Mark Cyzyk

I am a late-career librarian and technologist working in higher education. I have broad experience with information technology and digital library services in higher education.

My commitment to the mission of higher education is as much personal as it is professional.

• • B.A., Towson State University, Towson, Maryland, 1986 (Philosophy and Asian Studies, Magna Cum Laude).

  • M.A., Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1988 (Philosophy).

  • M.L.S., University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 1991 (Library and Information Science).

  • Graduate Certificate in Information and Telecommunication Systems, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, 1998. (Concentration in networking and intranet design)

Experience with:

• • Library and information technology services in higher education.

  • Digital library tools, standards, and technologies.

  • Project management through the full software development/hardware implementation life cycle.

  • Large scale, multi-user Web application design and development.

  • Systems administration on Microsoft and Linux-based operating systems.

Broad knowledge of:

• • Data network topology and design

  • Other server-side Web technologies, e.g., streaming media

Current software tool set (in no particular order):

• • Wordpress Multisite

  • Wordpress VVV

  • Wordpress CPT UI

  • Wordpress Advanced Custom Fields Pro

  • Wordpress All-Import Pro

  • Wordpress All-Export Pro

  • Wordpress All-In-One WP Migration Pro

  • Wordpress Relevanssi Premium

  • Wordpress FacetWP Pro

  • Wordpress Admin Columns Pro

  • Archivesspace

  • Omeka (Classic and S)

  • MySQL/MariaDB

  • Apache Web Server

  • Oracle Virtualbox

  • Various flavors of Ubuntu/Debian Linux

  • OpenRefine

  • XML Copy Editor

  • Grsync

  • The Gimp, ImageMagick, Inkscape, OpenShot, Audacity, XnView

  • Jira

  • Confluence Wiki

  • VS Code

  • Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Site Kit

  • Springshare LibGuides, LibAnswers, LibCal

  • Ansible

1999-Present • Johns Hopkins University • Baltimore, MD

Senior Software Engineer - Senior Staff, Library Applications Group, The Sheridan Libraries, 7/2014-present

Responsible for maintaining and developing The Sheridan Libraries and University Museums Web presence. Responsible for libraries and museums instances of locally-hosted, user-facing Web applications, including all instances of Wordpress, Omeka, Archivesspace. Design and program Faculty-led research-oriented applications on the Wordpress framework.  Serve on multiple committees, professional service, work on special projects, etc. I serve two hours a week on our reference desk, AKA our "Research Consultation Office". For many years, I co-edited our Library Blog.

Scholarly Communication Architect (Senior Software Engineer - Senior Staff), Digital Research and Curation Center, The Sheridan Libraries, 3/2006-6/2014

Lead researcher, at various times, in: Electronic publishing initiatives, including Johns Hopkins' Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) program and the Johns Hopkins Electronic Publishing Project (JHEPP); The Sheridan Libraries Archives' implementation of, first, Archon, then Archivists' Toolkit; The Sheridan Libraries' implementation of Omeka, for use by the libraries and for instruction; The Sheridan Libraries' implementation of ArcGIS Server. Set up and maintained Drupal-based, then WordPress-based Websites for the Data Conservancy Project (dataconservancy.org), Johns Hopkins' Data Management Services (dmp.data.jhu.edu), and the Johns Hopkins Scholarly Communications Group (scg.library.jhu.edu). Participated in the development of other Library Digital Programs Group projects, e.g., curation of astronomical data for the National Virtual Observatory (NVO), Roman de la Rose manuscript digital library, our Institutional Repository (IR) effort, data programming for the NSF-funded Data Conservancy project. Served on Johns Hopkins' Scholarly Communications committee, central clearinghouse of information related to Open Access. Co-directed implementation of the Balanced Scorecard approach to strategic planning in The Sheridan Libraries. Co-implementer of the very first LibQual survey across The Sheridan Libraries and the Welch Medical Library. Co-edited Library Blog.

