Last spring dh+lib published the special issue “Making Research Tactile: Critical Making and Data Physicalization in Digital Humanities,” which featured seven case studies on ways critical making could be integrated into a digital humanities (DH) research practice. This follow-up special issue features concrete ways we can integrate critical making into our (library) instruction. Given the library’s role in technology instruction and data literacy–as well as its function as a space that embraces creative methods–we wanted to provide some explicit examples of teaching methods that can work in everything from a technological one-shot to a more embedded instructional model. If you want to know more about what data physicalization is and why it is a great tool for DH, please see the introduction to that previous issue. 

Technological instruction without computers 

Teaching data, or other technological instruction, through crafting can strengthen our pedagogy in many ways. Russell and Hensley warn of the dangers of “buttonology” and focusing our instruction too much on the interface of specific tools (2017). When we do this, we risk not teaching students how to think computationally, and instead how to navigate specific software, which could become immediately outdated when something new is released or when that software is no longer available. And as Cammeron et al. show us, a minimalist and low-tech pedagogy can more quickly get students thinking about technological concepts (2024). This can also help address technological anxiety and frame assignments as more “fun” for students who are less drawn to doing humanities work digitally, which can foster students’ curiosity to pursue the topics further. 

Over-emphasizing programming languages or computer software perpetuates limited notions of what counts as technical skill. Adopting a more expansive view of technology to include things such as weaving, sewing, paper arts, and more, enables us to honor and value the broad range of skills, experiences, and interests our students bring with them into our classrooms. By situating these technical and creative skills in larger contexts beyond the digital, our digital or data literacy instruction can appeal to a more diverse range of learners. Put another way, de-emphasizing the coding aspects of technological instruction opens up learning spaces to a wider range of people, including women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and economically-disadvantaged students, who, because of past negative experiences or stereotypes, may not gravitate toward programming-oriented topics or classes. In this way, we see this approach as one of many interventions, such as Girls Who Code, to expand and make more accessible technological instruction. We hope this issue inspires you to imagine more accessible and inclusive approaches to your digital humanities instruction that are rooted in this expansive view of technology.

In this issue

This issue consists of eleven data physicalization case studies, specifically situated in instructional contexts. Like our previous issue, these case studies take inspiration from cooking blogs: each piece includes a narrative describing the authors’ experience doing the work and a set of instructions to try doing it yourself. We’ve also collected these instructions into their own zine, which you are free to print, share, and remix. 

Within the issue, you will find projects that use a wide range of crafting methods, from beading to circuit building. We encourage you to take inspiration from these examples, but do not feel limited by them. If there is a type of craft or making you are most comfortable using, there is probably a way to use it for this type of work too! We hope this special issue can serve as an invitation to join us in this work. Please try any of the projects in the issue, post pictures of what you make using #DHMakes—a hashtag many folks in the community have been using—and if you find more readings on this topic, or write one yourself, add it to our Zotero group for resources on data physicalization.

Citations

Cammeron, Malcom, Carter, Caroline, Pérez Martínez, Winnie E., Stephen, Samantha, and Brandon Walsh. 2024. “A Way In: Digital Pedagogy Training with Speculative, Low-Tech Workshops” Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, vol 24.

Russell, John E., and Merinda Kaye Hensley. 2017. “Beyond Buttonology: Digital Humanities, Digital Pedagogy, and the ACRL Framework” College & Research Libraries News, December. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.78.11.588.

What is it

Crafting Encounters with Humanities Data is a special issue of dh+lib that will explore ways of integrating critical making and data physicalization into library-based digital humanities pedagogy in a variety of forms and modalities, including workshops, course-related instruction, and more.

