[Archivesspace_Users_Group] ArchivesSpace Program Staff Changes

[Brad Westbrook]

Dear ArchivesSpace members:

I am writing to update you on staffing changes within the ArchivesSpace Program team that will impact our development schedule for the near future.

Chris Fitzpatrick recently announced he would be leaving ArchivesSpace to pursue new ventures.  His last day was April 29.   Chris has worked as an ArchivesSpace developer since December 2013, and he has contributed immensely to the refinement and advancement of the ArchivesSpace application during his tenure.  In recent months, he has been constructing a process for converting the current ArchivesSpace container data model to a new one. That process is now being tested as part of the release candidate for version 1.5.0.  We will miss Chris's contributions, but we wish him great success with his new endeavors.

Meanwhile, Brian Hoffman, our other ArchivesSpace developer, is reducing his time to 25%.  Brian has been principally working to enhance the ArchivesSpace public interface in accord with the recommendations<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__cherryhill.github.io_aspace-5Fpui_index.html&d=CwMFAg&c=8hUWFZcy2Z-Za5rBPlktOQ&r=3khRCcIp3JnDL7_O06rcu9l8O7iYXHMCuGqAgvbMnlw&m=raW7gWJbMU0s5L6qAUGolpLqvoPhFROTEVen4pVLEqQ&s=q6V4tYwjGrZeDqJaessTLa5ZA7cJzdjqvIYZyflbpjM&e=> made by the Public Interface design team last December.  Brian will continue to contribute to this effort over the next several months.  The timetable for this work will likely be slower, depending on how quickly we are able to make arrangements for new development support.

As we consider the impact of these staff changes, program staff and the Governing Board will also be reviewing and adjusting our staffing model to meet the needs of a growing membership.

Already, we have converted the position of Community Outreach Manager held by Christine Di Bella to full-time. Christine has been doing a tremendous job developing our training and documentation resources and representing ArchivesSpace at conferences and other events.

To rebuild our technical support and development resources, we are investigating the following options:


*            Having staff from LYRASIS (our organizational home) manage the release of ArchivesSpace updates.  The next release will certainly be managed by LYRASIS staff, and it may prove beneficial to continue that assignment through later releases.


*            Collaborating with LYRASIS to hire a Support Technician who will help new users of ArchivesSpace to implement the application, including troubleshooting user problems.  This position will also assist with technical documentation and overall support of users. (If hired as a full-time position, it could be shared with CollectionSpace, an open source software for museum collection management and also based at LYRASIS.)


*            Considering options for staffing development that include hiring staff, contracting with an outside firm, or with LYRASIS, or some combination of the three.

Unfortunately, development of the ArchivesSpace application will be slower for the next few months as we bring on new development support.  In the very short term, we intend to continue testing of the ArchivesSpace 1.5.0 release candidate, with the aim of releasing that version 1.5.0 at the end of May should testing of the upgrade and conversion process prove successful.

Thank you for your patience and continuing support during this transitional period.

Yours,

Brad W.

Bradley D. Westbrook
Program Manager
brad.westbrook at lyrasis.org<mailto:brad at archivesspace.org>
800.999.8558 x2910
678.235.2910
bradley_d_westbrook (Skype)
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