Web Architect (Senior Staff), Enterprise Services Group, Network and Telecommunications Services, IT@Johns Hopkins, 1/2001-3/2006

Responsible for internet/intranet Web application development supporting the research, instructional, outreach and promotion, and technical infrastructure needs of the Johns Hopkins University and Medical Institutions. Consulted with campus clients to determine application needs and requirements analysis. Designed, coded, tested, and implemented Web applications, and was an Allaire/Macromedia Certified ColdFusion developer during this period. Served as lead systems engineer on the University's main, Windows 2000-based, Web server (1999-2003), and was a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) during this period. Served on committees throughout the University. Played a key role in Hopkins' initial implementation of uPortal. Select applications that I designed, wrote, and implemented include: Hopkins main events calendar system, used by 100+ administrators across the Hopkins enterprise, with thousands of individual entries, in production 2000-2007; the Johns Hopkins Address Registration System (JHARS), Web-based system for providing and managing IP address distribution and control across multiple campuses, in production 2002-2012, used by 493,000+ workstations and servers across the Hopkins enterprise; the Hopkins Electronic Resources Management System (HERMES), an ERM system in production at The Sheridan Libraries, 2002-2009.

Web Developer/Programmer (Senior Staff), Hopkins Information Technology Services, 1/99-1/2001

Same responsibilities as above.

1998-2005 • Nine Web, LLC • Towson, MD

Web Developer/Owner

Responsible for internet/intranet Web application development. Consult with clients to determine application needs and requirements analysis. Design, code, test, and implement Web applications.

11/93-1/99 • Towson University (formerly Towson State University) • Towson, MD

University Webmaster/Manager of Web Development, Computing and Network Services, 7/97-1/99

Responsible for leading the team that coordinated, designed, and engineered the University Website. The position was comprised of three distinct functions: Managerial, technical, and consultative. Maintained close contact with faculty, staff, and student Web coordinators across campus. Programmed CGI scripts, Javascripts, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), dynamic fonts, and data-aware Web-based applications (using Allaire's ColdFusion) for University use. Investigated and tested new Web-based technologies for integration into the TU Website. Served on committees in Computing and Network Services and throughout the University and the University System of Maryland (USM). Directly supervised one full-time Web Designer.

Head of Information Technology - Librarian II, Albert S. Cook Library, 10/96-7/97

Responsible for all aspects of information technology in the Albert S. Cook Library (a medium-sized academic library). These duties included: Information technology planning and purchasing; LAN engineering, administration, and maintenance; CDROM tower configuration and networking; Website development; intranet development; CGI programming; various database projects; routine maintenance of approximately 115 PCs, 50 WYSE terminals, and all computer peripherals; hardware troubleshooting and repair including installation of drives, power supplies, etc.; software installation and troubleshooting; local wiring for VICTOR, the integrated library system that TSU shared with the University of Maryland System; troubleshooting VICTOR networking problems; acted as liaison with the Information Technology Division of the University of Maryland System Libraries as well as with the TSU Division of Computing and Network Services; and supervised student employees. 25% of this position was spent working on projects in TSU's Center for Instructional Advancement and Technology. As a librarian and member of the Faculty Electorate, I served in several other professional capacities both in the library, around campus, and throughout the University of Maryland System, e.g., committees and instruction. I reported directly to the Dean of the Library.

Information Technology Librarian - Librarian I, Albert S. Cook Library, 7/95-10/96

A combination of the Head of Information Technology duties listed above and the Reference Librarian duties listed below.

Reference Librarian - Librarian I, Albert S. Cook Library, 11/93-7/95

Provided reference services to the University community; conducted formal bibliographic instruction sessions; served on University and Library committees and committees supporting the Library and Information Management System of the University of Maryland System; acted as liaison to selected academic departments; participated in the collection development duties of the library; initiated and participated in many special projects including coordination of Cook Library's Webpages, scripting of Web forms for library use, training staff in use of Internet utilities and HTML authoring, and other information technology projects.

10/91-10/93 • Capitol College • Laurel, MD

Assistant Librarian (faculty status, halftime position)

Provided reference and online services; conducted bibliographic instruction sessions; supervised student employees; responsible for serials maintenance and some copy cataloging; participated in the overall administrative and collections duties of the library.

3/92-10/93 • Rural Information Center, National Agricultural Library • Beltsville, MD

Library Technician (halftime position)

Conducted reference interviews over the RIC 800 telephone line; provided written responses to reference queries; assisted in the compilation and editing of information products; conducted online literature searches (on DIALOG); routinely searched AGRICOLA, ERIC, Healthplan, Medline, Sociofile, and the GPO catalog on the Silver Platter Information Retrieval System (SPIRS); acted as chief administrator of an in-house Inmagic database; worked on special projects as directed.

1991 • Telesec Library Temporary Services • Wheaton, MD

Temporary Employee

Assigned to the Ash Library, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC. Assisted in a collection-wide inventory of materials, performed catalog maintenance, and searched on OCLC.

