We’re excited to announce that our fall Leaders Forum of 2021, themed Challenges and Opportunities in Open Source Software, will take place on Tuesday, October 19 10:30 am – 12:30 pm ET/ 2:30 – 4:30 pm UTC.  

This Leaders Forum will be a welcome opportunity to connect with peers this fall. Organized in a brief, two-hour format, we will hear a series of presenters discussing branding and cultural contagion, inclusive and anti-racist OSS community building, and Leaders Circle members will weigh in on research topics for LYRASIS Research initiatives in 2022.  

Program

Introduction to our Theme: Challenges and Opportunities in Open Source Software  

10:30 am – 10:45 am EDT / 2:30 pm – 2:45 pm UTC 

  • Speaker: Erin Tripp, Director of Research and Innovation, LYRASIS 
  • Presentation Slides: Welcome and Intro
  • Description: Over the last two decades, institutions in the cultural heritage and scholarly ecosystem have increasingly invested in and implemented open source software (OSS) allowing for a high level of innovation and control. This session will introduce the theme of the fall Leaders Forum, “Challenges and Opportunities in Open Source Software” based on research conducted by LYRASIS in 2021 (https://research.lyrasis.org/handle/20.500.12669/97). Although proprietary software continues to be the dominant choice, this session explores pathways to a future paradigm – an ecosystem of competitive open source software based on values, inclusivity, interoperability, partnerships, and non-profit entrepreneurship. 

More Than Words  

10:45 am – 11:25 am EDT / 2:45 pm – 3:25 pm UTC 

  • Keynote Speaker: Dr. Marcus Collins, Lecturer of Marketing at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. 
  • Presentation Slides: More Than Words
  • Keynote Description: How can we establish new rituals to underscore the value of investing in and adopting open source software? Marcus Collins, an award-winning advertising expert on culture, consumption, and communities and a lecturer at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan will inspire us to use ideas and ideals to mobilize networks of people to take action. This 30-minute presentation and Q&A session will delve into branding in the non-profit context and the common cultural characteristics that disrupt communities to make change for the good.   

[Break 11:25 – 11:30 am EDT / 3:25 pm – 3:30 pm UTC]  

Lightning Talks  

11:30 am – 11:50 pm EDT   / 3:30 pm – 3:50 pm UTC

  • Small Steps Toward OSS Inclusion and Anti-Racism 
  • Presentation Slides: Taking Small Steps Toward Inclusion and Anti-Racism
  • Speaker: Christine Di Bella, ArchivesSpace Program Manager 
  • Description: How can open source software communities work to combat systemic racism? The community supporting the ArchivesSpace open source archives information management application has been engaging with this important issue through ongoing discussions about making the community, program, and application more inclusive and anti-racist. One outcome is the ArchivesSpace Diversity Partnership, a new program that offers support for implementing ArchivesSpace to institutions that are themselves or primarily serve communities underrepresented in the ArchivesSpace community. This lightning talk will discuss some lessons learned from the development of the program and the community’s ongoing discussions that may be helpful for other open source communities as they consider their own practices and initiatives.
  • Lightning Talk – Open Source in Open Science 
  • Speaker: Natalia Manola, Executive Director of OpenAIRE 
  • Presentation Slide: Open Source in Open Science
  • Description: How can software support and advance innovation and trust in the research process? OpenAIRE’s Executive Director, Natalia Manola, will explain the integral role of open source software in open science. This lightning talk will show the alignment of well established practices including documenting assumptions and biases that ultimately promote collaboration, reproducibility, and transparency.

Debate and Decide – LYRASIS Research 2022  
11:50 – 12:25 pm EDT   / 3:50 pm 4:25 pm UTC 

  • Speaker: Hannah Rosen, Strategist, Research and Scholarly Communication, LYRASIS 
  • Presentation Slides: LYRASIS Research Forum Presentation
  • Description: Back by popular demand, this session will feature break-out rooms where Leaders Circle members and special guests can debate which research topic LYRASIS will explore in 2022. Potential research topics will be presented: Virtual Reality, Community Engagement, and Researcher Infrastructure. Plus, participants will have an opportunity to pitch topics that are timely and relevant to them. This session will inform the ballot of topics presented to Leaders Circle members to vote on asynchronously in the 2 weeks following this event. Research topics selected in previous years included: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion activities in Libraries, Open Content Activities, Accessibility for Online Materials, and Open Source Software Support.  

Closing Remarks – 5 min  

12:25 pm – 12:30 pm EDT / 4:25 pm – 4:30 pm UTC  

  • Speaker: Robert Miller, CEO, LYRASIS
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