Reflections on Libraries and Digital Scholarship and Looking Ahead

Joan Lippincott: Welcome to the CNI digital scholarship planning webinar series. And if you participated in previous sessions. Welcome back. Joan Lippincott: I know many of you are working from home, and some of you are back on campus. I hope you’re all doing well during this difficult time of the pandemic. Joan Lippincott: I’m Joan Lippincott Associate Executive Director Emerita of CNI and I’m the moderator of this nine part series. Joan Lippincott: If you’ve missed some webinars, who would like to rewatch or share the presentations.

We have recordings available for the first eight sessions as well as a set of questions to guide planning discussions on your own campus. Joan Lippincott: This is the ninth and final session of this webinar series and will follow a different format than the earlier sessions. Joan Lippincott: We have a panel of three individuals and I’ll be asking them a set of questions about successes of library based digital scholarship programs. Joan Lippincott: roadblocks to success getting a seat at the institutional table and reflections on how digital scholarship programs might change after the pandemic. Joan Lippincott: We’ll take questions from participants at the end and then I’ll present a short wrap up to the series.

02:04 - Joan Lippincott: Please type your questions in the chat box at any time. In addition, after the former one hour session is over will open the mics in case some of you wish to verbally ask questions. Joan Lippincott: The chat box is also available to communicate with each other or with me or our technical lead Beth Seacrest during the presentations and the panel all participants will be muted. Joan Lippincott: And now I’d like to welcome our distinguished panelists Dan Cohen vice provost for information collaboration dean of the library and professor of history at Northeastern University. Joan Lippincott: You may also know him from his work as Executive Director of the Digital Public Library of America or DPLA Joan Lippincott: And his work as director of the ROI Rosenzweig Center for History and new media at George Mason University.

02:56 - Joan Lippincott: Next, Tom Hickerson is the former Vice Provost for libraries and cultural resources at the University of Calgary. Joan Lippincott: And before that, the Associate university librarian for information technologies and special collections at Cornell University Library Joan Lippincott: Next, Patricia Hswe is the program officer for public knowledge at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Joan Lippincott: Previously, she worked in the libraries at Penn State University where she co founded the Department of publishing and curation services. Joan Lippincott: Now, the Department of research informatics and publishing and she was originally a Russian literature scholar more extensive biographies are on our website. Joan Lippincott: So welcome to our panelists and I’m going to start with a question from your perspective, what have been the major successes of library based digital scholarship programs in recent years, and I’d like to start with you, Dan. Please go ahead.

03:56 - Daniel Cohen: Thanks so much, Joan, and I first just want to thank you for organizing this series and for your continued leadership in terms of Daniel Cohen: Disseminating best practices around digital scholarship. I think the entire community really appreciate all of your work. Daniel Cohen: also great to be here with Patricia and Tom and I’m looking forward to this hour. Daniel Cohen: So your question is a good one. I think about the the major successes and I think what I’d like to focus on and just my two minutes, or just Daniel Cohen: A sort of larger point which is I think when we think about digital scholarship.

We tend to think about projects or software initiatives, but I would really focus when we talk about success on some broader or meta issues and, namely that digital scholarship 04:40 - Daniel Cohen: Programs. I think at their best success. I think have done this important role of connecting parts of the university. So for instance, Daniel Cohen: Connecting faculty from different departments together say computer science and history or design and journalism. Daniel Cohen: Or connecting those outside the library with critical departments within the libraries, such as the archives. And I also think within the library, they play this sort of connected role as well.

05:11 - Daniel Cohen: You know, I think earlier on, maybe a decade or two go digital scholarship programs were distinct where we’re sort of separate units. But I think the best digital scholarship Daniel Cohen: Groups have actually joined elements within the library. In addition to this larger role in the university. So, facilitating, for instance, on the Daniel Cohen: Transmission of digital digitize materials into teaching and learning programs within the library or allowing a metadata group that might have been working on the back end. Daniel Cohen: Of the library with the front end research program within the library. So that’s really what I would summarize is that at least in recent years, some of the key advances that digital scholarship programs have me Joan Lippincott: Thank you, Dan. Really important points, Patricia. How about you, what, what is your perspective.

06:06 - Patricia Hswe: Yeah well collaboration was going to be one of the things that I said was going to say, and I’m so glad that you that you started off with that done and and articulated that I think another Patricia Hswe: Success of digital scholarship programs could be the roles, the different roles that have emerged in libraries as a result of investing in these kinds of activities. Patricia Hswe: 10 years ago we didn’t have digital scholarship librarians and we didn’t have folks who were doing data services as part of that realm. So I think this has been very, it’s been sort of like an injection of Patricia Hswe: You know, innovative approaches to doing research that is digitally inflected and having that kind of support has been really key. Patricia Hswe: The only other thing that I would say is because of that kind of support and because of support for Patricia Hswe: Support for those new roles as well support as support for digital scholarship. There’s also been Patricia Hswe: It’s also been possible to realize, an almost fully digital research workflow. And if I were showing slides.

Today I will be showing a slide that my former foundation colleague Don waters used to show which shows how we have gone from 07:21 - Patricia Hswe: A sort of physical based workflow to digital workflow using digitized materials being able to encode those materials being able to Patricia Hswe: Transcribe OCR text being able to interpret web based content or digitize materials via annotation. For example, and even trying to crack the challenge of digitally publishing Patricia Hswe: Scholarship. So those two things digital scholarship services of support roles and being able to support a Digital Research workflow. Joan Lippincott: Thank you. Patricia interesting points, Tom. How about you. Thomas Hickerson: Well, pardon me, first I want to say hello to everyone. Thomas Hickerson: Particularly to voice my pleasure and joining with my distinguished colleagues here this morning, but everyone that’s participating and everyone that’s participated in this very impressive series.

