In March, we welcomed two new Archival Digitization Assistants
on PhillyHistory.org
Nicole Altmann has been working in the field of history ever since she was 19 and digging up fossils with the Academy of Natural Sciences. Having interned and worked for six museums over 5 years, she has done everything from digitization and collections management to artifact repair and exhibition design. Nicole graduated from Arcadia University with a B.A. in History and from John Hopkins University with an M.A. in Museum Studies.
In addition to her job at Azavea, she also works part-time at the Franklin Institute, where her main job is looking for origins of mysterious objects that live in the stacks. During the time that Nicole doesn’t spend working in archives, museums, and lighthouses, she can usually still be found in archives, museums, and lighthouses. When she’s not lost in one of them, then Nicole is most definitely stalking food trucks on Twitter or arguing points for her team in Quizzo.
Matthew Berlyant has a growing array of experience working in archives and special collections in the academic and non-profit fields. Prior to joining Azavea, he worked at Bryn Mawr College as a Technical and Digital Assistant in the Special Collections wing of Canady Library at the Albert M. Greenfield Digital Center for Women’s Education. He also worked at the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, where he built a website that houses photographs of courthouses past and present along with updating and creating finding aids for circuit judges. Matthew graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in Statistics, from Columbia University with an M.A. in Statistics, and from the University of Pittsburgh with a Masters in Library and Information Science.
During his free time you can find him at home in the Cedar Park neighborhood in West Philly with his wife Anne and year-old son William along with their cat Lola. He is also a music writer and blogger for The Big Takeover, a long-running, well-respected New York-based publication that focuses on indie rock. He also enjoys live music, hunting for used vinyl at record stores, flea markets and riding his bicycle.