Craig Babcock: Preserving University History
Craig credits his first supervisor, former University Metadata Librarian Rachel Jaffe, for his early realization that the Libraries was the place he wanted to be as a student employee at Binghamton- he’s been there ever since.
When contacted about contributing to this article, Rachel responded, from her office across the country, “funny timing . . . I was just telling a colleague here about Craig and how great he is!”
Rachel recalls how impressed she was that “while information science is outside of Craig’s area of study, he was always interested in the bigger picture and understood how his work . . . fit into the larger mission of the library.”
Working in the Digitization Lab, Craig’s efforts ensure the long-term preservation of a number of University records. He has spent countless hours transferring existing digital campus content, (including Dateline, Inside, photography and archives, and much more), then moving that information to the Libraries’ digital preservation system, Rosetta, in Portable Document Format (PDF). This transition to a digitized format provides enhanced access and searchability for all users.
Rachel believes that Craig’s contribution “was essential to our metadata and digital preservation efforts.” This is an opinion echoed by a recent supervisor, former Director of Library Technology Edward Corrado, who observes, “Craig is a huge asset to the University Libraries. He has developed and documented workflows and we would not be as far along with preserving the institutional memory of Binghamton University if it were not for him.”
Craig will be among those graduating in May, having earned a bachelor’s degree in Integrative Neuroscience. He intends to enter the field of nursing, possibly as a Nurse Practitioner; with more immediate plans to gain experience through work in a hospital setting, preferably here in the Northeast.
As a student who had at one point wondered if he was perhaps “not built for college,” Craig has achieved impressive success indeed; contributing significantly, not only to the work of the Libraries, but also to Binghamton University through his dedicated efforts to preserve its history.
The faculty and staff of the Libraries offer Craig their sincere thanks, congratulations and best wishes for a future that gives every indication of being very bright!