08:26 - Thomas Hickerson: digital scholarship programs are are particularly important because they provided a different model for libraries to interact and align with today’s academic research. Thomas Hickerson: It positions the library to move beyond traditional collection based strengths and transactional services. Thomas Hickerson: When I discussed traditional strengths to the library with an Associate Dean research in the Arts Faculty at Calgary, he responded Thomas Hickerson: But we don’t do research like that anymore. Thomas Hickerson: digital scholarship programs, give us the opportunity to reshape our role directly in response to new and multidisciplinary forms of research and teaching Thomas Hickerson: As you have heard throughout this series and just remarkable presentations throughout these collaborations of identify for scholars and students evolving library capacities that are particular about value today. Thomas Hickerson: It also positions libraries well in the development of new organizational partnerships.

09:44 - Thomas Hickerson: On campus and and greatly beyond the campus, something that was was illustrated by a number of the presentations. So it’s a very special opportunity for us. Thomas Hickerson: That we are that that’s come open to us through these digital scholarship programs. Joan Lippincott: Thank you, Tom. I’m curious whether each of you believes that in the case of the successes in the working with new forms of scholarship with reaching out to faculty and Joan Lippincott: Administrators in the university with integrating it into the entire library with integrating the workflow for digital programs. Is it in your view, top down. Does it start with a leadership is it bottom up, is it a combination. What do you think Joan Lippincott: helps move things along within a library.

10:50 - Joan Lippincott: Dan Daniel Cohen: I’m sure I can I take all the above Patricia Hswe: Yeah. Daniel Cohen: I really want to underline Patricia’s great point which I think the development actually have some some new rules which act as kind of facilitators, I think. Daniel Cohen: People you know digital scholarship librarians who really see the full picture have the tech literacy understand some of the traditional library roles that that Tom mentioned as well. Daniel Cohen: But that it can also act as a very strong outreach and partner and collaborated with faculty strikes me as being really key. Daniel Cohen: But as I’m sure we’ll discuss later in the hour.

There are also organizational and financial and all kinds of issues where I do think leadership matters and and then I also, you know, going back to my days at George Mason. Daniel Cohen: I also think that digital scholarship institutions have been very good at sort of bubbling up great ideas from every level of staff, I think. Daniel Cohen: Unlike other parts of the university that may be, let’s say a little bit more faculty driven on what’s been wonderful to see and to and I’ve been at a few places where this has happened. Daniel Cohen: Is to see everyone from, you know, software developers to meditate, a specialist archivists to this digital scholarship librarians develop ideas that can be transmitted around. I think it’s a really special thing that Daniel Cohen: Unlike that sort of solitary faculty member working on a monograph which of course is always overblown right there also collaborating with archivists and librarians and so forth, but Daniel Cohen: I really think in digital scholarship environments, you have the chance to have, you know, half dozen a dozen people working together on a project.

12:46 - Daniel Cohen: And it sort of encourages a really fertile interaction between folks who have different roles within that kind of organization and can pursue new ideas because of that the hive mind that occurs within those digital scholarship programs. Joan Lippincott: Thank you, Tom. Please go ahead. Thomas Hickerson: Pardon me, I want to pick up on the on the last point that the Dan made and speaking to a number of projects. Thomas Hickerson: That research projects in various disciplinary areas. One of the things that was. It was so special about this. Thomas Hickerson: Was it in fact those scholars work directly with a variety of library staff who normally don’t have that kind of interaction. And it was so exciting for them. Thomas Hickerson: To be able to sit at the table and offer suggestions to have their knowledge and their expertise appreciated by the researchers in a very explicit passion.

14:03 - Thomas Hickerson: I Thomas Hickerson: We had hired a very new metadata librarian. And so she was in her first professional year and she commented later. Thomas Hickerson: That she had never imagined that when she was a new librarian. She would be sitting at the table directly interacting with scholars Thomas Hickerson: And how this ad just raised her appreciation of her knowledge set, but also in her role in research and her role in the university and I think for many staff at identified them. Thomas Hickerson: After working, you know, in the quote back room for so long.

Suddenly they were playing a part in the university and in a way that they had not perceived before. So really exciting and happy enhancement for staff. Thomas Hickerson: Thanks. Joan Lippincott: Patricia anything you’d like to add on this point or something else. Patricia Hswe: Um, I think, you know, just building on what’s been said in terms of all of the above. Patricia Hswe: The leadership is generally the place where the funding that makes possible the funding for these kinds of roles and and for these kinds of programs.

I think sometimes we can get overlooked is the fact that the leadership and maybe middle managers can also help facilitate 15:33 - Patricia Hswe: Some better understanding about what digital scholarship is what it involves and having understanding that it is extremely team based sometimes that’s not articulated. I think when roles like that are reduced programs like that are introduced. So I guess. Patricia Hswe: My, my contribution here is a flavor of what Dan has said. Joan Lippincott: Thank you. Well, let’s move on to our next question. Joan Lippincott: Where there are successes. There’s also normally been some roadblocks. Joan Lippincott: So what do you believe has been the major roadblocks to success of the development of digital scholarship programs because some of what Joan Lippincott: You described in response to the first question from my point of view, was rosy and wonderful.

But I also hear stories that aren’t so rosy and wonderful. And what do you think accounts for that. Let’s start with Patricia on this one. Patricia Hswe: So, um, digital scholarship programs and projects often get started because of grant funding or soft funding and it’s usually because of a nifty new idea. Patricia Hswe: Or software application or platform that is the attraction right to funders and all that is great and getting the initiative started Patricia Hswe: But what happens when the funding runs out and there hasn’t been the institutional investment. Perhaps it was anticipated, they can take over that can continue Patricia Hswe: The effort that was started. What I’m trying to get at here is not only the fact that, you know, we as funders tend to be attracted to.

17:17 - Patricia Hswe: What’s innovative and new and shiny. But the fact that we also and we meaning funders, as well as higher education institutions libraries, archives, where these activities take place. Patricia Hswe: Still don’t understand as well as we should. What it takes to persist a digital scholarship program and what it takes to maintain the activities that have been done and that have flourished. But that need Patricia Hswe: Continual funding or eventually even some capital to keep them going and to update them.

