Meet Olivia DiAcetis: UB's New Digital Archives Technician

by DENISE WOLFE

Ask Olivia DiAcetis why she was drawn to the University at Buffalo Libraries, and she doesn't hesitate. The collaborative culture. The room to grow professionally. And, of course, the collections themselves, diverse, deep and exactly what she was looking for in Special Collections.

DiAcetis joined UB in July as the digital archives technician, and if you haven't crossed paths with her yet, here's your chance to get acquainted. In her new role, she works to make digital materials in Special Collections accessible to researchers, tackling technical preservation puzzles like format obsolescence along the way, while also handling the arrangement and description that makes those materials discoverable in the first place.

Her path here has been a winding, well-traveled one. She earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Texas at Dallas, with minors in music and statistics, before completing her master's degree in library and information science last May at Indiana University Indianapolis, where she concentrated in archival management.

Along the way, she picked up experiences that continue to shape how she approaches the work. At the University of Oregon's Special Collections and University Archives, she helped draft the institution's first digital processing policies. And last year, she spent time as an intern with the NATO Archives, working alongside an international team to preserve institutional and mission records, an experience she calls incredibly rewarding.

At Oregon, DiAcetis’ work group met every other week to revise digital processing policy, generally aiming to mirror existing physical-processing procedures while addressing new issues unique to digital materials. One example: how to handle files a donor may have deleted before transferring a digital carrier to the archives. The team's solution was to update deed-of-gift forms and adopt a policy of not retaining recovered deleted materials.

During her NATO internship, DiAcetis worked with digital records transferred from military missions, including operations in Afghanistan and Bosnia and Herzegovina. She said the materials often arrived layered in dirt, and preservation was complicated by frequent staff turnover in the field, which contributed to gaps in institutional knowledge. Collaborating with archivists from other countries, she added, sharpened how she thought about communication and about the assumptions she brought to her work.

One project stood out: helping prepare documents marking the 50th anniversary of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, held in Helsinki. DiAcetis wrote contextual footnotes for primary source committee records detailing NATO's role in the Cold War-era negotiations. 

Since starting at UB, DiAcetis said the most rewarding part of the job has simply been the steady stream of discovery. "I've enjoyed getting to learn something new every day," she said, adding that she's especially enjoyed uncovering more about the history of the university and the region as she gets to know the collections.

DiAcetis grew up in Duvall, Washington, a small town near Seattle, and travel during her undergraduate and graduate studies gave her a taste for exploring. These days, she says she still enjoys playing tourist in her own city.

Outside of work, DiAcetis is often found swing dancing, playing board games or performing improv comedy. She got her start in improv during college as a way to practice public speaking, and said she quickly fell for its collaborative storytelling. Her love of jazz, cultivated growing up listening to it with her father and playing in jazz bands from middle school on, led naturally to swing dancing.

And if you're looking for a fun fact: DiAcetis is on a mission to eat ice cream in all 50 states. She's visited 28 so far, with Rhode Island next on her list. A standout for her came from a liquid-nitrogen ice cream shop in Arlington, Virginia. "They made a very rich dark chocolate ice cream that may take the top spot," she said.

So next time you spot her around the library, consider it your sign to say hello, and maybe compare notes on your own favorite ice cream flavor.