Building Capacity for DH in the Library: A “Learn by Doing” Approach
Hello! I am Ashley Sanders, Ph.D. Director of the Claremont Colleges Digital Research Studio Faculty, History & Cultural Studies, Claremont Graduate University You can find me at @throughthe_veil
“DH scholarship is deeply rooted in and wholly compatible with library and archival science.” John W. White, Laying the Foundation: Digital Humanities in Academic Libraries (2016), xii
“…librarians are critical partners in DH instruction and inquiry and … libraries are essential for publishing, preserving, and making accessible digital scholarship.” John W. White, Laying the Foundation (2016), xii
DH in the Library: Professional Development Program Intro to DH Short Course Digital Scholarship Knowledge Workshops Skill-Building Workshops Library DH Maker Week Sustained support
Introduction to Digital Humanities 1 A short course for faculty & graduate students AND A short course for librarians
http://dhatccl101.com
Learning Objectives Key Learning Objectives: Topics: Develop your own definition of DH, especially in a liberal arts context Know when to incorporate digital tools and methodologies and determine why Critically examine the strengths and weaknesses of existing tools and DH projects Identify sources to find and learn new digital tools and skills Topics: Definitions of “Digital Humanities” & “Digital Literacy” Data Spatial & temporal visualizations Network analysis Topic modeling
By the end of the short course, librarians will be able to… Explain what digital humanities/digital scholarship is to an interested faculty member Describe the resources available at the library that support digital scholarship Answer basic questions about what methodologies and tools are available for faculty research and instructional projects Point interested faculty, staff, and students to websites, journals, organizations, and local experts for further information
We learn best by doing.
DH Project Proposal Assignment Working in teams of 4, design a DH project. You don’t have to build this project – only design it. dhatccl101.com/2015/12/03/dh-project-plans/ Just a few ideas (but certainly not exhaustive!): The project could focus on some aspect of librarianship – for example, creating data visualizations of our collections or usage data – or a project around some of our special collections materials – like the fascinating fan that served as an early London theater-goer’s guide to “who’s who” and their seat location.
Library DH Project Proposals Collections Analysis Project Interactive timeline of student activism on campus 1788 King’s Theater Paper Fan Scalar Book Mapping WiFi Usage in the Library
Digital Scholarship Knowledge Workshops 2
http://libguides.libraries.claremont.edu/digitalscholarship
Skill-building Workshops 3
http://libguides.libraries.claremont.edu/DHWorkshops
Library DH Maker Week 4
Library DH Projects bit.ly/claremontcollections claremontdh.net/scalar/fan/
Deliverables that Make a Difference
Maker Time Makes a Difference
5 Sustained Support
Sustained Support Leadership Dedicated Time Continuing Education Funding for training & conference presentations Staff/Librarian Positions Celebrate the successes Dedicated Time Regular team meetings to work on the project itself, as well as presentations and publications Library DH Maker Week Continuing Education Skill Workshops Text Analysis Reading Group DH Summer Institute @ the Claremont Colleges
Spaces Make it Real http://libguides.libraries.claremont.edu/digitaltoolshed
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned Identify what is meaningful to your target audience. Start small. Schedule in dedicated time. Identify available expertise within library & beyond. Celebrate & value both process & product. Identify faculty & student interests, which may also serve as drivers of digital scholarship.
Citations & Resources White, John W., and Gilbert, Heather, Laying the Foundation: Digital Humanities in Academic Libraries (2016). Purdue University Press. (Knowledge Unlatched Open Access Edition.) Intro to DH Short Course for Librarians: http://dhatccl101.com Intro to DH Short Course for Faculty & Grad Students: http://ashleyrsanders.com/intro-to-dh-short-course/ Digital Scholarship Workshops http://libguides.libraries.claremont.edu/digitalscholarship
Citations & Resources For more on the design of Claremont’s digital learning spaces, as well as DH tutorials, programs, presentations, and more, see: http://dh.libraries.claremont.edu http://AshleyRSanders.com http://ashleyrsanders.com/harnessing-resources-to-support-dh/
Contact me with questions or to schedule a workshop: @throughthe_veil Ashley_Sanders@cuc.claremont.edu AshleyRSanders.com ColonialismThroughTheVeil.ashleyrsanders.com