Carolyn Caizzi, Northwestern University Library

Carolyn Caizzi, Northwestern University Library

Title:  Head of Repository and Digital Curation

Statement of Purpose:

I am pleased to run for the open seat on Samvera Steering and will bring a high level of commitment and enthusiasm to the position should I be elected. With over thirteen years of working in the digital library world, I have amassed various professional experiences including: 1) supporting end users in the discovery and use of digital assets in teaching and learning; 2) managing and prioritizing large digital collections projects; 3) planning open source repository software development projects; and 4) conceptualizing and implementing new locally developed digital preservation practices. Six years ago, I became a manager and four years ago I was promoted to lead the operations of a newly formed software development and digital curation department. In this capacity, I gained experience in budgeting and staffing for product development and now am very active in the organizational development of Northwestern University Libraries (NUL) as a whole.

Given my background working in open source communities, namely Fedora and Samvera, and my interest in how organizations function and operate, I would help to ensure the success of Samvera as an open source community. My active role in Partners over the past few years, encouraging NUL staff to contribute to working/interest groups by creating the time and space for it, and my most recent contribution on the Samvera Governance working group inspired me to take this next step. I welcome this opportunity to help the community grow, foster collaboration and encourage creativity to solve the complex problems of creating sustainable solutions that support the discovery and long term use of our world’s cultural and scientific heritage so that generations to come can understand our past, inform our present, and impact the future.