So I think that that’s definitely a weakness that we are so focused on the innovative and the shiny. Patricia Hswe: That we don’t we forget that there needs to be some attention to repair and maintenance down the road, even for positions. Patricia Hswe: You know, a lot of these positions are hired singly rather than as a team, and there can be some burnout in these positions. So I would say that has been a roadblock. And I’ll just Patricia Hswe: Introduce one additional roadblock, and that is as as as vital as these programs have become and as popular as they become. I mean, they are obviously Patricia Hswe: A very rich part of the library organization there hasn’t been still a Patricia Hswe: You know, some uptake in promotion and tenure guidelines to support the outputs of these programs.

So you can do all that work as a faculty 18:45 - Patricia Hswe: But you still struggle to get credit for it. And so that’s something that I think will the resolution over time. It isn’t a new problem. But again, like the maintenance problem. It’s something that needs attention and is that exciting to address like a new software application. Joan Lippincott: Really important points. Thank you. How about you, Tom, what do you see as roadblocks. Thomas Hickerson: Well, I’ll start out first. Thomas Hickerson: Patricia has spoken to the limitation of funding by the Mellon Foundation and other similar Thomas Hickerson: Funding supporters but i wanna i want to say how important that funding has been and. And yes, we need that funding for innovation.

19:34 - Thomas Hickerson: And I will say that Thomas Hickerson: That the funders are often very creative contributors themselves and so that we should see them as part of the environment in which we which we work. Thomas Hickerson: I will say as Patricia indicated digital scholarship programs have drawn a good deal of positive attention within libraries, but often they’re not organizationally embraced as core components of the library’s support for Campus research. Thomas Hickerson: So ongoing substantial funding has not been reallocated from other areas of library operation that may not be so important today. Thomas Hickerson: And reallocated to sustain and expand the impact of digital scholarship programs, some tough decisions have to be made to realize the full potential. Thomas Hickerson: Permanent staffing is sometimes minimal and service support is often dependent on staff on student wages.

20:48 - Thomas Hickerson: Grants shared with academic departments are often short term and do not always build stable capacity. Thomas Hickerson: We’ve also sometimes been constrained by our focus on the humanities. Thomas Hickerson: All research is digital Thomas Hickerson: And our functional strengths are not disciplinary in their scope of application. Thomas Hickerson: Metadata services and visualization are vital for climatologist and medical researchers Thomas Hickerson: As well as for literary scholars Joan Lippincott: I agree. Tom really important points. Thank you. And, Dan, what you think are some major roadblocks.

21:39 - Daniel Cohen: Sure, some of these will probably be footnotes to my colleagues on the panel, but Daniel Cohen: I guess the first thing I would say is that I think some of the hurdles or roadblocks. Are there. The flip side of what we discussed in the first question, which is that Daniel Cohen: as exciting as it is to play a collaboration or coordination role actually those roles are very hard. When I was at Daniel Cohen: The Digital Public Library in America, probably some people on this call have heard me say this, that I’ve used it more as a Daniel Cohen: social or political project, rather than a technical project. I mean, it had technical aspects but it Daniel Cohen: Had to do with coordination and collaboration among thousands of libraries, archives, and museums and that’s just very difficult and within a university environment where as Patricia noted, people might have variable incentives, particularly those who might be on a tenure track line. Daniel Cohen: You know those those tensions can arise as part of collaboration around projects.

I’d also say again is the flip side of what I said earlier, in terms of the benefits of digital scholarship programs. Daniel Cohen: Things that are big tick betwixt in between things that are not quite in a department, maybe not quite in a library are often hard to sustain this is just, you know, organizational management one on one, I think. Daniel Cohen: There are a lot of institutes and centers in the university there. Holy within a department or within a home college. Those are often much easier to find sustainable funding. Daniel Cohen: Beyond the sort of venture capital of grant funding.

23:26 - Daniel Cohen: And so the, you know, I think thinking about something that spans multiple parts of an organization is actually quite hard and probably some more thought needs to be applied in that area. And finally, I’ll just say, and I really do think this is a footnote to Tom and Patricia Daniel Cohen: I, I’m not sure I know of a single digital scholarship program that is not overstretched Daniel Cohen: I think these are tend to be, you know, very Daniel Cohen: Talented and caffeinated sets of people who really want to work on a lot of new software projects and want to collaborate with not only people at their own institution but actually Daniel Cohen: You know, nationally and internationally with others. I think it’s a very online group and Daniel Cohen: So when that happens when you have as a sort of mismatch of ambition with capacity. And I think that Daniel Cohen: That that also is an ongoing program. I know it’s just hard to kind of do everything is digital scholarship groups wanting to do some of the participants, getting back to the Daniel Cohen: Collaboration part.

Some of the participants in a digital scholarship program may not understand the amount of work that would go into a specific. What’s a new project or new feature. And so, you often have this kind of Daniel Cohen: demands on the digital scholarship group within the library outstripping the capacity. And I think that’s also an ongoing hurdle. Thank you. Joan Lippincott: Do any of you wish to comment further on your colleagues or amplify your comment. Joan Lippincott: I’m going to ask then Dan or others. I have found very few digital scholarship programs that have clear guidelines on what they will or won’t accept as a project.

25:23 - Joan Lippincott: And do you think that I’m being too kind of rational in expecting that kind of thing to develop say as a Joan Lippincott: Long ago reference librarian, you had usually some guidelines as to what types of questions you would spend what amount of time on. And, you know, follow up in that kind of thing. Joan Lippincott: Which is, of course, much more limited in scope. But do you think that that’s a step as programs mature that they could take or not particularly Daniel Cohen: So, you know, I’ll say on that it’s it I like the idea of setting up guidelines. Daniel Cohen: Certainly tried to do it in my own context, in reality, it’s, it’s, I think it’s actually kind of hard because I think a lot of digital scholarship, because it’s emergent, it’s a little bit amorphous and it’s it’s actually hard to maybe know at the beginning of a project. Daniel Cohen: You know how much work, something is, I mean, you definitely know certain parts of the parameters on what I my party line on this is maybe not to rule anything out.

