Comms Program

Open Library Communications Program

Building a communications program for a global open-source community

Nick Norman

Communications Lead Fellow & Emeritus | Internet Archive

15M+

Readers Served

Global

Volunteer Community

Built

From Scratch

Supporting growth within an established community

Open Library serves more than 15 million readers worldwide. As the platform expanded its features and services, the demand for communications grew beyond what its existing volunteer team could comfortably manage.

The challenge was not simply producing more content. It was developing a communications program that could support the platform's growth while respecting the collaborative culture already established by its volunteers.

"The greatest minds may develop the world's greatest ideas and still fail to reach the minds of others. A communications program changes that."

Creating processes for people to work together

I helped establish the communications program from the ground up, developing processes that brought together volunteers, staff, and contributors across different departments.

An important part of this work involved understanding how people with different skills and schedules could contribute effectively.

Volunteer Participation

I introduced flexible volunteer pathways, brought in UX designers to evaluate workflows, and used resources from open-source communities such as The Turing Way to inform our approach.

Testing Collaboration

I also launched a pilot podcast to explore how volunteers could collaborate on a more complex creative project. What we learned helped inform our collaborative writing processes.

Cross-Department Communication

As the program developed, I established communication channels with Engineering, Design, and Librarianship, making it easier for staff and project leads to contribute information and coordinate announcements.

A program built to continue growing

After establishing the program's foundational infrastructure, I transitioned leadership to Elizabeth May, who continued developing the communications program as part of Open Library's permanent staff.

This transition was an important milestone. The program had moved beyond its initial development and was ready for continued growth under new leadership.

One example of the community's subsequent work was an international collaboration of volunteer librarians developing a Nancy Drew collection.

The project received coverage in NPR's Books Newsletter and generated more than 118,000 views through Internet Archive social channels.

In recognition of my contributions, I received the title Communications Lead Emeritus.

Building something that others can carry forward

This project reflects my experience developing programs within established organizations, particularly those involving volunteers, technical teams, and distributed communities.

It also demonstrates the importance of building processes that others can continue using. A successful program should not depend entirely on the person who started it.