Asmita Gupta is currently pursuing a Master’s in Library and Information Studies at the iSchool at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She works as a Metadata Research Assistant for the South Asian Digital Archive (SACDA) at the South Asian Studies Institute. Her position, funded by a SSHRC Partnership Development Grant, is part of the project Developing a Community for Community-Centered Vocabulary Work, led by Dr. Julia Bullard from UBC.
In her role, Asmita is deeply involved in refining archival descriptive metadata for key historical collections in SACDA. Her primary tasks include conducting in-depth background research to place archival records within broader Canadian, migration, and transnational histories. This work involves meticulous review and enhancement of item-level metadata, updating records to align with the Rules for Archival Description (RAD) and SACDA’s internal schema.
Asmita’s responsibilities also extend to addressing gaps in existing controlled vocabularies, focusing on terms relevant to the experiences of South Asian Canadians. She suggests additions to the SACDA Thesaurus and updates the SACDA Local Authorities Database, enriching the archival resources available to researchers, students, and community members. Her work contributes to actively shaping a more inclusive and accurate representation of South Asian Canadian historical records.