26:30 - Daniel Cohen: But to see if you can sort of really work with with others to define the scope better Daniel Cohen: And even more importantly to shoehorn it wherever possible into existing platforms and structures structures that you have in your own digital scholarship program so Daniel Cohen: You know, for, for me, you know, if you can take a project and put it in a mecca, you know, thanks to the funding of the Malian foundation and others. Daniel Cohen: I was developed in is still ongoing on those platforms, you know, help to reduce the kind of structural load the cognitive load the maintenance load. Daniel Cohen: That that has to happen the sustainability. I think becomes better. So I think as long as you work to, again, not just reduce the scope but to say, you know what, we can’t have all the bells and whistles. Daniel Cohen: We can, but if we put it on in this existing structure that we know. We know how to run. We know how to use.

We have people who are expert in that area, then we can go forward with it. So I think it’s a sort of two pronged approach there. Thank you. Joan Lippincott: Tom, go ahead. Thomas Hickerson: So up a point on on this interaction. Thomas Hickerson: Is when you really have people in digital scholarship programs working closely with Thomas Hickerson: Researchers in their projects and with our graduate students. Thomas Hickerson: One of the things that we need to be quite open about Thomas Hickerson: Is what we can do.

And while we can’t do 28:15 - Thomas Hickerson: We would love to do it all and researchers would love for us to do it all in many cases, but Thomas Hickerson: We need, we need to have a real conversation. And one of the things that researchers have commented to us in some of our grant programs is we don’t know what you can do or how much you can do. And so I think I am. Thomas Hickerson: Or an element of what Dan has just described is is having a good common understanding among the staff and their capacity to convey that to the to their research partners. Thank you. Joan Lippincott: Patricia, anything to add or ready to not Patricia Hswe: Only that I think you know both of these approaches speak to flexibility and I do like the idea of having Patricia Hswe: Guidance, because I think guidance can also reflect strategy for the digital scholarship program. If you know what you’ll accept you know you’re doing that because of strategic priorities for the program.

29:31 - Patricia Hswe: But I do understand that sometimes there are things at the moment. Patricia Hswe: A particular team is coming together organically and you want to be able to take advantage of that. And so I think building and flexibility for those kinds of opportunities is really important and understanding the planning a planning phase can go a long way. Joan Lippincott: Thank you. Joan Lippincott: We’ll go on to our next question. All three of you have commented, and we’ve heard throughout the series, how important it is to take an institutional view of digital scholarship Joan Lippincott: What’s happening in other parts of the institution. And it’s really important.

I think for libraries to have a seat at the table, whatever that table is actually, it’s often several tables. Joan Lippincott: Where institutional processes decisions and budgets for infrastructure for technologies for support for storage for all kinds of things are being made. Joan Lippincott: And and resources allocated. So I’d like to know if you have recommendations for how libraries can get a seat at those tables and let’s start with you Tom Thomas Hickerson: We need to be at all the tables. Thomas Hickerson: And and i think that that opportunity is available to us and we need to be strategic.

31:00 - Thomas Hickerson: About our pursuit of those opportunities and we need to be strategic in marketing knowledge of our really what is a redefinition Thomas Hickerson: For research libraries today. Thomas Hickerson: digital scholarship programs bring a diversity of of library strengths together to enhance research and teaching Thomas Hickerson: And the strengths include visualization metadata services GIS web development br AI maker spaces. Special Collections copyright services digitization and data curation repository services who doesn’t need those. Thomas Hickerson: They’re really central elements. Thomas Hickerson: In in research and teaching today and Thomas Hickerson: So, Thomas Hickerson: We need to Thomas Hickerson: Acknowledge and take credit for our, our tremendous capacity to contribute.

32:12 - Thomas Hickerson: We need to build links within the library so that impact the various departments and the various staff participating in those departments have a sense of their of their partners and addressing these issues and Thomas Hickerson: To work together to exploit the common resources and we must partner campus wide. Thomas Hickerson: And and seek to, in doing so, to expand the rich this rich constellation of services and expertise and expertise as a critical element as I’ll comment in just a moment. Thomas Hickerson: But also, as I’ve commented, we really need to Thomas Hickerson: devote a good deal of attention. How in to how to tell the new story. Thomas Hickerson: The old story has been around for a long time. We need to work at how to tell the new story. Thomas Hickerson: In addition to partnerships with it units teaching and learning centers and academic departments must connect with the university research administration.

And as I said, demonstrate our importance to the research enterprise. We offer significant economies of scale for the university. Thomas Hickerson: And as Calgary’s associate vice president research. Thomas Hickerson: Penny Paxman said at our symposium in Washington last December libraries can play a crucial role in developing faculty abilities. Thomas Hickerson: And that also applies to graduate students and initiating synergistic connections among faculty Thomas Hickerson: These needs exist on every campus today.

34:10 - Thomas Hickerson: This redefinition and repositioning is what will bring us to new tables. Thomas Hickerson: With enhanced influence and Thomas Hickerson: Enhanced recognition. Joan Lippincott: Thank you, Tom. How about you, Dan. Daniel Cohen: That’s very well put on, you know, I will add, I think all of the trends in scholarship are heading in a direction that Daniel Cohen: We’re, you know, having a digital scholarship group in the library makes tremendous sense right Daniel Cohen: Almost every field is become at least data inflected if not significant, we involved in, you know, the management and visualization and integration of Daniel Cohen: Data sources, you know, humanities, social sciences STEM fields. So, um, so I think they’re, you know, there’s a clear leadership role play. I think I’m the Daniel Cohen: Kind of marketing and attaching yourself to strategic initiatives.

