Glacier, Google Cloud, gsutil, Storage Gateway
• Programming & Markup: Python, JavaScript, Java, R, PHP; XML, LaTeX, XHTML, DFXML
• AI/ML: Workflow automation, metadata extraction, adaptive learning models
• Digital Forensics: FRED, FTK, Sleuth Kit, DataAccessioner, EnCase, Brunnhilde
• Repositories & CMS: Preservica, ArchivesSpace, Cuadra STAR, Omeka, PastPerfect
• Metadata & Standards: Dublin Core, EAD, PREMIS, METS, MARC, PBCore
• Media Preservation: Wax, reel-to-reel, lacquer discs, Type C, Quad, 16/35mm film
• Studio Design: AV digitization lab planning, signal flow, training and documentation

Select Projects & Grants (PI/co-PI)

• James R. Jones Carl Albert Center Digital Archive ($1M, Private Donation)
• Digital Archives Portal: Congressional Archives for Education (NHPRC, $199,588)
• American Congress Digital Archives Portal (NEH, $349,000)
• Political Campaign Advertisements Project (NSF, $538,000)
• AWS Textract Pilot – Handwritten Correspondence (DISC, $5,000)
• Redlining Community Analysis (Oklahoma Humanities, $5,000)
• The Independent Student Voice (Inasmuch Foundation, $25,000)
• Carl Albert Interactive Platform (OHRAB, $3,000)
• COVID-19 Curation Project (Oklahoma Humanities, $5,000)
• Indian Self-Determination & People’s Voice (APSA, $5,000)
• Gateway to Oklahoma History (Ethics & Excellence, three grants totaling $+1M)
• Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office Digitization ($98,000)
• State Senate Journal Digitization (13M pages)
• Oklahoma Tourism Maps & Records Digitization ($90,000)
• Living Legends Oral History Project – 3,000 reels ($3,000)

Selected Publications & Presentations

Peer-Reviewed Articles

• “Using AI to Summarize US Presidential Campaign TV Advertisement Videos, 1952–2012”
  Adam Breuer, Bryce J. Dietrich, Michael H. Crespin, Matthew Butler, J. A. Pryse, Kosuke Imai. arXiv (2025).
  DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2503.22589 – Forthcoming

• “Adaptive Learning Models for Efficient and Standardized Archival Processes”
  JA Pryse, Archival Science Journal (2025).
  Preprint PDF – Forthcoming

• “Practical Remote Workflow Solutions for Complex Digital Projects: Opportunities in a Pandemic”
  JA Pryse, Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals (2021).
  DOI: 10.1177/15501906211052720

• “Changing Guard”
  JA Pryse, Public Libraries Journal (2017), 78(1): 118–137.

Data Curation & Technical Publications

• “Oral History Interviews Data Curation Primer” – JA Pryse et al., Data Curation Network (2020)

• “Audiovisual Data Curation Primer” – Grace Jerrild, Lauren Phegley et al., Data Curation Network (2023)

• “Audio, Film, and Video Preservation and Access at the Oklahoma Historical Society” – Rachel Mosman, JA Pryse, Recorded Sound Journal

• “Journey of Big Bertha Webster” – JA Pryse, IASA Journal (46): 67–68

• “Journey Back to Life” – JA Pryse, Archival Outlook (May–June)

• “Clara Luper Collection: Community Description Project” – JA Pryse, IASA Journal (43): 70–74

Working Papers

• “Encoding Knowledge: Training Internal AI Models to Recognize and Support Indigenous Languages in Visual Media” – JA Pryse
• “Coded Words: Adaptive AI Models for Detecting Indigenous Languages in Textual Artifacts” – JA Pryse

Selected Recent Conference Papers

• Association of Centers for the Study of Congress (ACSC) – National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
  “AI and Python for Efficient and Standardized Archival Processes”

• Society of American Archivists (SAA) – Chicago, Illinois
  “Archival Chaos and the Exhaustive Layers of Order: The Story of Kanter’s Political Ads”

• Archival Education and Research Institute (AERI) – Louisiana State University
  “Julian P. Kanter Collection: Chaos and Order”

Professional Service

• Executive Board Member, National Association of Government Archives & Records Administrators (NAGARA), 2021–present
• Advisory Board, American Congress Digital Archives Portal, 2023–present
• Data Curation Network Mentorship Program, 2023-2024
• National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators: Mentorship Program, 2024-2025
• Executive Board Member, Oklahoma Museums Association (OMA), 2019-2022
• Staff Initiatives Committee, University of Oklahoma Staff Senate (OUSS)](https://www.ou.edu/staff-senate/committees) (2020–present)
• Native American Studies, Tribal Collaboration Committee Member, University of Oklahoma: (2018–present)
• Reference, Access & Outreach Section Steering Committee Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA): (2018–2019)
• Oklahoma Representative Digital Public Library of America (DPLA): e (2014–2016)

Awards & Fellowships

• Dean’s Outstanding Staff Award, University of Oklahoma (2022)
• Outreach Recognition, Oklahoma Museums Association (2019)
• Community Outreach, Pioneer Library System (2019)
• Smithsonian Institution Fellow, ERM & Digital Archives (2014)
• SAA Emerging Leader Nominee (2017)