The new management team for DCMI has been announced, marking the end of the leadership of Makx Dekkers in the Initiative, and the beginning of the tenure of Stuart Sutton. I represented the DC Advisory Board in this process, and I can report that the interview process was carried out with diligence and care. Makx brought his usual careful thoroughness to the process, taming the daunting prospect of interviews and consultations that spanned the globe.
The membership of the new leadership team -- Stuart Sutton, Tom Baker, Diane Hillmann, Raju Buddharaju -- are well known to the DCMI community. They have an enormous combined wealth of experience in metadata in general, and Dublin Core in particular. Their ability to work together to advance the interests of the metadata community will have a substantial impact on the directions and success of DCMI.
There can be no more important task for this team, however, than to nurture the community itself. This has never been clearer to me than it was at last year's DCMI Conference in Pittsburgh. The conference brought together a remarkable collection of people, experience, high quality presentations, and (perhaps most importantly?), new and energetic enthusiasm. Metadata is more important than ever, and the leadership of DCMI in the community is stronger than ever.
If you care about metadata, and you find yourself saying "DCMI should do this, or that, or another thing..." stop! The leadership team of DCMI, however good, is small, over-tasked, and under resourced. It always has been, and (sadly), it probably always will be. The impact that DCMI and metadata activities in general will have on our digital future is in the hands of those who conceive and build the systems, make them work together, adapt to new technologies, respond to changing conditions, support the users. YOUsers.
Step up to the plate. Swing away.
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taken from the Aoyama cemetary in Tokyo