I think that’s another good point that Tom would make on 35:24 - Daniel Cohen: Just one brief example, our university is really trying to make. I think particularly given what’s happened this year, a very strong push to become better integrated into our community in Boston or Daniel Cohen: You know, university that sits in the middle of Boston, and we have tremendous archives of the surrounding communities and social justice groups in the area and so Daniel Cohen: Seeing that you know the university wants to make a significant advance on that front. And knowing that between our archives and our digital scholarship group is again a facilitator or enabler of the use and Daniel Cohen: You know visualization of our communities. History and Culture has been, I think, really important. So I think keeping an eye on you know what your university’s overall strategic priorities are and knowing what your strengths are within your digital scholarship Daniel Cohen: Group would be pretty key.

36:26 - Daniel Cohen: I’ll also say that I do think it’s really important for leaders. Daniel Cohen: Within the library to be well integrated with the other leadership structures within the university that really varies by university but Daniel Cohen: Are terrific had of the digital scholarship group at Northeastern Julia Flanders, many of you know has a joint appointment in English. So she’s integrated into our Daniel Cohen: Humanity Humanities and Social Sciences college. She’s also part of new lab. Daniel Cohen: As am I actually as a joint faculty member appointment and new lab is our digital humanities and computational social sciences group faculty driven Daniel Cohen: On I sit on the deans council with the, the deans of the college’s themselves as an equal partner that might be an unusual experience, perhaps for Dina library, but Daniel Cohen: You know, I’ve been very gratified to sort of really have a seat and be a full participant in those things. So, you know, I think. Daniel Cohen: Those kinds of very strong connections are important.

I think the library can also facilitate that by 37:37 - Daniel Cohen: Thinking about you know exactly how you structure appointments on the kinds of faculty members who you bring in Daniel Cohen: And just doing some basic politicking. To be honest, I can be frank within the university to to, you know, have even Daniel Cohen: You know, mid and entry level folks within your group reach out and participate in academic seminars and get, you know, get involved with projects so that you are valued across the university. Joan Lippincott: Thank you, Dan. Joan Lippincott: Patricia Patricia Hswe: You know, Patricia Hswe: Both Tom and Dan were so eloquent. I’m not sure that I have much more to add other than just keeping on top of assessment. And so, you know, Tom. Patricia Hswe: Bringing up the story I think is going to be increasingly important.

38:28 - Patricia Hswe: Knowing how to tell that story, not just relying on metrics or mechanisms for analytics, but actually having stories to tell that show how a particular service or particular collaboration has been effective and has shown Patricia Hswe: You know, the, the strengths of the of the campus and the faculty and the students so Patricia Hswe: Bravo to Tom and Danforth thing all that for me. Joan Lippincott: Thank you. Patricia i’m i’m going to go ahead and move on to the final question that I have and then just to remind you, if you weren’t here at the outset. After Joan Lippincott: Our panelists answer this fourth question we’ll open it to you, the participants for your own Q AMP. A and then I’m going to do a brief wrap up of the seminar of the webinar series. Joan Lippincott: So our fourth question is in the aftermath of the pandemic, which we’re all just hoping and hoping and hoping will come sooner than later.

How will digital scholarship programs change and Dan. We’re going to start with you on this question. Daniel Cohen: So yeah, just you know pandemic has had no effect whatsoever in our lives. Daniel Cohen: across the university and digital scholarship groups. Daniel Cohen: Of course, I mean, I’ll be I’ll be brief, I think, I think, you know, it makes digital scholarship work more important than ever because Daniel Cohen: We, you know, we Daniel Cohen: They point to we have to be more responsive more flexible in the way that we do our work. Now we’ve had to Daniel Cohen: Do that all year.

I mean, my entire staff has had to change, week to week day to day. I mean there’s just so much going on and you know I’ve always thought that one of the advantages of digital media and technology. Daniel Cohen: Is that it is it is flexible, it’s adaptable. It can be used to different purposes you know it’s it’s a it’s a medium that is can be highly responsive, if done well. And so I just think Daniel Cohen: You know, we will have to continue to be very responsive to what’s going on in the world around us and to use the best of digital media and technology to make better and more humane approaches to what we see. Daniel Cohen: Thank you.

40:59 - Patricia Patricia Hswe: Um, flexibility is definitely going to be a part of it. I do think that in some ways because of the versatility of the roles and of staff in these programs. Patricia Hswe: Perhaps that’s a versatility that will translate across other staff roles in the organization. Patricia Hswe: I know that there have been situations where, because of the nature of the position or the work or the role. It’s been hard to do that kind of work. Patricia Hswe: From home and maybe they’ll be more imagination into ways of odd, you know, automatically or nimbly repurchasing certain positions or certain Patricia Hswe: Activities, so that they can take place, off, off campus.

I also wonder if will be more attentive to challenges of continuity of service continuity of research and teaching 42:00 - Patricia Hswe: That will go beyond just holding things over zoom. You know, I think that there are already groups and organizations thinking in those terms. Patricia Hswe: So less dependency on space. I am curious to know, you know what the investments will be post pandemic on space on facilities, given that, you know, we have not been able to take advantage of them because of the challenges of a pandemic. Patricia Hswe: So I guess the only other thing is just understanding that the portfolio for online services is probably going to grow.

42:36 - Patricia Hswe: That they’ll be, you know, probably, you know, I’m thinking toolkits or guidance that will enable libraries and libraries to make that transition without, you know a whole lot of Patricia Hswe: angst and, you know, issues and problems. Joan Lippincott: Thank you and Tom Thomas Hickerson: Oh, Thomas Hickerson: Not long ago I saw an article in the New York Times about the pandemic, which was headlined in bold letters saying no one knows what’s going to happen. Thomas Hickerson: And that is ok. It reminds me of what I often say about designing libraries design for the library, you know, for the library you can imagine, and for the library, you cannot yet imagine Thomas Hickerson: We’ve had months now of something most of us could not imagine Thomas Hickerson: To our credit. We are accommodating the changes but ideally we are also recognizing that the changes and research and teaching in the student experience. And then our role in the campus community will continue beyond the pandemic and continue to change.

