Seated L to R: Robert Toyama (Cataloger) and Jordan Gerner (Circulation Supervisor)
Back Row L to R: Kris Kasianovitz (Library Director), Paul King (Library Supervisor), Andrew White (Summer Intern), and Kathryn Stine (Digitization Project Planner)
Get in touch via email: katstine@berkeley.edu
Kathryn joins the Institute of Governmental Studies Library (IGSL) Team as the Digitization Project Planner. Kathryn will be responsible for and instrumental in developing the IGS Library's California local government documents digitization project plan, for which IGS received state funding to undertake.
Kathryn comes to IGSL with more than 15 years of experience managing library digitization and digital access initiatives, as well as archives and special collections processing and programs. She has extensive metadata and collection analysis skills, which are definite assets for our work here at IGSL. Most recently she was the Digital Health Humanities Program Coordinator at UCSF Archives and Special Collections, where she was responsible for developing and implementing a curriculum using digitized "archives as data" to support faculty and student research using digital tools and methods.
Prior to that, Kathryn worked at the California Digital Library or CDL. While at CDL, she managed a number of large scale projects all dealing with digitization, digital projects, and metadata analysis, creation and management. As the Senior Product Manager for Digitization and Digital Content, Kathryn was responsible for defining, leading, and implementing a variety of digital collection development initiatives on behalf of the CDL. She managed the team that supported and coordinated the University of California Libraries’ engagement with Google and HathiTrust.
She played a pivotal role with the UC Hathitrust Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS), where she led a systemwide group of UC Libraries liaisons who made use of the HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS). She then conducted an assessment of how the service was used by UC faculty and students. See the following report: Stine, K.; Carla, A.; Avila, A.; colmenar, G.; Chau, S.; Chavez, F., et al. (2021). UC HathiTrust ETAS Assessment - Summative Report to CoUL. UC Office of the President: California Digital Library. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8vh1k54f
During her time at CDL, Kathryn was a consultant to the UC Berkeley Library’s Digital Lifecycle Program from 2018 to 2019, which developed workflows and policies related to digital project processes and responsible access to the Library's digital collections. She has also worked to coordinate web archiving projects, notably the CA.gov Web Archive.
Kathryn holds a Master of Science in Information, Archives and Records Management as well as a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan. She is a Cal Alumna, with a B.A. in Art Practice.
We really value all of the project management, metadata and digitization project expertise that she brings to the IGSL projects and are so thrilled to have Kathryn join the IGS/IGSL Team.
by Andrew White (History, '24)
Meet our Summer Intern, Andrew White, a Cal senior majoring in History with an emphasis on Scandinavian Studies. Andrew helped us migrate our Ballot Propositions Guides and Endorsements Tables into the new Berkley Open Sites platform. Over 200 pages worth of content! This was a monumental task, for which we are so thankful to have Andrew help us with. We asked Andrew to write up a brief reflection on his work at IGS this summer.
As the semester ended last spring, I decided to take up an internship at Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) Library. Among the many responsibilities of the Library is the publishing and distribution of California ballot guides, and in this sense IGS upholds a crucial component of the state’s democracy. For my part, I assisted in the migration of these voter guides as the IGS shifted its content from one server to another.
While the server migration might sound rather rudimentary, my time working alongside the IGS and the team that makes it up was truly an unforgettable experience and I will remember it long after I graduate. As a History major, the department requires all students to author a thesis paper that demonstrates a high level of understanding in one topic of their choosing, and I entered under the correct belief that my time at the Library would prepare me for this task. However, there is another factor that is perhaps more difficult to grasp outside of the Library. As part of the work I did through numerous hours of examining California’s propositions and ballot system, I gained a far greater appreciation for the effort put into running a democracy.
As part of the nature of the IGS ballot guides, transparency is of the utmost importance. I came across all sorts of ballots during my time examining the material, including many of which I myself would have hoped for a different result. Yet even in these cases, I never felt as though any of the issues were unfairly represented regardless of my personal stances. To uphold this level of transparency is an immense honor, and there is a tremendous feeling of pride in knowing that my work will be useful for Californians from every walk of life.
While my primary work encompassed the migration of the IGS Library’s voter guides, my work was not just limited to web servers. I also assisted in a myriad of tasks including the describing various material and then physical reorganization of the Library stacks. The IGS basement is a treasure trove, and to explore it all is far beyond the realms of possibility. All of the people I worked with possessed extensive knowledge and sometimes decades of experience, yet some of the material they discovered surprised even them. To this extent, the Library is a fantastic place of exploration.
As I write this, summer has all but come to an end. In many ways, I am again in a period of transition as I prepare for the fall semester. However, I have little doubt that my experience working with the IGS Library has provided me with a more stable foundation as I head into my senior year, and I am extremely fortunate for my time spent here.
Berman, Greg, and Aubrey Fox. Gradual : the Case for Incremental Change in a Radical Age. New York: Oxford University Press, 2023. Available in Print and Online.
Capuzza, Jamie C. The Fifth Star : Ohio’s Fight for Women’s Right to Vote. Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, 2023. Available in Print.
Eggers, & Kettl, D. F. Bridgebuilders : how government can transcend boundaries to solve big problems. Harvard Business Review Press, 2023. Available in Print and Online.
Ennis, Philip L. “Our” Program : Chronological Report on “OUR” Program, Oakland Urban Renewal. 1956. Available in Print.
Fisher, Gerald A. Local Government Law : a Practical Guidebook for Public Officials on City Councils, Community Boards, and Planning Commissions. New York, NY: Routledge, 2021. Print. Available in Print and Online.
Keys to Freedom : the Modern Way to Exercise the Privilege of the Ballot. New York, NY: Shoup Voting Machine Corporation, 1955. Available in Print.
Phelps, Wesley G. Before Lawrence V. Texas : the Making of a Queer Social Movement. First edition. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2023. Available in Print.
Morris, G. Elliott (George Elliott). Strength in Numbers : How Polls Work and Why We Need Them. First edition. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2022. Available in Print.
Mysels, Sammy, and Dick Sanford. Walkin’ down to Washington : Official Democratic Party 1960 Song. Redd Evans Music Company, 1960. Available in Print
Wallis, Eileen V. California and the Politics of Disability, 1850-1970. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, an imprint of Springer, 2023. Available in Print and Online
Wong, Bill K. Better to win : hardball lessons in leadership, influence, & the craft of politics. Ronin Road Press, 2023.. Available in Print.
Wu, Judy Tzu-Chun, and Gwendolyn Mink. Fierce and Fearless : Patsy Takemoto Mink, First Woman of Color in Congress. New York: New York University Press, 2022. Available in Print and Online