Collections as Data: National Forum 2


From May 7-8, the University of Nevada Las Vegas will hold a second Collections as Data national forum. During the forum a group of librarians, technologists, archivists, and disciplinary researchers will gather to share their work with collections as data, reality test project deliverables, and help frame future directions for collections as data work writ large.

May 7 features a livestreamed portion from 9 - 1 PST. The program includes a Collections as Data project update and a series of panels that address multiple dimensions of collections as data - who collections as data are for, the potential of collections as data, and paths toward making the work viable in local contexts. A high level agenda is now available. Collections as Data panel prompts are available below.

Panel 1 - Dot Porter (University of Pennsylvania), Shawn Averkamp (NYPL), Bergis Jules (UC Riverside)

Who are collections as data for? The forthcoming version of the Santa Barbara Statement on Collections as Data will assert that “Collections as data designed for everyone serve no one.” How has your work with collections as data been forged around specific people, whether those represented in the collections, built into the design of the dataset, or reflected in your own teaching and/or learning? What work have you done to match collections as data with populations?

Panel 2 - Micki Kaufman (CUNY), Inna Kouper (Indiana), Greg Cram (NYPL), Laurie Allen (University of Pennsylvania)

What is the coolest thing about your collections as data work? Tell us why you became involved with this work and what motivates your continued dedication or interest. We’d like to show our attendees the spirit and possibilities of collections as data work.

Panel 3 - Meghan Ferriter (Library of Congress), Mary Elings (UC Berkeley), Helen Bailey (MIT), Veronica Ikeshoji-Orlati (Vanderbilt)

Viewers of our livestream are likely interested in how they might participate in or grow collections as data. How have you started, shifted, or institutionalized collections as data? How do you see this work aligning with your institutional/organizational mission? What surprised you about the process, and what do you plan or hope to do next?

If you have questions for the project team or the panelists that you would like us to consider during the forum, please share via this form or open annotation on this page.

Thomas Padilla (University of Nevada Las Vegas)

Laurie Allen (University of Pennsylvania)

Stewart Varner (University of Pennsylvania)

Sarah Potvin (Texas A&M University)

Elizabeth Russey Roke (Emory University)

Hannah Frost (Stanford University)