43:52 - Thomas Hickerson: So perhaps the best thing we can do is to recognize this and employ permeable thinking and our programming training and architectural and spatial design. Thomas Hickerson: When we built the Taylor family Digital Library at Calgary. We had raised flooring and mountable walls installed throughout most of the building. Thomas Hickerson: We wanted a space that could be altered and repurposed without major construction. Thomas Hickerson: Today lab next is a digital scholarships space created in response to researcher identified needs.

It’s an open and flexible space, including small work rooms and a maker space located as a hub for a constellation of related services. Thomas Hickerson: But it could be something else tomorrow. Thomas Hickerson: Hopefully, Thomas Hickerson: A comfort with and capacity for change is how we will deal with our current circumstance. Thomas Hickerson: And also prepare ourselves for tomorrow. Joan Lippincott: Thank you, Tom. Joan Lippincott: Do any of you want to add to your comments or question one of your fellow panelists or expand on your thoughts.

45:12 - Joan Lippincott: Go ahead, or raise your hand. Daniel Cohen: Dan Well, I’ll just, I’ll just say briefly, I think the space. Question is a really interesting one, we’re actually at the beginning of renovation of our library. And I think that point on. Daniel Cohen: Tom’s third point about, you know, how do you design for a future. You can imagine is a really median interesting one. And I think we agree with the direction that that question takes us Joan Lippincott: Thank you. Patricia. Did you want to add something. Patricia Hswe: I don’t think so i again i learned so much from both my colleagues on the panel in their comments and I love the expression permeable thinking and, you know, just that ability to be able to repurpose rethink Patricia Hswe: Even to some extent, you know, think of it is you know repair restoration is going to be key. I think to life after the pandemic and libraries. Joan Lippincott: Well, thank you so much, Patricia Dan and Tom you’ve provided some great perspectives on both the past and the future of digital scholarship programs. Joan Lippincott: And now we’ll take some questions from participants and then I’ll provide a brief wrap up of the series. And so if you’ll put your questions into the chat. I will then Joan Lippincott: Feed them to our panelists.

Our first question is, how do you balance strategic marketing. Joan Lippincott: And illuminating the role of digital scholarship with very real staffing bandwidth and funding issue. So in other words, if you’re out there. Joan Lippincott: Talking up your program, but you’re reaching the limitations of what your staff can handle. How do you make sure that you’re somewhat keeping that in balance. Tom, do you want to address that first Thomas Hickerson: Well, I go back to the making hard decisions.

47:11 - Thomas Hickerson: And and my quote of the of the research Dean. Thomas Hickerson: Parts of our of our previous traditional strengths are not as valuable today, much more material Isabel is available through open access and through open science. Thomas Hickerson: And so we really have to think about what is in the 21st century. What is the most important strength. Strength of the of the library. What are they today and then be responsive to what will they be tomorrow and Thomas Hickerson: So, so Thomas Hickerson: You know you. We all say it many times. Um, the question is what do we not do. Joan Lippincott: Thank you. Patricia. Any thoughts. Patricia Hswe: Yeah, I just, I was nodding, because I totally agree with Tom, what do you not do is it’s going to be key to figuring out this problem of bandwidth for sure. Thank you. Joan Lippincott: Dan, anything to add.

48:25 - Joan Lippincott: Alright our next question is what parameters do you recommend Joan Lippincott: Regarding when should library digital scholarship staff be recognized as Co authors or co-researchers Joan Lippincott: And so this could apply to publications to presentations, etc. Does the Mellon Foundation have any guidelines for that or do you look at proposals for how people’s roles will be recognized Patricia, or is that something that you think Joan Lippincott: That you have some thoughts on Patricia Hswe: Um, I don’t know that we well we want to obviously see collaborators recognized in some way on a proposal and Patricia Hswe: That could very well mean that if they have a major role in the effort that we want to see some indication that they participate in the design of the project. Patricia Hswe: But when it comes to actual parameters to recommend for recognizing co authorship or co or collaboration on a project. Patricia Hswe: That’s a tricky one, and I you know I think part of it has to do with the fact that these contributions collaborative contributions aren’t often recognized or credited by the organization. Patricia Hswe: And so I think I’m going to defer to my panelists, my fellow panelists this decision as to whether they have any ideas on that front. Thank you.

49:55 - Joan Lippincott: Tom, we know in the sciences, there’s an increasing movement to have a huge list of CO authors with in some cases roles specified on publications. Is that something that you saw it all at Calvary, where were some of your staff involved co authors are co presenters wants to work with their Thomas Hickerson: I’m one of what we saw them probably more often than specifically Thomas Hickerson: Credit for Thomas Hickerson: For scholarly communication is the opportunity to be Thomas Hickerson: Co participants in academic grants and Thomas Hickerson: For one of our literary scholars Thomas Hickerson: Her co participants. Thomas Hickerson: For a major grant included the head of our Thomas Hickerson: Spatial numeric data services because of his expertise in GIS and also included our visualization coordinator. And interestingly, Thomas Hickerson: We’ve had cases where people in digitization who are applying new methodologies. Thomas Hickerson: To produce a different kind of digital image to be incorporated into data analysis.

51:29 - Thomas Hickerson: Are also getting substantial credit. So I am. And we’ve certainly done you know we brought our partners to see an eye as well and Thomas Hickerson: So trying to have them join with us as well as us join with them. Joan Lippincott: And as a digital historian and someone who’s worked on projects for many years. I’m sure you’ve encountered this from different perspectives as a P i and as an administrator, etc. Daniel Cohen: Yeah, I mean I guess maybe this is a little too simplistic, but I sort of feel like in an era where there can be 1000 co authors are co researchers on an article that comes out of the Daniel Cohen: CERN or Large Hadron Collider.

