Kari R. Smith is a digital archivist coach and consultant specializing in digital object lifecycles, workflows, and information management for cultural and archival materials. With over 25 years’ experience, she has worked extensively with electronic records, digital archives, and digitized cultural heritage across universities and cultural organizations in the United States and beyond. She previously worked in university archives and served as MIT’s inaugural Digital Archivist and later as its Institute Archivist. Active in community-driven initiatives such as ArchivesSpace and the BitCurator Community, she regularly teaches, presents, and serves on professional program committees. she co-teaches and co-presents established digital preservation courses, including the Digital Preservation Management Workshop series, and seminars, and coaches organizations developing and implementing digital archives and curation lifecycle programs. In 2022, she founded Global Archivist LLC, providing consulting and coaching services while continuing community-based archival work. Since 2012, she has taught workshops with the Society of American Archivists (SAA) DAS program, including Digital Archives and Digital Libraries, Digital Curation, and Introduction to PREMIS, and with Rare Book School that is based at the University of Virginia. She contributed to the ICA’s Managing Digital Records online course.