Methods and topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Crafting (knitting, sewing, crocheting, weaving, etc.) visualizations
• Data physicalization as accessible/tactile data visualizations
• Teaching technological concepts through making
• Digital humanities data objects 
• Supporting creative approaches to data and technology

Proposals (~250 words) should describe the topic and/or method being explored, and introduce a tentative idea for a pattern that readers can use to make a similar physical object (see the zine from our earlier special issue). You do not have to be a librarian or work in a library to submit, but the main audience of your piece should be library workers. We also understand these proposals might not represent work already done, and will be flexible if your topic shifts as you do the work. 

Submit proposals by September 27, 2024. 

Format of the final piece

Inspired by cooking blogs, each piece will have a written narrative + a pattern tied to the theme of the narrative. Narratives can be formal or informal and the recipes will also be gathered into a standalone zine that will be freely available to print/download/share.

For inspiration and examples of this work please see part one of this series “Making Research Tactile: Critical Making and Data Physicalization in Digital Humanities” (2024). 

Tentative Timeline

• Proposals due September 15th September 27
• Notification October 1st mid October
• Drafts due February 9th
• Editing/production in March 
• Publication in April

Questions

Please feel free to email dhandlib.acrl@gmail.com with any questions you have. We want your proposals to be as strong as possible and are happy to answer questions over email or set up a meeting to talk through your ideas.

This special issue of dh+lib introduces our readers to how digital humanities can integrate data physicalization into the research process and how data physicalization is a form of critical making. Seven case studies are presented here, ranging from how we can use data physicalization to teach digital methods to how data physicalization can aid in the creation of research objects.

What is data physicalization?

Before we get too deep into the work itself, what is data physicalization? Essentially data physicalizations are tangible objects whose appearance, form, and design are informed by data. Rather than making a traditional “flat” data visualization in Tableau, Python, or some other software, these projects use textiles, clay, fiber, and more to present their information. There are many terms for this process, like physical data visualization, embodied data visualizations, data materialization, but we are using data physicalization as it is a term that has been long adopted by design fields already. 

Data physicalization can also incorporate themes from other critical data fields. Data physicalization shares a lot with data feminism, and in particular in the ways it makes labor visible. While traditional visualizations can sometimes appear effortless, physicalizations often emphasize the hands of their makers. That labor also promotes deeper relationships between the practitioner and their data, as they spend more time directly interacting with the data (Cleghorn 2019). For readers of the physicalizations, they can engage them both visually and haptically, creating a deeper engagement with the information presented. That care and attention makes data physicalizations a tool with a lot of potential for projects dealing with data about people and can function as data visceralizations. Many makers see data physicalization as a way to reassert human elements back into data processes that are often abstracted and distanced from the subjects of representation. The possibility for tangible connection—by the maker and the viewer—engender rehumanization.

Why in DH?

So why would a digital humanities need data physicalization? Would a data sculpture or quilt even count as digital humanities work? If we take an expansive definition of digital humanities, where digital humanities is the process of using technologies to help us pursue and answer humanities questions, then digital humanities doesn’t have to be digital. Indeed, not all technologies are digital, and exploring non-digital technology can help us reconnect to another meaning of digital, referring to fingers and hands, which underscores the broader issue of how we can think about computation as something extra- or non-human rather than being a fundamental part of the human experience. Woodwork, ceramics, and weaving are all technologies that predate computers. In fact advanced weaving looms helped inspire the first computers. Weaving, knitting, lacemaking are all algorithmic and such fabric-based making is a way of demystifying how computers function – they aren’t these weird magic boxes, but are related to these everyday activities that have been going on, in some cases, for millennia (Harlizius-Klück 2017). By integrating physicalization into our practice, we better understand data and computing as part of our human existence rather than solely the province of machines. And by integrating these types of skills into our digital humanities practice, we can begin to credit more forms of knowledge in the academy. While data sciences and heavily computational digital humanities place a high value on coding skills, which can benefit particular genders and socio-economic backgrounds, elevating skills like crochet and embroidery as technical and academic skills allows us to acknowledge a wider variety of traditional knowledge (Haas 2008).

