2016 Charleston Library Conference

In this session, we will discuss some of the difficulties and opportunities ahead of libraries seeking to provide robust tools and data to support text data mining and the growing number of courses that focus on or utilize Digital Humanities tools in the course of research.

Digital Humanities as a discipline is growing and evolving - even while many institutions struggle to define what the field actually means in a general sense and to them directly. The potential for deepening and increasing the amount of scholarly research and publishing through Digital Humanities programs is incalculable, and yet the starting point for institutionalizing this practice on campus is often elusive.

Providing the means and methods for interrogating available content and datasets - including locally sourced content - continues to be challenging, not only from the practical standpoint but from the process standpoint, too. What part can and do libraries play in helping drive the evolution and adoption of Digital Humanities across a campus? Where do the lines of intersection between library and lecture hall exist? In what ways can the library represent even stronger institutional value through the provision of rich historical constant and the resources with which to dissect them in more contextual and scientific ways?

Attendees will leave with an idea of how other libraries are actively supporting digital scholarship in the humanities as well as inspiration for how they can play a more active role in DH research at their own institution.