Nic Don Stanton-Roark Receives the 2026 Julie Allinson Award

The recipient of the 2026 Julie Allinson Award is Nic Don Stanton-Roark, Digital Repository and Archives Manager for PALNI and the current Hyku Product Owner. The purpose of this award is to recognize an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the Samvera Community.  The award honors the late Julie Allinson, a beloved Samvera Community member who was an incredible mentor, teacher, contributor, and friend.

Nic Don was nominated by Eleni Castro, Amanda Hurford, Kirsten Leonard, and Jill Morris.

Kirsten nominated Nic Don for his “poise under pressure” and commitment to finding new ways to gather community input in the role of Hyku Product Owner: “Nic Don has also energized how the community sets its technical direction. Rather than making prioritization calls unilaterally, he built and ran the Hyku Priority Poll to surface development priorities directly from adopting institutions, and he has consistently brought proposals, from Aliases and Permalinks functionality to testing checklist standardization, back to the full Hyku Interest Group for consultation before moving forward. This consistent, broad consultation across many people and institutions, rather than a small circle, shows creativity applied to a challenging community coordination problem: how to run a shared open-source product without a single owning institution.”

Eleni shared how Nic Don has been welcoming to her: "As a newer member of the Samvera Community, I've heavily relied on the guidance, support and expertise of others to get up to speed, and Nic Don has been invaluable here. Every time I've reached out with questions, he has been incredibly generous with his time, knowledge, and guidance. Whether helping me work through complex challenges or connecting me with the right people and resources, he has consistently gone above and beyond to ensure I was on the right track.”

Amanda also spoke to Nic Don’s generosity of time and knowledge: “His calm, knowledgeable demeanor conveys Hyku issues and ideas in a way that is relatable for everyday users, yet he is equally conversant and engaged at the developer level. His dedication to the PO role is instrumental in making Hyku more community-led and accessible. Nic Don's generosity with his time and knowledge and his commitment to building understanding across community members reflects the spirit of care represented by this award.”

Jill shared how Nic Don’s mentoring has helped new consortial adopters of Hyku. “I know that within my own group of institutions, Nic Don is a big part of the reason that libraries ultimately decide to adopt Hyku -- after talking to Nic Don they feel supported, understood, and excited about the possibilities that Hyku represents.

Congratulations Nic Don, and thank you for your outstanding and continuing contributions to the Samvera Community!

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