Carolyn Caizzi, Northwestern University
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 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 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.