Archives in the Digital Age

"I understand my role is to convey the scope of “digital archives,” so that we’re all on the same page, talking about the entire range of what’s included in “digital archives.” And first, I’d like to say a little something about archives in relation to special collections. Archives can refer to things like official records of a corporation or institution, personal papers, literary manuscripts, but they also contain photo collections, recorded sound, clippings and, often, combinations of these things. Special collections can refer to these same things, and sometimes archives units are actually part of special collections divisions.

The evolving scholarly record

This report presents a framework to help organize and drive discussions about the evolving scholarly record. The framework provides a high-level view of the categories of material the scholarly record potentially encompasses, as well as the key stakeholder roles associated with the creation, management, and use of the scholarly record. Key highlights: A confluence of trends is accelerating changes to the scholarly record\u27s content and stakeholder roles. Scholarly outcomes are contextualized by materials generated in the process and aftermath of scholarly inquiry. The research process generates materials covering methods employed, evidence used, and formative discussion. The research aftermath generates materials covering discussion, revision, and reuse of scholarly outcomes. The scholarly record is evolving to have greater emphasis on collecting and curating context of scholarly inquiry. The scholarly record’s stakeholder ecosystem encompasses four key roles: create, fix, collect, and use. The stakeholder ecosystem supports thinking about how roles are reconfigured as the scholarly record evolves. The ways and means of scholarly inquiry are experiencing fundamental change, with consequences for scholarly communication and ultimately, the scholarly record. The boundaries of the scholarly record are both expanding and blurring, driven by changes in research practices, as well as changing perceptions of the long-term value of certain forms of scholarly materials. Understanding the nature, scope, and evolutionary trends of the scholarly record is an important concern in many quarters—for libraries, for publishers, for funders, and of course for scholars themselves. Many issues are intrinsic to the scholarly record, such as preservation, citation, replicability, provenance, and data curation. The conceptualization of the scholarly record and its stakeholder ecosystem provided in the report can serve as a common point of reference in discussions within and across domains, and help cultivate the shared understanding and collaborative relationships needed to identify, collect, and make accessible the wide range of materials the scholarly record is evolving to include

Does Every Research Library Need a Digital Humanities Center?

The digital humanities (DH) are attracting considerable attention and funding at the same time that this nascent field strives for an identity. Some research libraries are committing significant resources to creating DH centers. But questions about whether such an investment is warranted persist across the cultural heritage community.In this essay, Jennifer Schaffner and Ricky Erway suggest many ways to respond to the needs of digital humanists, and creating a DH center is appropriate in relatively few circumstances. They also share examples of successful collaborations with DH, but caution that one size does not fit all.  Key highlights:In most settings, it is best to observe what DH academics are already doing and then set out to address gaps. This may include:package existing collections and services as a "virtual DH center"advocate coordinated support for digital scholarship across the parent institutioncreate avenues for scholarly use and enhancement of metadataconsult scholars at the beginning of library digitization projectsget involved in planning for sustainability and preservation of DH research resultscommit to a DH center.A "DH-friendly" environment may be more effective than a DH center.Library culture may need to evolve in order for librarians to be seen as effective DH partners.This essay is intended to prepare research library directors and other decision-makers to respond to questions from deans or provosts who may ask what the library is doing about the digital humanities. It discusses specific concerns of digital humanists and ties these to decisions that might be made by directors, in hopes of bridging the gap between how library directors and DH researchers think about the library's role in digital humanities

Agreement Elements for Outsourcing Transfer of Born Digital Content

This report suggests the elements that should be considered when constructing an outsourcing agreement (or memorandum of understanding) for transferring born digital content from a physical medium, while encouraging adherence to both archival principles and technical requirements

Support for the Research Process, an academic library manifesto

When we shift our attention from 'save libraries' to 'save scholarship', the imperative changes from 'preserve the current institutions' to 'do whatever works' [adapted from Clay Shirky]OCLC Research (Online Computer Library Center, Dublin, Ohio, USA); Research Libraries Grou

If You Build It, Will They Fund? Making Research Data Management Sustainable

Data management underpins current and future research, funder mandates, open access initiatives, researchers’ reputations, and institutional ranking. While it is widely recognized that it’s necessary to provide data management support, recognition that it requires sustainable funding is slower in coming.OCLC ResearchPublisher allows immediate open acces

Building Blocks: Laying the Foundation for a Research Data Management Program

Establishing a research data management (RDM) program has become a pressing imperative for many research libraries, but relatively few have a program in place. The challenges are many; these include learning about RDM principles and issues, assessing the local institution's greatest needs, selecting and implementing a repository environment, working with researchers to convey the importance of this work, preparing training materials, building expertise among library staff, and establishing metadata guidelines.Building Blocks offers detailed guidance at two levels: Part 1, Laying the Foundation, is directed at institutions that have yet to begin implementation, with the objective of guiding them through the steps necessary to establish a firm, supportive foundation on which to build. Part 2, Building Up and Out, is for those who are somewhat further along and ready to create the structure of a full RDM program.In addition to guiding readers through the full array of stages in building a program, Building Blocks includes more than 100 citations to resources that implementers can learn from and leverage.This work is part of our research collections and support efforts to inform current thinking about research collections and the emerging services that libraries are offering to support contemporary modes of scholarship. We are encouraging the development of new ways for libraries to build and provide these types of collections and deliver distinctive services

Heritage Quay: What Will You Discover? Transforming the Archives of the University of Huddersfield, Yorkshire, UK

The Heritage Quay project is changing how archive services at the University of Huddersfield are delivered. This article examines how the Staff/Space/Collections dependency model and Customer Service Excellence framework have been used, and what lessons can be drawn for other archives