digital #MLA15 MATT ROBERTS
WHAT DID I DO? ▪78 panels tagged “dh”(783 panels in total) ▪attended product demonstrations (mla international bibliography, juxta editions, hathitrust research center) juxta editionshathitrust research center live tweeted from each panel 2.gained appx. 40 followers during conference and several more since 3.live tweeting’s positive effects
KEY PANELS ▪postcolonial digital humanities: praxis #mla15 #s14 ▪what does it mean to publish: new forms of scholarly communication #mla15 #s242 ▪disrupting the digital humanities #mla15 #s448 ▪genealogies of the digital humanities #mla15 #s604
OBSERVATIONS ▪asking “what is dh” is the wrong question; we’ve been digital for years ▪dh is inter-disciplinary & requires institutional infrastructure that encourages collaboration ▪dh articulated in the 3 interconnected domains – research (digital projects, data curation, access/preservation) – pedagogy/teaching (use technology to improve learning outcomes) – theory (e.g. dhpoco)dhpoco
UCI LIBRARIES AND DH ▪erds to contribute ti the majority of ‘digital scholarship’ ▪e-scholarship, web archiving, asset management only part of the pie ▪current manifestation of ‘digital scholarship services’ geared toward sciences ▪digital services for humanists lack cohesive and integrated structure
OPPORTUNITIES ▪training ▪clarify libraries’ digital scholarship services portfolioclarify libraries’ digital scholarship services portfolio ▪collaboration with humanities commons and other academic programs ▪promote collaboration to overcome dept. siloization ▪improve technology to support teaching needs (teaching is research!) ▪largest public library in o.c. can better serve the public ▪provide access to technology and support
CHALLENGES ▪funding to develop services, but… ▪funding protocol for external grants somewhat cumbersome and inefficient (e.g. recent neh grant opportunities) ▪library services conceived of as mutually exclusive from collections (e.g. literary journalism needs) ▪library space and current licensing agreements do not promote collaboration (e.g. technology in mrc not well integrated; access to advanced tech is limited) ▪digital services structure that balances serving liberal arts and sciences, and that serves the public ▪dhig and emerging technologies lack authority, though often “the creative”
QUESTIONS? RECOMMENDATIONS