Jessica Grimmer

Jessica Grimmer is a Lecturer at the University of Maryland's College of Information and an Affiliate Faculty member in the School of Music. Her work bridges information science, digital humanities, and musicology, focusing on digital collection sustainability and Holocaust-related musical studies. She co-leads the Music Encoding Initiative as part of the Special Collections in Performing Arts and UMD Libraries.

• Ph.D. in Historical Musicology, University of Michigan
• Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS), University of Maryland
• Master of Music, University of Cincinnati
• Bachelor of Music, University of Cincinnati

Her research explores digital preservation of musical heritage through MEI (Music Encoding Initiative) standards and pedagogical applications of encoded music. A secondary focus examines musical responses to the Holocaust across Europe and North America, including works by Arnold Schoenberg and Darius Milhaud.

Key projects include the Sustaining Digital Community Collections initiative funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, where she developed frameworks for community-driven digital sustainability. She also serves as Associate Director for the Center for Archival Futures (CAFe).

Awards include:

• Best Paper Award (2022), Music Encoding Conference
• Best Short Paper Award (2021), Association for Information Science and Technology

As a cultural archivist and educator, Grimmer has:

• Led digital humanities workshops at Tufts University and the University of Maryland
• Collaborated with institutions like Howard University and Vanderbilt University
• Contributed to anti-racism initiatives in music libraries

Her technical work intersects with software projects like Verovio and MEI GitHub Repository, while maintaining active roles in professional organizations including the Music Encoding Initiative and Music Library Association.