I found a short blog post wherein someone expresses the same level of excitement about the semi-new archival standard for encoding authorities, EAC-CPF, that I have been buzzing with of late. (Be sure to check out the project links, so you can get as excited as I am!)

I have just started playing with EAC-CPF, and doubt I don’t know enough to “teach” it, but I’m happy to lead a discussion on the topic. In particular, I am interested in finding out how aware the DH community is of EAC-CPF, and whether anyone else (DH, archivist, or otherwise) has been exploring or using it.

I’m interested in how libraries can better serve digital humanities researchers as providers of data and source material. Specifically, as we make determinations for digitization, metadata, and interfaces, how can we optimize the content for discovery and use by digital humanities researchers? I’ve been thinking about this for archives/special collections in particular. I’m also aware of an RFP that the HathiTrust Research Center has put out that’s along these lines (www.hathitrust.org/htrc).

Has anyone else been thinking about how to boost discovery, access, and use of library resources (of any types and formats) for DH scholars? What have you been doing to connect these researchers to collections at your own institutions, and what more could we be doing collaboratively and/or at network scale?

Hello campers!

Below is an outline of tomorrow’s (Thursday, 11/7) THATCamp schedule (bit.ly/1dOkuSz), which will be completed as part of our proposal voting process:

• 8:15-9:15:     Registration, Breakfast & Voting, Salon A/B, Level 3
• 9:15-9:30:    Welcome & Introductions, Salon A/B, Level 3
• 9:30-10:00: Review and Finalize the Schedule
• 10:00-11:00: Concurrent Session 1
• 11:00-12:00: Concurrent Session 2
• 12:00-1:00: Lunch, Tejas, Level 2 (ad-hoc sessions up to attendees)
• 1:00-2:00: Concurrent Session 3
• 2:00-2:30: Break
• 2:30-3:30: Concurrent Session 4
• 3:30-4:00: Break
• 4:00-5:00: Wrap-Up, Salon A/B, Level 3

Registration, Breakfast & Voting

Registration should be a quick and painless process.  Make sure to grab your sticky notes when you register since they will be a crucial part of the voting process.  Take your sticky notes and breakfast into Salon A/B, which is where eating, voting, and the beginning sessions will happen.

It is important that you cast your vote by 9:15 am sharp.  To vote, place as many sticky notes as you’d like, up to the maximum given, on the proposal or proposals of interest, which will be taped on to the walls of Salon A/B.  The organizers will promptly tally the votes, and prepare an initial draft of the schedule, populated with sessions, for group review at 9:30 am.

Sessions

We have designated 4, one-hour slots with up to as many as 4 concurrent concurrent sessions.  The number of concurrent sessions will not be known until the schedule is finalized, but we have 4 venues identified for gathering.  On level 3, we can split Salon A/B into two distinct spaces: Salon A and Salon B, and on level 2, informal groupings can set up in the two open spaces in the Courtyard (Courtyard A & B).  The Courtyard spaces are informal so it’s up to the session leader to find and claim a spot.

Google docs have been setup for collaborative note-taking.  While everyone can take notes, it would be helpful to designate an official note taker at the start of the session.

Lunch

Lunch is provided in the Tejas dining space located on level 2 of the conference center from 1:00-2:00 pm.  Campers could use this time to form ad-hoc lunch sessions.  Ad-hoc lunch sessions should be posted to the schedule, blogged and/or tweeted (#thatcamp #dhlib2013) by the session leader.  Campers can also holler or hold up signs.  No matter how it’s done, individual campers are responsible for organizing shop talk or show & tells during lunch.

Wrap Up

At 4:00 pm we will all not leave early, but instead come back to Salon A/B for a super fun wrap up session.  We will use this time to report back on themes that emerge, and help foster ongoing connections and collaboration.  We might also tell some jokes.

I am with St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio.  The law library has been using Omeka to build a digital collection.  A critical missing piece of this as a repository platform is that Omeka does not have a preservation layer.

I have the idea that a universal preservation layer can be made to overlay any content management system, by making a program to run check sums on a static file structure.