Spring 1991 • Catonsville Community College • Catonsville, MD

Adjunct Professor of Philosophy

Taught Introduction to Philosophy.

1988-90 • Patuxent Publishing Company • Towson, MD

Proofreader

Proofreading and quality proof of editorials and advertisements.

1987-90 • Baltimore County Public Schools • Towson, MD

Substitute Teacher

1987-88 • Temple University • Philadelphia, PA

Teaching Assistant, 1987-88

Taught Freshman Composition for the composition department.

Research Assistant, 1987

Assisted the Editor in production of The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism.

• • Teaching Assistantship, Department of Philosophy, Temple University, 1987-88.

  • Research Assistantship, Department of Philosophy, Temple University, 1987.

  • Graduated as Dean's Scholar, College of Liberal Arts, Towson State University, 1986.

  • Dean's Scholarship, College of Liberal Arts, Towson State University, 1985.

• • Member, Editorial Board: Information Technology and Libraries (ALA/LITA), 2010-2018 (two year terms).

  • Referee: Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication 2011-2015.

  • Book Reviewer: College & Research Libraries 2009-2015.

JHARS: The Johns Hopkins Address Registration System

Web application that enables and facilitates client self-signup on a data network supported by the Cisco Network Registrar (CNR) DHCP server. JHARS additionally provides Web-based control of various CNR functions as well as fine-grained reporting functions for use by LAN engineers and administrators.

American Library Association (ALA), Library and Information Technology Association (LITA), Maryland Library Association (MLA), Sierra Club.

• • Board of Directors, Overbrook Community Association, 2008-2016 (two year terms).

  • Member, Executive Committee, Maryland Affiliate of the National Parents Organization, 2013-2015.

  • Founding Webmaster, Timonium Elementary School PTA (http://www.tespta.sailorsite.net/), 2008-2010.

  • Fall semester 2004: Literacy volunteer in Baltimore County, Maryland. Worked one night a week as a teacher's helper in an "Academic Skills Enhancement" course that prepares students for the reading, writing, and mathematical skills needed as a prerequisite for enrollment in a GED course of study. These adult learners functioned at or below the eighth grade level.

  • Founding contributing member (circa 1998): Loch Raven Village Association Website Committee. (http://www.lochravenvillage.com/)

• • As an undergraduate I majored both in philosophy and Asian studies. I also completed requirements for minor concentrations in English and geography. During the spring semester, 1986, I studied Chinese language at the Beijing Foreign Language Normal College (now Capital Normal University), Beijing, People's Republic of China, and in June of that year returned home after travelling through China, the U.S.S.R., and Europe.

  • As a library school student, I interned at the Library of Congress, Main Reading Room, during the summer, 1991.

  • Testified before the [Maryland] Governor's Commission on Child Custody Decision-Making, Harford Community College, Bel Air, MD. November 7, 2013.

The thoughtful/philosophic novel, film, essay, and aphorism; deltiology; literary fiction; humorous fiction; eBike riding; kayaking; guitar; and music (classic 70's progressive rock to contemporary alt country -- I say 'Yes' to Ryan Adams).

I am a wannabe lap steel guitar player in an alt country band. Really.

2017-2018. Technical Consultant, Displacements: The 2018 Meeting of the Society for Cultural Anthropology. Conference chair: Anand Pandian, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University.

Served as chief technical consultant for this virtual conference: https://displacements.jhu.edu/. Liaison with central IT at Johns Hopkins. Responsible for initial setup of Wordpress-based Website and continued maintenance.

2014-2016. Scholarly Communication Architect, The Archaeology of Reading in Early Modern Europe Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Grant. $488,000 awarded to Johns Hopkins University. Earle Havens: Principal Investigator.

Gathered and communicated requirements for Blog module to Web Designer. Ultimately migrated WordPress-based Website from University College London to local digital infrastructure.

2014-2015. Scholarly Communication Architect, The Black Press Research Collective Newspapers Project: Visualizing the History of the Black Press in the United States. National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Award HD51904. $29,117 awarded to Johns Hopkins University, Franklin W. Knight: Project Director; Kim Gallon: Project Co-Director.

Participated in two-day workshop, October 10 and 11, 2014, related to the creation of a tool or set of tools to be used for the collection and visualization of materials depicting the history of the Black Press in America. Presented about the potential use of various open source software packages.

2013-2014 - Scholarly Communication Architect, A History of Student Life at Johns Hopkins University. Office of the President, Johns Hopkins University. $25,000 awarded to Jordon Steele, Johns Hopkins University Archivist.