Additionally, data physicalization can be a critical data practice. These types of visualization help us explore the ways power impacts the data we study and utilize, thereby enabling a particular ethic of digital humanities praxis. Data physicalizations are slower than traditional visualizations, and that slowness promotes a deeper connection between the practitioner and the data themselves. Additionally it can take longer for a viewer to interpret a physicalization, and that process of translation can encourage a more meaningful relationship between the viewer and the data. For data on sensitive subjects, like people or the environment, this time can help both the researcher and the reader to reflect on the story being told. 

This work isn’t new to digital humanities. Two entries in the Debates in Digital Humanities series, Making Things and Drawing Boundaries (Sayers 2018) and Bodies of Information (Losh and Wernimont 2019), both touch on making and materiality in digital humanities, and there have been digital humanities data physicalizations (Webber-Bey 2014). However as the #DHMakes community continues to grow and more scholars turn to making as a way to engage in their research, libraries need to be involved in these conversations too. 

Why in libraries?

But why should libraries, and those who work within them, care? Data physicalization can be a great partner for traditional digital humanities instruction, teaching technological methods without using a computer (D’Ignazio 2022). This can help students engage with data-oriented and humanities-oriented computational thinking while simultaneously addressing tech anxiety. It allows the instruction to be more focused on scaffolding and embodying data literacy concepts than on specific software, giving students the skills to then apply the information to their own research (Russell and Hensley 2017). Additionally, by familiarizing themselves with diverse research methods, libraries will be better prepared to support a variety of learning styles and needs. 

In this issue

This issue consists of seven data physicalization case studies taking inspiration from cooking blogs: each study is framed as a narrative about the author’s experience; several studies include an accompanying pattern for the reader to try. These patterns have been gathered into a zine that you all are welcome to print and share. The issue covers a range of methods, from weaving to programming wearables, and a variety of topics, like dealing with failure and considerations for coming up with the design of a data physicalization. 

We hope this special issue can serve as an invitation to join us in this work. Please try making any of the patterns in our zine, post pictures of what you make using #DHMakes—a hashtag many folks in the community have been using—and if you find more readings on this topic, or write one yourself, add it to our Zotero group  of resources on data physicalization. And when the call for proposals for the second part in this series comes out, consider submitting something to it! 

Citations

Cleghorn, Ripley. 2019. “Why You Should Close the Computer for Your Next Data Visualization.” Nightingale (blog). October 2, 2019. https://medium.com/nightingale/why-you-should-close-the-computer-for-your-next-data-visualization-3636663d0b35.

D’Ignazio, Catherine. 2022. “Creative Data Literacy: Bridging the Gap between the Data-Haves and Data-Have Nots.” Information Design Journal, July, 6–18. https://doi.org/10.1075/idj.23.1.03dig.

Haas, Angela M. 2008. “Wampum as Hypertext: An American Indian Intellectual Tradition of Multimedia Theory and Practice.” Studies in American Indian Literatures 19 (4): 77–100. https://doi.org/10.1353/ail.2008.0005.

Harlizius-Klück, Ellen. 2017. “Weaving as Binary Art and the Algebra of Patterns.” TEXTILE 15 (2): 176–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/14759756.2017.1298239.

Losh, Elizabeth, and Jacqueline Wernimont, eds. 2019. Bodies of Information: Intersectional Feminism and the Digital Humanities. Minneapolis, Minn. London: Univ Of Minnesota Press.

Russell, John E., and Merinda Kaye Hensley. 2017. “Beyond Buttonology: Digital Humanities, Digital Pedagogy, and the ACRL Framework | Russell | College & Research Libraries News,” December. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.78.11.588.

Sayers, Jentery, ed. 2018. Making Things and Drawing Boundaries: Experiments in the Digital Humanities. 1st edition. Minneapolis: Univ Of Minnesota Press.

