Stacy Allison-Cassin

Overview:

My initial career plans were to be a professional orchestral musician. When I decided that was not a path I wanted to continue to pursue, I was delighted to find a new path in music librarianship—a career that allowed me to combine my knowledge and passion for music with my love for libraries. I also discovered I have a love of classification, metadata and information systems. Something I fostered as a music cataloguer at York University and later in roles related to digital humanities and linked data. I delved further into my love of music and information with a PhD in Humanities at York where my dissertation entitled: “Fugitive Phrases: Arcade Fire, Love Song, and the Amorous Self” draws on Luhmann’s theory of love as information system to discuss the ways music supports and promotes amorous communications.

I am Citizen of the Métis Nation of Ontario and I have long been active in research, and professional and community work related to social justice and equity. I am an active member of professional associations and am currently Chair of the Indigenous Matters Standing Committee of IFLA, a community lead in the National Knowledge and Language Alliance and a member of many other advisory bodies. I believe strongly in finding ways to make access to information more equitable and have been involved in open access initiatives in North America for many years with strong ties within the “open” movement. I am a very active member the Wikimedia community where I focus the bulk of my energy on Wikidata. However, I do write and edit Wikipedia articles in my spare time.