Set up an instance of Omeka for use by this project. Trained student employees in the use of Omeka. Created randomized slideshow of images related to the history of student life at Johns Hopkins University that ran continuously on a large screen monitor at an Alumni Weekend event, April 11, 2014.

2010-2012 - Scholarly Communication Architect, Data Conservancy. National Science Foundation (NSF) award #0830976. $20,000,000 awarded to Johns Hopkins University, Sayeed Choudhury: Principal Investigator. (Project defunded, August 2011, at $9,114,971)

Provided programming support for the McMurdo Dry Valleys portion of this multi-year, multi-institution endeavor of the NSF DataNet programme. Participated in planning workshops, served as Data Conservancy Webmaster, etc.

2010-11 - Technical Consultant, Feasibility Study for an Open Access Repository for Research Funded by the United States National Science Foundation. National Science Foundation (NSF) Award #OCI-0948134. $300,000 awarded to Johns Hopkins University, Sayeed Choudhury: Principal Investigator.

Participated in policy and technical workshops. Performed technical analysis and evaluation of seven open-source repository systems and authored relevant sections of the final report.

2009-11 - Scholarly Communication Architect, Diaspora Pathways Archival Access Project (DPAAP). Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. $476,000 awarded to Johns Hopkins University, Ben Vinson and Candice Dalrymple: Co-Principal Investigators.

Responsible for implementing an instance of the Archon archival information system for use by this project and for migrating 145,000+ archival records of the holdings of The Afro-American Newspapers into it.

2008-9 - Scholarly Communication Architect, Digital Archiving of Astronomical Data to Support Publication and Long Term Preservation. Institute of Library and Museum Services (IMLS) Award #LG0606018206. $191,751 awarded to Johns Hopkins University with additional funding from Microsoft, Sayeed Choudhury: Principal Investigator.

Responsible for implementing an electronic publishing platform for this project. Oversaw student programmer. Implemented plugins to the ePublishing system. Authored the relevant sections of the final report.

2007 - Lead Researcher/Author, A Survey and Evaluation of Open-Source Electronic Publishing Systems. Commissioned by the Open Society Institute (OSI). $20,000.

Installed, analyzed, and evaluated the top four open-source electronic publishing systems, and discussed three others, as part of this OSI-commissioned research.

2006-9 - Scholarly Communication Architect, Roman de la Rose Digital Library. Mellon Foundation, $731,000 second-round funding awarded to Johns Hopkins University, Sayeed Choudhury and Stephen Nichols: Co-Principal Investigators.

Served on the technical team responsible for implementing this digital library of high-resolution scans of extant Roman de la Rose manuscripts. Programmed a database and Google map of all known locations of these manuscripts. Participated in planning workshops, exhibition, etc.

2001 - Web Programmer, Web-based Membership Directory: Institute for Third Sector Research (ISTR).

Wrote a Web-based directory application for the Institute for Third Sector Research. This application included facilities for extracting data in Docbook-compatible XML format, suitable for import into a desktop publishing system.

2001 - Web Programmer, Named Professorships, Deanships, and Directorships at The Johns Hopkins University.

Wrote a Web-based application for the Office of Development Communications at Johns Hopkins University. This application enabled Hopkins staff to manage and maintain data regarding named professorships, deanships, and directorships. This data was then, via the application, available over the Web as well as in Docbook-compatible XML format, suitable for import into a desktop publishing system.

2000 - Senior Technical Consultant, Building an Infrastructure for Greater Impact: An Innovative Dissemination Strategy, Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE), United States Department of Education, FIPSE Grant #P116P980001. $245,149 awarded to Johns Hopkins University, Xueying Wang: Principal Investigator.

Wrote an application module that queried a backend database, wrote out the result in Docbook-compatible XML format, then imported the data into a word-processing application, resulting in a book-length directory of FIPSE programs complete with a table of contents and two indices.

1999 - Web Programmer, Center for Gun Policy and Research, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.

Wrote a Web-based application that allowed staff to easily maintain the Center Website. The application included facilities for staff to upload Center publications to the Web, to make them available to the public, and to make them fully searchable. Center publications could be posted to the Web in their native electronic formats.

