With decades of experience in digital libraries, I specialize in harmonizing diverse metadata structures to create cohesive, accessible digital collections. My work has included major projects like the NYPL Digital Gallery and the Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe (LCCKSS) initiative, where I helped develop guidelines for trusted digital preservation repositories.
As a former instructor at the Pratt Institute, I taught cataloging, metadata, and digital libraries, integrating expertise from both analog and digital materials into the classroom. I was also an early advocate for web standards, co-authoring The NYPL Style Guide: A Guideline for Structuring Semantic (x)HTML. During this period, I contributed to Web Design on a Shoestring (New Riders, 2003) and was an early speaker at SXSW Interactive, where I discussed digital preservation and the use of “semantic markup” in web design.
Today, my focus is on the complex challenges of understanding, describing, and preserving digital objects in an AI-augmented world. My work explores essential concepts such as provenance, evidence, integrity, custody, stewardship, and interpretation, ensuring digital artifacts retain their authenticity and relevance in evolving technological landscapes.
My professional trajectory took a profound turn after a 15-year hiatus during which I underwent treatment for two complex neurological disorders. The transformative care I received from neurologists and neuroscientists not only saved my life but also ignited a deep passion for neuroscience.
This experience led me to explore fundamental questions about consciousness, personal identity, and continuity—questions that now inform my approach to working with generative AI.
All of the content on this site is created by me, alone, without the assistance of IA unless otherwise noted. I did use Orla, my chatbot to edit this biography for flow.
Carrie Bickner 