I've been thinking lots lately about the Libraries digital collections---for two reasons.
1) We're currently in the process of hiring (and I'm chairing the search committee for) a new Digital Collections Curator in the Libraries.
2) I'm in the very exciting phase of actively planning for my upcoming Faculty Fellowship in ETS. (Hooray!)
It's funny how things in life often fall into place. When we began the search for the Digital Collections Curator, I knew the position's relevance to our current collections, to the Libraries web presence, to the Libraries' relationships with other digital and scholarly initiatives and to another newly created (and currently in the search process) position for an ITS/Libraries Digital Architect.
What I didn't think about right away was the Digital Curator's importance with regard to library instruction and information literacy. Relevant and remarkable collections, in print, online---wherever they are, are wonderful to have. But if the riches of the collections are not integrated into the curriculum, what is their impact and overall importance?
The Digital Bridges project at Columbia University helps faculty and librarians connect digital collections within the curriculum. This is the embodiment of what I've been turning over in my head lately---a mechanism for connecting archival and other online library collections with student assignments, including online media creation.
One of the things I hope to work on during my time as a Fellow is integrating Libraries' held digital collections (including streaming audio, images, and archival materials) into the flow of student media creation. The fogginess of copyright and fair use have discouraged the use of these materials in the past, and in some respects, have disconnected Libraries' digital collections from this process. Compounding this difficulty is, in the words of the Digital Bridges project:
One of the tenets of the Digital Bridges program captures the lasting effect of this need beautifully. Excellent student work is in itself 'worthy of collection' and contributes to a knowledge base for future students, faculty and the general public. What better way to build and integrate our collections for the future?
1) We're currently in the process of hiring (and I'm chairing the search committee for) a new Digital Collections Curator in the Libraries.
2) I'm in the very exciting phase of actively planning for my upcoming Faculty Fellowship in ETS. (Hooray!)
It's funny how things in life often fall into place. When we began the search for the Digital Collections Curator, I knew the position's relevance to our current collections, to the Libraries web presence, to the Libraries' relationships with other digital and scholarly initiatives and to another newly created (and currently in the search process) position for an ITS/Libraries Digital Architect.
What I didn't think about right away was the Digital Curator's importance with regard to library instruction and information literacy. Relevant and remarkable collections, in print, online---wherever they are, are wonderful to have. But if the riches of the collections are not integrated into the curriculum, what is their impact and overall importance?
The Digital Bridges project at Columbia University helps faculty and librarians connect digital collections within the curriculum. This is the embodiment of what I've been turning over in my head lately---a mechanism for connecting archival and other online library collections with student assignments, including online media creation.
One of the things I hope to work on during my time as a Fellow is integrating Libraries' held digital collections (including streaming audio, images, and archival materials) into the flow of student media creation. The fogginess of copyright and fair use have discouraged the use of these materials in the past, and in some respects, have disconnected Libraries' digital collections from this process. Compounding this difficulty is, in the words of the Digital Bridges project:
"Today's students enjoy, on one hand, an abundance of information--an abundance enabled by a historic convergence of technology, information architecture, and innovative efforts to disseminate the products of human inquiry in newly available ways. On the other hand, they learn in a networked environment prone to distraction, hype, and even hostility to curated or edited information, in which an increasingly dynamic 'participation' can be framed as oppositional to authoritative material."What a great challenge this is---to bring digital collections within the stream of instruction, much as we have done with print collections in the past. How lucky I am to have two opportunities to participate in and effect change in this process.
One of the tenets of the Digital Bridges program captures the lasting effect of this need beautifully. Excellent student work is in itself 'worthy of collection' and contributes to a knowledge base for future students, faculty and the general public. What better way to build and integrate our collections for the future?
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