Webber-Bey, Deimosa. 2014. “Runaway Quilt Project: Digital Humanities Exploration of Quilting During the Era of Slavery.” The Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, no. 6 (November). https://cuny.manifoldapp.org/read/runaway-quilt-project-digital-humanities-exploration-of-quilting-during-the-era-of-slavery-0f3051c0-9511-4642-9c91-9f47ad761442/section/f7beacd0-44e9-4c22-be61-8c2d5c0e01a0.

Come join the team at the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum! We’re working to expand the story of America through the often-untold accounts and accomplishments of women individually and collectively—to better understand our past and inspire our future. We’re looking for dedicated individuals to help us create space for women’s history on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., deepen our nation’s stories, and inspire conversation, connection, and change.

Open & closing dates

03/26/2024 to 04/10/2024

Salary

$82,764 – $107,590 per year

Pay scale & grade

GS 11

Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

Remote job

No

Telework eligible

Yes—as determined by the agency policy.

Travel Required

Not required

Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

Appointment type

Permanent – Federal

Work schedule

Full-time – Full-Time, Permanent

Duties

The Digital Community Partnerships Specialist will build and maintain community partnerships for SAWHM’s digital initiatives, focusing on identifying partner communities, working with community representatives to co-create resources for the Virtual Museum, building and strengthening relationships with community partners through digital initiatives, and working with diverse communities to share gender equity and women’s history stories.

In this position, you will:

• Manage the formulation and execution of programs, plans and digital partnership policies.  Provide direction for administrative support operations.  Administer planning, programming, budgeting, accounting, personnel management, records management and security management aspects of assigned projects and accounts.
• Identify, develop and maintain strong relationships with potential and existing collaborations, building and maintaining trust-based relationships.  Determine key groups for partnerships that represent the diverse experiences of American women.  Develop and implement workflows for collaboration and co-creation that are efficient and meet the specific needs of these diverse communities.
• Assist with the development of media and written materials through analysis, interpretation, production, and development of complex information for audiences with differing levels of understanding of gender equity and women’s history issues.
• Directly assist community partners with storytelling using digital resources and connect with partners with other SI people who can offer digital resource support.
• Organize and coordinate strategic outreach, external relations, and related special projects, including moderating digital spaces and hosting digital events to promote engagement with museum activities.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on OPM website.

Salary Range: Targeted salary $72,000 annually, based on experience

Benefits Provided: Yes

Required Attachments: Resume, Cover Letter, Other Document (See Job Requirements for details)

Job Description

—

The University Libraries seeks to recruit a technical professional who has a passion for the higher education environment to support data-intensive research and digital scholarship projects. The Research Informatics Specialist is a member of the Digital Scholarship and Data Services department which resides within the Digital Strategies and Innovation division. Reporting to the Director of Digital Scholarship and Data Services, this role performs information engineering in the form of automation, storage, and retrieval of information through the use and development of cyberinfrastructure.

The primary support focus for this role is research endeavors spanning STEM, Social Science, and Digital Humanities, and may be included in grants as a project resource. The Research Informatics Specialist works closely with other researcher support roles. An ideal candidate will have a proven record of working independently and managing multiple priorities at one time.

Position Responsibilities Include: 

• Serves as a consultant and collaborator by helping researchers across OU’s research domains to develop plans for addressing computing and data needs.
• Helps teams to innovate, evaluate, develop and deploy new knowledge creation and management technologies.
• Guides in identifying and selecting engineering informatics tools, e.g. automating dataset ingest mechanisms.
• Consults with the Research Data Specialist to identify and evaluate data assets.
• Participates in data audits and associated data assessment activities.
• Develops technologies and processes for data access and sharing, visualization, preservation, and general data management.
• Consults with researchers to provide informatics solutions and support.
• Serves as a consultant helping researchers in OU’s research domains to curate and archive digital data and to solve information/data-related problems.
• Participates in education, outreach, and training on information and data science, including policy, access, and technology issues.
• Participates in the planning and development of digital and e-research programs that address researchers’ content/information/data-related needs.
• Engages in partnerships to develop technologies and processes for data access and sharing, visualization, preservation, and general data management.
• Participates in data collection and reporting in support of program assessment and data-driven decision-making.
• Performs data-driven analysis to drive continuous improvement of accessibility and usability of tools and resources.

