Jennifer Cwiok

Jen Cwiok is Systems Administrator at Lyrasis, where she manages the infrastructure for hosted technologies including DSpace and ArchivesSpace. A longtime advocate for open-source software, open repositories, and open access, Jen is driven by the conviction that knowledge infrastructure should be built in the open and owned by the communities it serves — an ethos that aligns closely with Lyrasis’s mission of supporting institutions through shared, community-backed platforms.

Her prior role as Systems Librarian at the American Museum of Natural History’s Gottesman Research Library — where she oversaw the institution-wide Digital Asset Management System and a range of community-supported open-source applications — cemented her belief that the future of the cultural heritage and LAM communities depends on open, sustainable, and collaboratively maintained technology.

With more than 20 years of experience in the library and information sector, Jen specializes in cataloging, metadata, taxonomy, digital asset management, and systems administration. Her career spans institutions and industries alike, from her start as a copy cataloger at the University of Georgia Library to metadata and digital asset management work for organizations including The Granger Collection, Lazard Ltd, Marvel Entertainment, and Condé Nast Fairchild.

At Pratt Institute School of Information, Jen co-teaches Museum Information Management and Knowledge Organization, bringing her real-world expertise directly into the classroom. She is passionate about bridging practice and pedagogy — sharing hard-won professional insights with her students while letting her teaching inform and energize her professional work. Jen holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Georgia and an MLIS from Long Island University’s Palmer School of Library and Information Science (2004).

BA English Literature, University of Georgia
MLIS, Long Island University, Palmer School of Library and Information Science

Meyer, K., & Cwiok, J. (2022, January 11). The evolving archive: How born-digital assets and AI are changing the landscape for the AMNH Research Library. LinkedIn.

Cwiok, J. (2021, January 6). From hot links to Linked Data. American Museum of Natural History.

Cwiok, J. & Lee, I. (2020). “Paving the way: The American of Natural History Research Library’s road to digital asset management.” Journal of Digital Media Management, © Henry Stewart Publications 2047-1300 (2020) Vol. 8, 4 1–14.

Cwiok, J. (2005). “The Defining Element – A Discussion of the Creator Element Within Metadata Schemas.” Metadata: A Cataloger’s Primer. Ed. Richard P. Smiraglia. Binghamton, N.Y.: Haworth, 2005. (Published simultaneously as Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, vol. 40, nos. 3/4, 2005).