DS Centers:
Spaces, Programs and
Competencies
Vivian Lewis
University Librarian
McMaster University
or
AFTER the ribbon is cut..
Sherman Centre Objectives
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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 Team
Dr. 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
Makerspace
Photos by Matt McCollow
New Approaches &
Technologies
• Digital Repository (early 2014)
• The Escarpment Press (supporting McMaster
online journals)
• Cloud Storage
• Docker (data visualization)
Art
Photo by Ron Scheffler,2012
Collaboration
Photo by Matt McCollow
EARLY OBSERVATIONS
Definition
Space
Graduate Students
Patience
Patience
Competencies
An Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Funded Research Study
KNOWLEDGE & SKILL CAPACITY FOR
DIGITAL SCHOLARSHIP: A GLOBAL
BENCHMARKING STUDY
Research Team
Lisa Spiro,
Executive Director,
Digital Scholarship
Services, Rice
University
Xuemao Wang,
Dean and
University
Librarian,
University of
Cincinnati
Jon
Cawthorne,
Associate
University
Librarian,
Florida State
Vivian Lewis,
University
Librarian,
McMaster
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
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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
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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 Virginia
http://libraries.uc.edu/blogs/dsgrant/
• MITH, University of Maryland
(December)
• University of Victoria (January)
Thank you