Catherine Aster

Bio

Cathy is a Senior Digital Library Services Manager in Digital Library Systems and Services (DLSS) at Stanford Libraries. In this role, she manages both services and projects, and she also works as a product owner with software engineers, operations staff and designers for the digital library applications she helps support. Cathy is the service manager for Stanford’s Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Submission Program and Stanford’s exhibit platform - called Spotlight. In addition, she is the DLSS Liaison to the Libraries' Geographic Information Systems team and for map projects in collaboration with staff from the David Rumsey Map Center. She also manages numerous digital collection projects, in support of digitization and/or digital library content, preserving in the Stanford Digital Repository and bringing to light collections in SearchWorks and Spotlight at Stanford. Cathy is the Product and Service Management team liaison to both the Libraries' Preservation Department and the Science and Engineering Resource Group.

Cathy spent the first portion of her academic library career as a rare book conservator, later transitioning into preservation program management. Her passion for library and archival collections stems from that foundation. Cathy's interest and shifting work focus to project management motivated her to complete a 6-course, year-long certificate in project management through the UC Berkeley extension. She actively pursues career enhancement and training opportunities in Agile software development methodologies, alongside conflict resolution, mentoring, leadership and advocacy for women in technology. Cathy is a volunteer community mediator with Community Boards in San Francisco. She retired from a 27-year career in the United States Navy Reserve as a Cryptologic Officer, and former Russian Linguist.

Current Role at Stanford

Services Manager, Digital Library Systems & Services
- Spotlight at Stanford
- Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Education & Certifications

• Conflict Coaching, Community Boards http://communityboards.org/, Conflict Coaching 101, Intermediate Conflict Coaching (2018)
• SCRUM Master, Agile Learning Labs (2017)
• Certificate, Community Boards - http://communityboards.org/, Basics of Mediation (2016)
• Product Owner, Agile Learning Labs (2016)
• Certificate, Stanford University, Stanford Technical Leadership Program (2011)
• Certificate in Proj Mgmt, University of California at Berkeley Extension, 6-course sequence in project management (2006)
• Bachelor of Arts, University of Texas at Austin, Art History (1984)

Projects

• Spotlight at Stanford

  Spotlight at Stanford is an application for showcasing digital content in easy-to-produce exhibits. It is available for use by the Stanford community and its partner organizations. Spotlight at Stanford users can quickly build their own online exhibits featuring digital content stored within and outside of the Stanford Digital Repository without having to develop their own project interface or use a proprietary system.

  Location

  Stanford, CA

• Bassi Veratti Project, Stanford University Libraries, Biblioteca Comunale dell’Archiginnasio di Bologna, Italy, & Istituto per i Beni Artistici, Culturali e Naturali della Regione Emilia-Romagna (2011 - 2013)

  Location

  Stanford, CA

  Collaborators

  • Gary Geisler, Digital Library Software Engineer, Library Technology, Stanford University Libraries
  • Michael Keller, Stanford University Libraries
  • Glynn Edwards, Head, Technical Services, Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries
  • Peter Mangiafico, Stanford University Libraries
  • Sarah Sussman, Ms, Stanford University Libraries
• French Revolution Digital Archive Project, Stanford University Libraries & Bibliothèque nationale de France (2010 - 2013)

  Location

  Stanford, CA

  Collaborators

  • Michael Keller, Stanford University Libraries
  • Sarah Sussman, Ms, Stanford University Libraries
  • Dan Edelstein, Stanford University
  • Doris Cheung, Dgtl Media Spclst 2, Library Technology, Stanford University Libraries
  • Gary Geisler, Digital Library Software Engineer, Library Technology, Stanford University Libraries
  • Peter Mangiafico, Stanford University Libraries
• Parker on the Web (2009 - 2013)

  Location

  Stanford, CA

Service, Volunteer and Community Work

• Spotlight Service Community Co-Lead

  Spotlight is an open source application – a plugin to Blacklight – that allows librarians, curators, and content experts to showcase and contextualize digital collections using self-service workflows. The Spotlight Community is comprised of an ecosystem of IT service managers, software developers, user experience designers, collection managers and more.

  Location

  Stanford, CA

• Conversation Partner, HBCU - DLF Authenticity Project (IMLS funded) (1/1/2019 - 12/31/2019)

  https://www.diglib.org/opportunities/authenticity-project/
  
  The Authenticity Project, hosted jointly by the HBCU Library Alliance + Digital Library Federation, is an IMLS-funded mentoring and professional development program for early- to mid-career library staff from American HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities), along with conversational and project-based opportunities for building authentic connections and promoting genuine exchange among participants from HBCUs and PWIs (predominantly white institutions).
  
  Our goal is to create a more diverse, inclusive, collaborative, and cohesive next-generation digital library workforce, ready to work across types of institutions in building infrastructure of various kinds (social and technological) in service to a wide array of communities.

  Location

  Arlington, VA 22202

• Community Mediator & Role Play Coach, Community Boards (6/2016 - Present)

  Volunteer community mediator

  Location

  San Franciso, CA

• Digital Library Federation Project Management Mentor, Digital Library Federation - Project Management Group (2019 - Present)

  Location

  Virtual