A reflection from Virtual Tribunals initiative's Fall quarter intern

Sebastian Themelis, a Master’s degree student in Library and Information Science at University of Washington, recently completed an internship with Digital Library Systems and Services, as a part of the Virtual Tribunals initiative. Virtual Tribunals is a collaboration between Stanford University Libraries and the Stanford Center for Human Rights and International Justice. Sebastian reflects on the internship, centered around metadata mapping, and its impacts below. On this December 10th, Human Rights Day, we are grateful for the incredibly helpful, highly detailed and essential work that Sebastian has contributed to the program and wish him well on all future endeavors.

This Fall quarter, I had the incredible opportunity to intern with Stanford University Libraries, where I contributed to the Virtual Tribunals (VT) program. My work centered on preparing for the next iteration of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) collection release, a tribunal established to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. Specifically, I focused on preparing for transformation of document metadata for inclusion in STL records by mapping the court’s database fields to the Stanford Digital Repository’s in-house schema, Cocina. 

I originally applied for the Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) program because I wanted to be an archivist (my application essay centered on how my dream job is to manage the Prince vault), so when I had the opportunity to work on STL, it felt like a dream come true. When I tell people that I want to be an archivist, I often get strange looks; archivism is still associated with dusty basements and fraying manuscripts. I will admit that I also had a somewhat idealized perception of the profession before pursuing my MLIS. I have always thought of myself as technologically inept, so what better profession than one that deals with ancient objects? I could not have been more wrong. I quickly realized that if I want to be an archivist, I need to overcome my aversion to technology. As someone who learns best through hands-on experience rather than theory, I knew the key to achieving this was to dive directly into working with digital library technology, and especially, metadata. One of the most valuable aspects of my internship has been seeing concepts I first encountered in my MLIS coursework applied in a real digital repository. In a cataloging class, for example, I learned how external standards like ISO language codes ensure consistency in metadata; at Stanford, I put this into practice by using those codes to describe the languages in documents for the STL collection. I also applied my knowledge of crosswalking, a concept I studied in my metadata design class, by mapping metadata from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s in-house database schema to Cocina. This process, while challenging, bridged the gap between theory and practice, reinforcing the real-world relevance of my coursework.

This internship has been an incredible learning experience, not just in developing technical skills but in building my confidence. A few months ago, the idea of working with complex metadata systems felt daunting. Now, I feel much more comfortable navigating archiving technology and have a clearer vision of what it takes to be a successful archivist. More importantly, I’ve gained confidence that I can overcome challenges, learn new skills, and adapt to the evolving demands of the profession. As I look forward to completing my MLIS and pursuing a career in archives, I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the Virtual Tribunals program. Whether I’m working with the Prince vault someday (fingers crossed!) or managing digital collections at an institution like Stanford, I now know I have the foundation to succeed.