JOHN DURNO

In one way or another, all of my nearly 30 years as a professional librarian have been situated in the liminal space between library work and IT wrangling.

In my current role as Head, Digital Infrastructure at the University of Victoria Libraries, I coordinate Library IT operations and new projects; advise on the selection and acquisition of computing technologies relevant to the Libraries' mission, goals, and objectives; and ensure IT deployments are in compliance with contractual requirements and University policy. Among other things.

My research is in the area of digital preservation. Major projects include the recovery and restoration of Canadian Telidon artworks from the 1980s, and curating a collection of historic computers.

Head, Digital Infrastructure July 2025 - present.
University of Victoria Libraries
Lead/coordinate the Libraries IT implementations, projects and operations.

Head, Library Systems 2006 - 2025.
University of Victoria Libraries
Led a team of a systems administrators, programmers, technicians, and librarians all variously responsible for building, deploying and supporting a wide range of information technologies required by the Libraries.

Project Coordinator/Acting Manager, 1998 - 2005.
BC Electronic Library Network (BC ELN)
Responsible for technology support for BC ELN products and services, web site development, database trials and renewals. Took on Acting Manager role for several months in 2002 and again in 2004.

Public Services Librarian, 1997-1998.
Open Learning Agency
General reference/instruction, research and report writing, web development, database design.

MLIS, University of British Columbia, 1996
MFA, University of British Columbia, 1993
BFA, University of British Columbia, 1987

Remember Tomorrow. I was technical consultant on a major web exhibition of Telidon art funded by Digital Museums Canada. [2021]

Telidon data recovery. A small but crucial ICRPG-SSHRC Institutional grant supported the recovery of Telidon graphics files from 8" DEC floppy disks. [2019]

The Endings Project. I was a minor member of the project team for this important SSHRC funded initiative to create tools, principles, policies and recommendations for digital scholarship practitioners to create accessible, stable, preservable, long-lasting resources in the humanities.[2016]

Digital forensics project, supported by a CARL Research in Librarianship Grant [2012].

Ninth Annual Code4Lib BC Unconference, May 2024, Vancouver (organizing committee)

Set up and administered a Minetest server as a hangout and workshop space for Access 2020, October 19-23, 2020

code{4}lib YVR, November 2013, Vancouver (organizing committee)

Program chair, Access 2007, Victoria

Hackfest (preconference), Access 2007, Victoria (organizer)

The Transition to eJournals: Academic Library Perspectives, BC Library Conference, 2005 (convenor)

Hackfest (preconference), Access 2004, Halifax (co-organizer)

Program co-chair, Access 2003, Vancouver

Hackfest (preconference), Access 2003, Vancouver (co-organizer)

Koha, Open Source ILS, BC Library Conference, 2003 (convenor)

XML, BC Library Conference, 1999 (convenor)

Member, CARL Digital Preservation Working Group. 2026-

Member, COPPUL Digital Stewardship Network. 2026-

Member, Canadian Government Information PLN Technical Working Group, 2013-2019

Organizer, COPPUL Digital Preservation Capacity Planning Workshop, May 30 2014

Technical Representative, Negotiations Resource Team, Canadian Research Knowledge Network, 2006-2012

Chair, COPPUL Systems Group, 2007-2008

Webmaster, Consortia Canada, 2004-2005

Webmaster, BC Library Association, 1998/99