DS Centers: Spaces, Programs and

Competencies Vivian Lewis

University LibrarianMcMaster University

or

AFTER the ribbon is cut..

Sherman Centre Objectives• library/researcher resource sharing• customized and scalable IT infrastructure• technical support and consulting services• physical meeting and work spaces• archival and access initiatives

Expertise

Our TeamDr. Sandra LaPointe (Academic Director), John Fink (Digital Scholarship Librarian), Dale Askey (Admin Director), Matt McCollow (Programmer), Gabriela Mircea (Digital Repository Librarian), Jay Brodeur (Post Doctoral Fellow)

Space

8 Active Projects – including 3 New Grad Fellowships

• Hayley Goodchild, “For Every Farm a Factory: Digitizing Ontario’s Industrial Dairy Past”

• Kellen Kurschinski, “Surviving Armageddon: Digital Histories of Canadian Great War Veterans in War and Peace”

• Daniel Schmidtke, “Noun Countability in World Englishes”

Work Space

MakerspacePhotos by Matt McCollow

New Approaches & Technologies

• Digital Repository (early 2014)• The Escarpment Press (supporting McMaster

online journals)• Cloud Storage• Docker (data visualization)

Photo by Ron Scheffler,2012

Art

Collaboration

Photo by Matt McCollow

EARLY OBSERVATIONS

Definition

Space

Graduate Students

Patience

Patience

Competencies

KNOWLEDGE & SKILL CAPACITY FOR DIGITAL SCHOLARSHIP: A GLOBAL BENCHMARKING STUDY

An Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Funded Research Study

Research Team

Vivian Lewis, University

Librarian, McMaster

Xuemao Wang, Dean and University Librarian, University of Cincinnati

Lisa Spiro, Executive Director, Digital Scholarship Services, Rice University

Jon Cawthorne, Associate University Librarian, Florida State

Objectives• Identify “best in class” DS programs• Determine, through site visits and interviews, the key

workforce related factors associated with these centers’ success

• Identify where more research is needed• Test the research design, instruments• Anticipated completion: March 2015

Definitions• Skill: Learned capacity to carry out a specific

task. Often gained through repetition or training (learning Excel)

• Competency: A more abstract ability or fitness for success in a specific area.

Scope• Both physical centers and distributed services• Often but not always located in a university library• Multiple disciplines (not just humanities)• Multiple professions (not just library staff)• Multiple countries (4 U.S., 1 Canada, 2 Europe, 3

BRICS)

Site Selection Criteria• Strong record of successful projects• National / international recognitions• Clearly articulated vision• Expressed willingness to share experiences and learn

from others

Confirmed Sites • Scholars Lab, SHANTI, VizLab, etc. (University of

Virginia) DONE• Roy Rosenzweig Center (George Mason)• MITH (University of Maryland)• ETCL, DHSI, INKE, etc. (University of Victoria)

First Visit: U. of Virginia

Follow us • University of Virginiahttp://libraries.uc.edu/blogs/dsgrant/• MITH, University of Maryland

(December) • University of Victoria (January)

Thank you