The Open Technology Specialist at the University of Toronto Libraries Black history (Russell, 2020). The OTS now builds on this past initiative to bring multiple libraries together for a broader and more intentional effort to improve the coverage of local Black histories through February 2021. Third, through the OTS, the library has gained capacity to better assist the university in communicating its research to the broader public. is had been explored through a collaboration with the library’s Scholarly Communications office and the Sophie Lucyk Virtual Library, a digital collection of research from the Factor-Inwentash Faculty for Social Work hosted on TSpace (The Sophie Lucyk Virtual Library | TSpace Repository, n.d.). And fourth, UTL’s Wikimedia contributions to date have been doubly helpful to staff as accessible, comprehensive reference for special collections (Wikipedia) and as a hub for institutional data creation and maintenance across the large, decentralized library system (Wikidata).
Engagement beyond the Library and University
The broadly beneficial nature of the OTS approach allows the training, workshops, documentation, and consultation capacity generated by the role to enrich networks beyond the institution. is aligns with the University of Toronto’s institutional goals and priorities to “leverage [the University’s] urban location(s) more fully, for the mutual benefit of University and City” (Gertler, 2015). The OTS has therefore collaborated with staff from Toronto Public Library and the Ontario Science Centre, advised projects at the City of Toronto Archives, and trained volunteers at The ArQuives, Canada’s LGBTQ2+ Archives located in Toronto, Ontario. Some collaborations have even extended beyond the Greater Toronto Area, as in the case of the Ontario Wikipedia Edit-a-thon during Ontario’s Open Education Week (March 2–6, 2020) jointly led by staff at Fleming College and Mohawk College.9
The OTS also cofacilitates regular, cross-institutional programming through the LD4-Wikidata Affinity group. Through this network-building, the OTS has been able to bring more UTL staff into broader library community updates, including Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC)’s ongoing, one-year Wikidata pilot, by which no less than four projects across two U of T campuses are underway at the time of writing.