Greater Caribbean Mapping, 1450-1850, with Professors Phillip Morgan (Emeritus, Johns Hopkins University, History) and Dexnell Peters (University of the West Indies, Mona, History), project begun Fall 2023: Data harvesting/wrangling/importing from several national libraries. 7605 maps in the system as of this writing.
Go Live:  Spring 2025.

https://greatercaribbeanmaps.org/

Reading Early Medicine, with Professors Mary Fissell (Johns Hopkins University, History of Medicine, History) and Elaine Leong (University College London, History of Medicine), Go Live, March 2024

https://readingearlymedicine.org/

https://readingearlymedicine.org/search/

Omeka for Instruction, with Professors Aaron Hyman (Johns Hopkins University, History of Art) and Stephanie Porras (Tulane, History of Art) : Dutch Americas. Fall 2023. Joint project between Johns Hopkins and Tulane University History of Art departments.
http://course-exhibits.library.jhu.edu/2022/Fall/ahyman6/AS010400001/

Underwriting Souls, with Professor Alexandre White (Johns Hopkins University, History of Medicine, Sociology), Go Live, Fall 2023.

https://underwritingsouls.org/

https://underwritingsouls.org/search-the-risk-books/https://underwritingsouls.org/digitized-corpus/
https://www.insurancetimes.co.uk/analysis/lloyds-of-london-acknowledges-historical-connections-to-slave-trade-but-is-the-response-sufficient/1446136.article

"Introducing Calbre and Sigil: Two E-book Software Packages." Sponsored by the Maryland Chapter of the Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL). 2014 joint Maryland Library Association/Delaware Library Association conference, Ocean City, Maryland, May 9, 2014.

with Sue Vazakas. "E-book Open House" in the Brody Learning Commons at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. October 8, 2013.

with Tahirah Akbar-Williams and Robin Sinn. "Scholarly Metrics." Sponsored by the Maryland Chapter of the Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL). 2013 joint Maryland Library Association/Delaware Library Association conference, Ocean City, Maryland, May 9, 2013.

with Sayeed Choudhury. "A Feasibility Study for a National Science Foundation (NSF) Open-Access Repository." Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) Spring Membership Meeting, Baltimore, MD. April 2, 2012.

with Tahirah Akbar-Williams, Jen Darragh, Yuan Zeng. "Scholarly Metrics." A presentation to the faculty and administration of the School of Education, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. March 20, 2012.

with Yuan Zeng. "Scholarly Metrics." A presentation to the faculty and administration of the School of Education, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. September 27, 2011.

"Welcome to the Virtual Machine." Sponsored by the Technology Commmittee of The Maryland Library Association (MLA). 2011 joint Maryland Library Association/Delaware Library Association conference, Ocean City, Maryland, May 6, 2011.

with William Breichner, Kathleen Keane, David Reynolds, Robin Sinn. "Don't Perish: Publishing Tips from the JHU Press and Sheridan Libraries." Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. April 12, 2011.

with Yuan Zeng. "Scholarly Metrics." Johns Hopkins Center for Educational Resources' Bits and Bytes series. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. April 11, 2011.

with David Reynolds and Robin Sinn. "Open Access Scholarly Publishing." Southest Regional Conference, National Association of Graduate-Professional Students (NAGPS). Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. April 8, 2011.

Keith Kaneda, Mark Cyzyk, Mark Evans, Sayeed Choudhury, Bruce Marsh, Ruth Duerr. "Data Conservancy: Digital Curation of the Magmatic System of McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica." Presented by Keith Kaneda at the Geological Society of America (GSA) national conference. Denver, CO. November 3, 2010.

"Curating Published Data: A Report to IMLS PI's/Co-PI's." "Two Minute Madness," IMLS Library Research Meeting. Baltimore, Maryland. October 5, 2010.

Tim DiLauro, Mark Cyzyk, Elliot Metsger, and Mark Patton. "Capturing and Curating Published Data." Demonstrated by Tim DiLauro at the Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL). Gold Coast, Australia. June 21-25 2010.

with David Reynolds. "Curating Published Data." Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) Spring Task Force Meeting. Baltimore, MD. April, 13, 2010.

with Yuan Zeng. "Scholarly Metrics." Johns Hopkins Center for Educational Resources' Bits and Bytes series. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. December 3, 2009.

with William Breichner, Trevor Lipscomb, David Reynolds, Robin Sinn. "Publishing Opportunities Workshop for Graduate Students and Junior Faculty." Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. October 23, 2009.

"A Survey and Evaluation of Open-Source Electronic Publishing Systems." Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) Fall Task Force Meeting. Washington DC. December 10, 2007.

Presenter and technical panelist. "Roman de la Rose Workshop." Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD. March 28-29, 2006.