Image courtesy of UCSB
About us¶
UC Santa Barbara has a strong history of leadership and innovation in open source software development and open science. However, expertise and resources have traditionally been distributed across various parts of the campus. The Open Source Programs Team at UCSB serves as a central hub, bringing together open source activities, expertise, and community connections.
UC Santa Barbara is a proud partner in the UC OSPO Network, collaborating alongside five other UC campuses. Our support for both the UCSB community and the broader network includes:
Identifying and cataloging open source projects developed at UC campuses
Creating educational materials, curricula, and best practice guidelines
Offering services and resources aimed at ensuring the sustainability of open source projects
If you’d like to keep up with our activities, please consider joining our mailing list, which includes a monthly newsletter and occasional announcements. You can unsubscribe at any time.
UCSB Open Source Meetup¶
Once a month, the UCSB Open Source Programs Team hosts a casual, virtual, open source meetup. The meetup is open to UCSB students, faculty, and staff of all backgrounds and experience levels. The format rotates between attendee-led discussions and the “Open Source Lounge”, a coworking group where we tackle our individual open source goals. This is a great opportunity to meet others interested in open source, share tips and experiences, and be a part of a larger open source community at UCSB.
Sustainability Playbook¶
Since our recent survey showed that many open source contributors are struggling with project sustainability, we plan to create a website with resources on the topic. We are calling it the “Sustainability Playbook”. It will be tailored to UC throughout, pointing readers to the relevant staff offices that can help, with tips and tricks for navigating UC’s administrative channels. The playbook will be rich with interviews from UC developers and project stewards discussing how they have so far succeeded in sustaining an open source project.
UC Open Source Survey¶
Our team recently spearheaded a survey of nearly 300 open source contributors as part of the UC OSPO Network’s discovery activities. You can read more about the UC Open Source Contributor Survey. The preprint is available now, and the paper is undergoing peer review.
What’s the status of the UCSB OSPO?¶
At present, UCSB does not have a dedicated Open Source Programs Office. Rather, we have a cross-functional team of UCSB staff with knowledge and expertise in open source who are developing the strategies, know-how, and connections needed to create an OSPO.
We envision that the UCSB OSPO will:
Help students, faculty, and staff to exchange knowledge and build connections,
Promote open source awareness on campus,
Advise on open source licenses,
Help our campus to leverage the full potential of open source,
And more!
Building on the work of the Open Source Programs Team, the OSPO will draw on resources developed by the UC OSPO Network, and its priorities will be shaped by both UC leadership and the UCSB open source community.
The current UCSB open source programs team includes staff members at the UCSB Library, and we expect that the Library will continue to be the center of gravity for this work for the foreseeable future.
Get connected¶
To stay informed about our activities, join our mailing list.
For inquiries, email us.
We’re also on Slack! If you’d like an invitation, please email us.
Our team:
Virginia Scarlett, Open Source Programs Specialist
Amber Budden, Associate University Librarian for Digital Strategies
Jonathan Balkind, Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Greg Janée, Director, Research Data Services, UCSB Library