Special Instructions to Applicants:

Applications must attach the following documents in pdf format:

• Cover letter
• Resume
• List of 3 Professional References

Hire will be contingent on submission of academic transcripts.

Best consideration date for this position is 4/26/24.

Job Requirements

—

Required Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree, AND:

• 24 months of experience in application and software development.

Equivalency substitution: Will accept 48 months related experience in lieu of the Bachelor’s degree for a total of 72 months related experience.

Skills:

• Ability to work with varied groups of people in a respectful, equitable and inclusive way.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to effectively communicate with end-users at varying technological skill levels.
• Demonstrated high-level technology proficiency and capabilities working with computing systems, disk arrays, computers and software, the Web, and social media.
• Demonstrated ability in programming in one of the following languages: Python, R, JavaScript, SQL.
• Experience with data visualization and text mining tools.
• Ability to build and sustain effective interpersonal relationships and work collaboratively in a diverse and fast-paced environment.
• Analytical skills, creative and innovative problem-solving skills, and a strong commitment to service excellence.
• Outstanding organizational, project, and time management skills to lead multiple projects.

Certifications: None.

Advertised Physical Requirements:

• Frequent exposure to pressure caused by deadlines and busy periods.
• Ability to communicate, including expressing oneself or exchanging information with others.
• Ability to use computer daily.

Department Preferences:

• Advanced degree.
• Experience working with Unix / Linux command line tools.
• Familiarity with web frameworks such as Drupal or Django.
• Experience with workflow automation using Celery, Apache Airflow, or other similar frameworks.
• Demonstrated knowledge of ontology tools, and technologies supporting humanities research, e.g. Nvivo, ATLAS.ti, XML, CIDOC-CRM, Geovocab.
• Experience working in an environment that involves complexity and change.
• Experience in writing and/or managing grants.
• Experience in working with grant funded researchers.
• Ability to teach others in group and/or one-on-one settings.
• Understanding of the academic library’s role in research, teaching and learning and the role of new and innovative technologies on the ongoing development and evolution of new library services and digital scholarship.

Supervision:

• No supervisory duties.

Special Instructions: If you are selected as a final candidate for this position, you will be subject to The University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Tuberculosis Testing policy.  To view the policy, visit https://hr.ou.edu/Policies-Handbooks/TB-Testing.

Why You Belong at the University of Oklahoma: The University of Oklahoma fosters an inclusive culture of respect and civility, belonging, and access, which are essential to our collective pursuit of excellence and our determination to change lives. The unique talents, perspectives, and experiences of our community enrich the learning, and working environment at OU, inspiring us to harness our innovation, creativity, and collaboration for the advancement of people everywhere.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement: The University of Oklahoma, in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, age, religion, disability, political beliefs, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices, or procedures. This includes, but is not limited to, admissions, employment, financial aid, housing, services in educational programs or activities, and health care services that the University operates or provides.

Hiring contingent upon a Background Check?: Yes

Special Indications: None

Job Posting

: Mar 22, 2024

UW Libraries seeks a collaborative and creative librarian to join our Digital Collections team.  The Digital Collections Librarian will oversee the digitization of materials in a variety of formats, both 2D and 3D, planning and execution of new digital collections and exhibits, and the maintenance of existing digital collections. The Digital Collections Librarian will coordinate with the university community and appropriate library departments for collection building, metadata creation, and discovery of and access to digital collections.

Digital Collections includes digitized materials from the Emmitt D. Chisum Special Collections, libraries’ general collections, and collections from collaborating partners. Examples include historic maps, books, photographs, audio-visual mat erials, newspaper collections, and 3-D fossils and vertebrate specimens. The department also hosts institutional and data repositories.

