Welcome Andrea, our new community manager
Not too long ago, Karen explained that we were growing here at Developer Network--not only with all the new services being made available through the Platform, but also with people and staff to make things happen. I am happy to announce that we have filled both positions and are excited to get even more things cooking for you. So with that, I want to introduce Andrea (pronounced Ann-drea as opposed to Ahn-drea), who can tell you about herself, in her own words:
Hi! My name is Andrea Schurr, and I’m the new Community Manager for the WorldShare Platform. I am very excited to assume this role where I’ll have the opportunity to work directly with you--the development community--to ensure that documentation, communication and platform functionality meet your needs. I am also eager to reach out to librarians who are interested in exposing library data in fun and exciting ways, but who do not yet have the necessary skill sets. Since I walked in those shoes not too long ago myself (more below), I can provide training that will help welcome them into our rapidly-expanding community of library developers.
So, a little about me. I have an MSLIS from the University of Illinois and have spent the last 10 years at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. For my first 8 years at UTC, I led the Access Services Department, and it was during that time that I discovered how much I love playing with library data. In 2009, I started working on a Master’s degree in Computer Science, and shortly after, I moved into library IT as UTC’s all-purpose Web developer and data guru. Along the way, I partnered with our Reference department to build Nightmare on Vine Street, an "escape the library" game to help orient freshmen to the library. I also built a much more practical (but much less fun) system so that teaching faculty could give input on a major collection review project. Because of UTC’s early involvement with OCLC WorldShare Management Services, I had the opportunity to be a part of the WorldShare Platform pilot. I developed a handful of prototype applications, including one that provides patrons a map from their computer to an item on the shelf.
I can’t wait to hear from YOU about what OCLC can do to help you make awesome projects with data--be it apps, widgets or just ideas. The WorldShare Platform sits on top of the world’s largest library catalog, and OCLC needs your input to expose that data in the right way. So, please come to me with your issues, questions and concerns. Let me know how we can improve documentation, training, and the platform itself to meet your needs. I am very, very excited to be your new community manager.