I think we can credit eight or 10 all on our digital scholarship program I doesn’t seem like we’re wasting that many pixels to really 52:28 - Daniel Cohen: Let everyone who’s been involved in the project share at least a bit in the limelight. I think it’s Daniel Cohen: Essential for morale and frankly, I just think it’s ethically right that if librarian or an archivist or software developer has contributed to the conceptualization or Daniel Cohen: Made some really key tweak that enables the the the sort of front end scholarship, the analytical part to be better realized then that person should be credited, and I think it’s Daniel Cohen: It’s healthy for an organization to provide more widespread credit. And also, I think, a way forward for again. The, the true recognition of the role that these groups play across the university. Thank you. Joan Lippincott: Our next question is one that I’m sure it’s on the minds of lots of our participants, where would you advise a library that doesn’t yet have a strong central digital scholarship services team or department to start Joan Lippincott: What would be the essential supporting positions and skills and note that the library may have some of these things in existence, but they’re not coordinated or, or, you know, marketed in that way, would like to start Joan Lippincott: Tom Thomas Hickerson: So just a quick Thomas Hickerson: Comment is to have as as the questioner has has mentioned, is to recognize that while we have to do is provide a constellation. Thomas Hickerson: Of services and they must be conveyed in a in a unified fashion but in many cases we already have have many of the strengths.

We just need pardon me, we just need to be able to bring them to bear. Thomas Hickerson: In a, in a successful and impactful fashion. Thomas Hickerson: And one of the things that I found particularly important in doing that is someone who is a coordinator who works between the various Thomas Hickerson: Library units, but also interact directly with the researchers researchers don’t know how to go from one spot in the library to another spot to another spot. So we need a coordinator to actually give Thomas Hickerson: A coherent. Thomas Hickerson: Response to the research need Thomas Hickerson: Thank you.

55:07 - Joan Lippincott: We’re going to take one final question, and then I’m going to do a wrap up. The question is, Joan Lippincott: Do you cut the baby in half kind of question just prior to the pandemic, we received funding from the provost to renovate space to create a digital scholarship center. Joan Lippincott: The design plans for widget had already been put on hold once, but now funding has been paused, but they also need additional staff positions and expertise to implement their programmatic vision. Joan Lippincott: Should we continue to advocate for the build out of a digital scholarship center or instead focus on expanding staff expertise as our top funding focus Joan Lippincott: So, you know, I don’t know this individuals in this institution or do you and I’m sure there are many factors involved, but do you have any advice to provide Daniel Cohen: I’ll just get a digital scholarship is people, the end of the day it’s people much more than space and just back to Tom’s point, you know, Daniel Cohen: We don’t know what the future is going to hold. I mean there been libraries that have built out giant VR centers. I’m not sure that VR is the future.

I don’t even know what’s going to happen in five or 10 years so 56:22 - Daniel Cohen: To me, I think the most important thing is to stock your institution with talented people. That is the number one thing to do. Daniel Cohen: I think Tom is absolutely right that if you have someone in a sense, do a survey and catalog all those talents that you can Daniel Cohen: Provide a menu of services from your existing staff, someone might have a little bit of specialty here or there, you can essentially organically start to build out a digital scholarship group. Daniel Cohen: Without renovating a space and hard wiring a whole bunch of things together before you actually have the expertise to really staff it and to pursue the kinds of questions that you’d like to pursue Joan Lippincott: And I hope our panelists. Don’t mind if I give you the last word there so that I have a little time for the wrap up, and I hope you’ll join me in thanking our speakers, if they’re able to stay Joan Lippincott: We’ll continue our discussion of after my wrap up. But thank you so very, very much for your time, your expertise for sharing those viewpoints with us.

And now I’m going to 57:30 - Joan Lippincott: Do a very brief wrap up. Joan Lippincott: And first, I want to say once again thank you so much to our panelists Dan Cohen Tom Hickerson Patricia sway, but also a big thank you to see and I Clifford Lynch. Joan Lippincott: Enthusiastically approved the proposal, I made to do this webinar series. And I’ve received support from Diane Goldenberg-Hart, Jackie Eudell, Sharon Adams. Joan Lippincott: Angelo Cruz and Beth Secrist.

They’re responsible for the website for the registration process for the listserv for getting those videos up and out. So very quickly, and I owe them a lot. So thank you. Joan Lippincott: So I want to just reinforce some of the things I’ve taken away from the series. Some are reinforcing viewpoints already held some has changed my thinking about some things Joan Lippincott: But at its heart, I think it’s so important to understand that digital scholarship programs, support the core mission of the university in research and learning and in service or community. Joan Lippincott: And understanding how to articulate that to administrators and to staff in the library and around the university is critically important, I think, Joan Lippincott: And I think it’s also important to understand as you’re developing a program, whether you’re at the beginning. Joan Lippincott: Or at a stage where you’re expanding your program to think about what kind of program you’re developing Joan Lippincott: And I would say you might be starting at the service provider role, which is fine and really important Joan Lippincott: Most programs really want to become genuine collaborators and at least some of the projects with which they work.

But Greg Raschke in our previous session on space and place 59:25 - Joan Lippincott: Talked about also the role of the library as expanding the idea of the possible and it’s somewhat akin to Tom Hickerson saying a man imagining what you can’t even imagine. At this point, and he says it in a much more articulate way. Joan Lippincott: But having that expertise and showcasing new forms of scholarship may spark ideas of researchers graduate students and even undergraduates about what’s possible in their own discipline and move them into new areas. Joan Lippincott: I also think it’s continually important for libraries to stress that they are the neutral ground they are the place Joan Lippincott: Where interdisciplinary research and projects can flourish when multi disciplinary research can flourish. Joan Lippincott: And they provide opportunities for students and faculties in all disciplines disciplines to participate in new forms research learning and communication of research results, regardless of whether they have the funds to be able to do that in their home departments or colleges Joan Lippincott: And as we’ve heard today, and in some of the earlier webinars administrative leadership is key. Joan Lippincott: And by this.