For any CMS it is possible to find a plug in to modify file structure into a static meaningful file structure.  Daniel Berthereau’s Archive Repertory plug-in modifies the file structure in Omeka, so that files can be stored in meaningful directories and assigned meaningful names (the default is to rename files with a random alpha numeric string and put all in the same directory).  So, technological barriers are low for getting a good file structure, no matter what repository platform or CMS you are using, no matter what repository platform or CMS you are using.

Rather than make a plug in to do digital preservation, it would be possible to code something that lies on top of a static file structure. It looks at the file structure, makes a list of files, runs a check sum for each file and stores that check sum along with the file location, then at a later date reruns the check sums and gives a report of which files have a different check sum (ie. gives a report of which files have changed from bit rot).  This would not be like a plug in, which installs on a specific CMS and only works with that CMS, but instead is something that overlays files on any web server.

By overlaying any set of files on a web server, such a program could do digital preservation independent of repository platform or CMS. This would greatly lower technological barriers to smaller institutions performing digital preservation.

I am interested in talking with anyone who has worked with digital preservation, and would like to meet anyone who knows about coding automated check sum reports.  I understand conceptually how to do this, but want to connect with more experienced coders who are interested in similar software.

Ultimately, I would like to code this alone or, better, with others.

I’d like to explore how digital humanities can incorporate linked data into their projects, using identifiers from ORCID;, as well as projects like DBpedia, GeoNames, and FOAF. We should also discuss library-centric projects like VIAF and FAST. Is anyone in DH using linked data? Is there an ontology of DH projects? Discuss!

The GLAM Wiki project is an effort to get more libraries, archives, and museums contributing to Wikipedia. I’d argue that it’s also appropriate for digital humanists! In this session, we’d learn about GLAM Wiki; and the process of becoming Wikipedia editors, for those who have never done it, and then get people signed up to start sharing information about digital humanities projects in one of the most effective ways possible, using the power of the crowd.

To make the day as useful as possible, I propose that we start off with a brief overview session, based largely on the materials collected by Lisa Spiro at journalofdigitalhumanities.org/1-1/getting-started-in-digital-humanities-by-lisa-spiro/ (Lisa, if you’re planning to attend, you can lead!). At the same time, we can define library-centric terms like metadata, curation, and interoperability, so that folks from the humanities community can follow what we’re saying.

When the James B. Hunt Jr. Library at North Carolina State University was planned, NCSU Libraries made the strategic decision to build immersive visualization spaces throughout the building, including four large, public, architecturally-integrated video walls. These visualization displays allow the Hunt Library to be a storytelling building: a building that provides a narrative window for the teaching, research, and learning activities on campus.

Video walls and immersive digital environments are creating new opportunities for digital humanities research and pedagogy. In this session, you can learn a little bit about our walls, but more importantly, we’ll brainstorm about potential DH applications for this kind of technology and discuss the challenges around implementing projects and services.

Who else does DH or DH-like activities on campus? From the isolated faculty in a corner, to pockets of activity in specific schools, academic departments, or other campus units, all the way to a full fledged “DH Center” elsewhere on campus: how do you map out that activity, and start developing connections and partnerships? What works, what does not? Have you encountered administrative barriers? Institutional sub-cultures that need to be bridged? Let’s talk about our experiences, good or bad, and discuss our developing plans in that area.

Like Melinda, I’m a bit of a newbie to DH&Lib, but from the opposite direction.  Having done software development within and around DH for a couple of years, I’d like to work with library collections, but am finding it hard to wrap my head around the different systems libraries use to house digitized material.

For example, the DPLA provides API access to discover library collections, but once you navigate to interesting materials, you find yourself at an institution’s web presence — a DAMS or CMS.  If you’re trying to use the material you find there in a software package–say, in order to load metadata and facsimiles into a crowdsourced transcription tool–you may be able to guess what kind of system you’re dealing with based on the URL, but then what?

I’d like to propose a session showing off different library CMS and DAM systems and how they can be used as the kinds of platforms Tim Sherratt discusses.  I’m no expert–I can show off Omeka’s API, but that’s it–but I’d be happy to lead the discussion if we have enough interest from other participants.