Library team at the Internet Archive

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Xin Yue Chen focused on linking Wikipedia references to Internet Archive books (2021).
“We’re helping to train the next generation of developers,” Cheng said. “On the flip side, we really believe in our mission. Quite often, the people who work with the Google Summer of Code program continue to contribute with us as volunteers or sometimes even become employees.”

It’s a mutual win and an awesome program that has helped a lot of students find connections with companies, added Cheng. The program is a way for young people to show their initiative and is advertised as a way to “flip bits not burgers” in the summer.

“It’s a chance to contribute to a larger organization and maybe set themselves on a different prospective path to their future,” Cheng said.

Mek, who leads the Open, said the four GSoC students he’s worked phone number library with have made substantial improvements through their projects.

“We were able to make progress in a variety of different areas that we may not otherwise have had the bandwidth to focus on,” said Mek.

Being involved in GSoC has dramatically increased the number of volunteers who are interested in participating within the Open Library ecosystem. It prompted the Internet Archive to streamline the volunteer page and create intake forms. There has also been an effort to organize and label projects for new volunteers.

The GSoC experience led the Internet Archive to structure its own internship and fellowship opportunities. And it has provided the organization with a means to find qualified staff.