I’m talking about administrative leadership in the library at the dean and director level and to me. Also, very importantly, if the associate Joan Lippincott: university librarian level communicating to staff. What this is about what new forms of research are about and why the library is doing it. There are a lot of people in libraries, who still will say, I don’t understand why the library is doing this. Joan Lippincott: And then it needs to be communicated in the clear and and Joan Lippincott: really impactful statement establishing digital scholarship as a priority for the library clearly doing.

So not having it as an add on peripheral service and that it does involve rethinking staff roles. Joan Lippincott: We’ve heard this theme of collaboration throughout the webinar series and at the institutional level, it means having a see that many of the tables, as we talked about today. Joan Lippincott: It’s particularly important when there’s institution wide planning going on for infrastructure. Joan Lippincott: And it enables the library, if they’re at these tables to see partners for particular projects or particular initiatives to get to know people, both at the administrative level and at the grassroots level. Joan Lippincott: And for me, and this is something I don’t hear as much about, but as an outsider from I worked in for universities, before I came to see an eye, but now I look at Joan Lippincott: University Programs from an outsider’s view point and I often wonder how researchers and students have a clue where to go for particular types of help or technology or expertise.

02:30 - Joan Lippincott: Because it’s usually scattered around campus and there’s no coherent view into that suite of services expertise and technologies. Joan Lippincott: collaboration within the library is incredibly important. We’ve heard that today emphasized many times that if there may be a core team of identifiable digital scholarship staff. Joan Lippincott: But there needs to be clear roles and responsibilities for staff and all kinds of other areas and there needs to be rewards for that participation that has to be taken into account in annual reviews and in promotion and tenure decisions if that applies in your library. Joan Lippincott: Creating a program for your institution that’s really a lot of what this series has been about whether you’re starting at the early stages or you’re Joan Lippincott: Rethinking the next stage of your program.

I certainly encourage you to start with a needs assessment. How, how extensive it is depends on what you already know about your Joan Lippincott: Audience about other partners on campus, etc. But you need to know what are critical areas for institution both institutional priorities and Joan Lippincott: where the gaps are in your institution. For example, I know of universities where the geography department has the GIS software, but there’s no place on campus where someone in a history can come and get expertise and access to technology for GIS, that kind of thing. It’s a gap. Joan Lippincott: Importantly, you need to have clear discussions about how you’ll address diversity, equity, and inclusion issues throughout the digital scholarship program, both in collections in service in priorities and in Joan Lippincott: In public programming, you need to think about what staff are available.

How you retrain staff, how you repurpose positions when you’re able to fill them. And I know that’s a Joan Lippincott: Really worrisome area right now with a pandemic and where you should start we had that question and we had a some response to that we might have more discussion at the end if you’d like. Joan Lippincott: And then how will you know if you’re successful, we do have a lot of assessment at the front end of the program, but very little. Joan Lippincott: In mid points and trying to develop some parameters and they don’t necessarily need me metrics or numbers. Joan Lippincott: But some idea of what constitutes success for your program.

I think is really important to have those discussions and then to sit down and say each year. How did we do, we’re could we do better. How do we change our priorities and move forward. Joan Lippincott: Now space and place while I do agree that having the right staff on board and enough staff is even more important than space and place. I still believe that Joan Lippincott: Space and place remained highly desirable as integral parts of programs. And I’m not saying that our panelists disagree with that. Joan Lippincott: But most importantly, what we’ve seen during the pandemic with teaching and learning in particular is students miss community.

05:58 - Joan Lippincott: And into digital scholarship so much is done in collaboration and through communities. And yes, there are many virtual digital scholarship communities and that can be part of it. Joan Lippincott: But we also know that so much peer learning and collaboration those on in digital scholarship spaces people build upon each other. They spark ideas and they teach each other things. Joan Lippincott: In addition, those spaces often become windows often because they literally have glass walls into what libraries offer so they serve as their own public relations and communications about what libraries do today. Joan Lippincott: And particularly if they offer exhibits of the products of digital scholarship, both from faculty and students. I think are critically important.

06:51 - Joan Lippincott: So I want to remind you that this webinar series has the components of videos that each one of these sessions, along with a brief campus discussion guide of three to five questions per segment. Joan Lippincott: And I really love it if you send me examples of how you might use these on your campus. Joan Lippincott: To do some planning discussions, you can ask members of your planning group to watch the videos asynchronous honestly and then hold a zoom session or in some of your cases and on Joan Lippincott: Campus session where you discuss a particular aspect of the program, whether you do it in sequence, whether you pick or choose it really doesn’t matter. But I would really hope that these help you in your own campus planning. Joan Lippincott: You need to start thinking, Now I’m sure you already are.

07:43 - Joan Lippincott: Thinking about reopening whether it’s partial reopening or full reopening I don’t need most many of your libraries have some reopening right now but not so many have opened their digital scholarship spaces. Joan Lippincott: And use this time when you’re partially open or closed to communicate with staff your user community and new and current partners about what you’re doing and what you would like to be doing with them. Joan Lippincott: So that’s really what I wanted to cover as my wrap up. I’d like you to please complete an evaluation form. I’ll send you a link Joan Lippincott: To the evaluation form in an email this week.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve only come to one session or several or all of them. I would really appreciate Joan Lippincott: If you would complete the form also see an eye is looking to that evaluation to see where they might go for future programs. Joan Lippincott: And please feel free to email me your comments and suggestions. But most of all, I thank all the presenters our wonderful panelists today as well as presenters from our previous sessions. Joan Lippincott: And a big, big thank you to all of our participants.

So I’m going to stop my screen share and then move back to the discussion. I see we’re beyond time of at this point. But if you have further questions, I’ll try to feed them to our panelists and once again I thank you very much! .