Democracies depend on an informed and engaged citizenry — and in the digital age, that means equitable, reliable access to public information online. To help make this vision a reality, the Internet Archive is building Democracy’s Library, a free, open, online collection of government research and publications from around the world.
To bolster the U.S. component of this effort, the Internet Archive welcomes Merrilee Proffitt as the director of Democracy’s Library, US. Merrilee brings decades of experience in library collaboration, digital initiatives, and open knowledge partnerships that will help shape and scale this growing national collection.
Building an open, digital public resource
As director, Merrilee will guide the expansion of Democracy’s Library in the United States—working with libraries, archives, and civic institutions to make publicly funded information freely available and discoverable online. This work continues the Internet Archive’s long-standing commitment to universal access to knowledge, while supporting democratic engagement through transparency, accountability, and shared understanding.
“Governments have produced an extraordinary wealth of information in the public domain,” said Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle. “Democracy’s Library helps ensure that this knowledge truly serves the public good.”
A career dedicated to collaboration and access
Before joining the Internet Archive, Merrilee served as senior manager of the OCLC Research Library Partnership, supporting collaboration among leading research libraries worldwide. She previously worked with the Research Libraries Group and at the University of California, Berkeley, where she managed digital library initiatives that brought rare and unique materials from the Bancroft Library and other collections online.
Throughout her career, Merrilee has been a strong advocate for connecting libraries and archives with the global open knowledge ecosystem. She has deep experience partnering with the Wikimedia community to make library collections more visible and reusable across the web. Drawing on experience advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion in libraries and archives, she is committed to building a Democracy’s Library that reflects the diversity of the communities it serves and the many perspectives that strengthen democratic engagement.
When she’s not collaborating to open access to knowledge, Merrilee enjoys cycling (including riding her bike to the Internet Archive headquarters in San Francisco), and baking sourdough bread.
Learn more:
- Explore Democracy’s Library: https://archive.org/details/democracys-library
- Read the original announcement: Introducing Democracy’s Library (2022)