This position reports to the chair of Digital Collections.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop and manage UW Libraries’ digitized collections (i.e. content WyoDigital and Sketchfab) while employing current digital library technologies, standards, and best practices.
• Lead and consult on current digitization of both 2D and 3D materials by working closely with Digital Collections and Special Collections personnel on digitization workflows and content identification, evaluation, planning, execution, and ongoing maintenance.
• Serve as main point of contact for the WyoDigital DSpace instance and coordinate regular maintenance, troubleshooting, and updating via vendor (Atmire).
• Create, integrate, and ensure long-term access to digital collections objects and metadata from the University of Wyoming including the coordination of dark archiving.
• Ensure discovery of digitized materials by coordinating metadata ingest in DPLA and the library discovery system
• Conduct workshops as appropriate each semester on topics related to digitization, digital humanities, digital preservation, or other related areas for public outreach to the UW community.
• Contribute to and create user documentation for training and workflows on digitization equipment and WyoDigital and Sketchfab platforms.
• Coordinate purchasing, vendor contracts, ongoing maintenance/updating, troubleshooting, and documentation of digitization equipment and software (both 2D and 3D).

SUPPLEMENTAL FUNCTIONS: 

As a member of the library faculty, the successful candidate is expected to pursue an active and ongoing program of research, service, and professional development. (https://www.uwyo.edu/regs-policies/_files/docs/regulations-2020/uw_reg_2-1_approved_10-14-20.pdf). 

UW Libraries are committed to building a culturally diverse workplace and strongly encourage applications from minority candidates, candidates with disabilities, and those with experience working in a multicultural environment. Diversity resources for the University of Wyoming and the community of Laramie can be found at http://www.uwyo.edu/diversity/resources/. For more information on UW Libraries, please visit https://www.uwyo.edu/libraries.

REMOTE WORK ELIGIBILITY: 

This position provides vital support to campus customers and requires the successful candidate be available to work on campus.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Please address all minimum qualifications in your application materials. 

• ALA-accredited Master’s Degree in library/information science by start date.
• Knowledge of digital repository platforms such as DSpace, Digital Commons, Tind, Fedora, Collections Space, etc.
• Knowledge of digitization best practices with regard to 2D objects and/or 3D objects as well as appropriate hardware and software
• Knowledge of one or more non-MARC metadata schemas (e.g. Dublin Core, MODS, METS-ALTO, EML, etc.)
• Demonstrated commitment to user-focused service orientation

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Experience with selecting and evaluating materials for digitization.
• Experience with large-scale digitization and working with vendors.
• Experience with initiating, planning, coordinating, and implementing complex projects and services.
• Experience with or knowledge of managing digital repositories

*The UW Libraries is committed to providing candidates who meet the minimum qualifications with professional development funding and support to acquire skills and grow into positions. While minimum qualifications must be met to proceed to the interview stage, preferred qualifications are not required. Applicants are encouraged to communicate how their work and other experiences would benefit this position and the organization  

REQUIRED MATERIALS: 

Complete the online application and upload the following for a complete application:

• Resume or curriculum vitae.
• Cover letter that addresses how your knowledge, skills, and abilities address the minimum and any desired qualifications.
• Contact information for four professional references.

This position will remain open until filled. Complete applications received by 4/17/2024 will receive full consideration.

The latest lesson from Programming Historian is “Working with Named Places: How and Why to Build a Gazetteer” by Susan Grunewald and Ruth Mostern. The lesson takes the learner through the process of creating a gazetteer from historical texts and then shows how one might leverage the gazetteer’s data using linked open data and GIS. A notable and welcome feature is the focus on concepts of place to give the learner a solid foundation and a deeper understanding of gazetteers as “a kind of Knowledge Organization System (KOS), a tool ‘that brings together related concepts and their names in a meaningful way, such that users of the KOS can easily comprehend the relationships represented’.”

