August 16, 2023
MIAMI, FL – The Florida International University (FIU) Libraries are pleased to announce Katie Coldiron as the new Outreach Program Manager for the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC). dLOC, founded in 2004, is a cooperative project of partners within the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean that provide users access to Caribbean cultural, historical, and research materials held in archives, libraries, and private collections. Since its beginning, the FIU Libraries have had a crucial role in dLOC, acting as one of two hub institutions (along with the University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries) that support outreach and other core functions of the project. As the Outreach Program Manager, Katie will provide leadership in outreach and engagement with Digital Library of the Caribbean collections, programming, and scholarly use of collections; develop partnerships with universities and cultural heritage institutions in the Caribbean and engage grassroots groups in the region to support efforts aimed at preserving local culture and traditions related to the diaspora of the Caribbean.
Since 2021, Katie Coldiron has worked as a digital archivist at FIU’s Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab, specifically managing the archival aspects of the Mellon Foundation-funded “Community Data Curation: Preserving, Creating, and Narrating Everyday Stories.” In this role, she has advised partner organizations and interns on the different archival aspects of their digital collections, from metadata creation and copyright clearance to sustainable digital storage and stewarding collections in conjunction with FIU Libraries. Katie is also a doctoral student in the FIU Department of History. She holds an M.S. in Information Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida, and a B.A. in Anthropology/Sociology from Centre College of Kentucky.
What excites me the most about dLOC is that it represents a region that transcends the paradigms that most of us in the U.S. consider to be ‘area studies.’ The Caribbean is a melting pot of peoples, languages, and cultures, and dLOC is the first concentrated effort to bring the region’s diverse cultural heritage under one digital umbrella. I have used the site extensively in my own research over the years, and I look forward to supporting all the current and future partner institutions in enhancing the discoverability and use of their dLOC-hosted collections.
Katie Coldiron
