Digital Scholarship: What Can Libraries Do?

You might be wondering how you and your library can get involved in digital scholarship.  This page is meant to outline the role that the library can play.

Association of Research Libraries (May 2016). "SPEC Kit 350: Supporting Digital Scholarship." https://publications.arl.org/Supporting-Digital-Scholarship-SPEC-Kit-350/3

These are the Digital Scholarship activities most often supported by libraries:

• Collections as Data
• Data Curation and Management
• Data Visualization
• Digital Exhibits
• Digital Preservation
• Digital Publishing 
• Digitization and Imaging Support
• Instruction Related to Digital Sources, Methods, and Tools
• GIS and Digital Mapping
• Metadata Creation and Digital Collections
• Research 
• Text Analysis
• Program Development
• Project Planning and Management
• Supporting Collaboration

Libraries don't necessarily require a designated digital scholarship team in order to support researchers.  Many distribute services and tasks across the library, working together with scholars to produce digital scholarship. ​