Florida International University Libraries (FIU Libraries) serves as the intellectual heart of our students’ academic journeys, offering pathways to knowledge and discovery, ultimately paving the way for student success. Our libraries provide essential resources crucial for research and innovation, fostering collaborative research endeavors and supporting scholars throughout the entirety of their research lifecycle. FIU Libraries is steadfast in its mission to be a catalytic leader in the realms of data, information, knowledge management, and digital technology. We are dedicated to empowering students and researchers in their pursuit of learning, discovery, exploration, and creation.

The Florida International University Libraries are seeking applicants for the role of Digital Humanities Librarian. This position will be part of our team of professionals dedicated to digital scholarship, with a focus on supporting research, teaching, and learning in the humanities and social sciences.

The ideal candidate will work collaboratively with library colleagues and act as a liaison to academic units throughout the campus. Responsibilities include providing training, facilitating project development, and offering consultation on current and evolving methods of digital scholarship. Serving as the Libraries’ expert in emerging tools and methodologies for humanities research, the Digital Humanities Librarian will actively engage in outreach and campus initiatives, fostering strong connections with faculty and students while providing support for various digital scholarship services.

Responsibilities

• Supports digital literacy programs and initiatives through the Digital Scholar Studio by developing tutorials and instructional videos as well as delivering presentations, class instruction, and regularly scheduled workshops on topics related to digital humanities tools and methodologies
• Maintains the Digital Scholar Studio network and relationships with faculty, researchers, students, and staff through newsletters, emails, etc.
• Identifies and evaluates emerging digital humanities tools and methodologies
• Provides individual consultation and training for students and faculty
• Fosters and maintains relationships with the university community as well as peer institutions involved in humanities research and scholarship
• Assists students, faculty, and researchers in planning successful, creative, and sustainable digital projects
• Participates in grant writing and other funded activities relating to digital humanities
• Manages the Digital Scholar Studio (DSS) physical resources, including equipment checkout, space scheduling, and coordination for classes, workshops, and events
• Participates in strategic planning for the physical space and services offered through the Digital Scholar Studio with relevant campus stakeholders
• Engages in scholarly activity through presentations, conferences, workshops, seminars, or other activities that enhance professional knowledge in the area of digital humanities
• Serves the library and/or institution through contribution in meetings and committee work
• Serves the library profession through involvement in professional organizations and through cooperative efforts with other information professionals
• Performs other duties and special projects as assigned by department and assistant head

Minimum Requirements

• ALA accredited Master of Library Science (MLS or MLIS) degree
• Demonstrated experience with digital humanities and/or digital scholarship tools and methodologies
• Strong sense of teamwork and ability to work cross-departmentally with library and university stakeholders

Desired Qualifications

• Demonstrated leadership quality and experience in creating and supervising workflows and project implementation
• Two or more years of professional experience working with digital collections or digital scholarship
• Demonstrated initiative, flexibility, and creativity
• Experience developing and delivering workshops and other training
• Experience working with faculty and students
• Familiarity with issues in copyright and open access
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Second Masters or Bachelors in the Humanities

RANK

Open Rank

Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply to Job Opening ID 531861 at https://facultycareers.fiu.edu/ and attach a cover letter and curriculum vitae. Candidates will be requested to provide names and contact information for at least 3 references who will be contacted as determined by the search committee. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

Position overview

Application Window

Open date: April 2, 2024

Next review date: Tuesday, Apr 30, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.

Final date: Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.

Position description

The Digital Preservation Coalition has made freely-available online Preserving Geospatial Data, written by Meagan A. Snow, Geospatial Data Visualization Librarian at the Geography & Map Division of the Library of Congress:

This report is designed as a resource for use by librarians, archivists, and digital preservation specialists who may be new to the realm of geospatial data but want a practical understanding of the geospatial data files they encounter in their collections. It may also be useful to geographers, cartographers, academics, and researchers who are increasingly involved in the preservation decisions around their own research data or mapping products. The report focuses on describing challenges specific to the preservation and management of geospatial data.