In preparation for the 2008 Scholarly Communications Institute (SCI 6) focused on humanities research centers, the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) commissioned a survey of digital humanities centers (DHCs). The immediate goals of the survey were to identify the extent of these centers and to explore their financing, organizational structure, products, services, and sustainability.

The longer-term goal was to provide SCI 6 participants with a greater understanding of existing centers to inform their discussions about regional and national centers. The yearlong study took place in two phases: (1) a planning phase during which a working definition of DHC was developed, selection criteria were established, candidates were identified, and methodology was planned; and (2) an implementation phase during which the survey was conducted and responses analyzed. Thirty-two organizations took part in the survey, which was conducted through interviews with senior management, and through Web site and literature reviews of the participating DHCs.

The results show that DHCs can be grouped into two general categories:
1. Center focused: Centers organized around a physical location, with many diverse projects, programs, and activities undertaken by faculty, researchers, and students. These centers offer a wide array of resources to diverse audiences. Most DHCs operate under this model.

2. Resource focused: Centers organized around a primary resource, located in a virtual space, that serve a specific group of members. All programs and products flow from the resource, and individual and institutional members help sustain the resource by providing content, labor, or other support services.

The study findings also show that DHCs are entering a new phase of organizational maturity, with concomitant changes in activities, roles, and sustainability. Of late, there is a growing interest in fostering greater communication among centers to leverage their numbers for advocacy efforts. ...

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by Diane M. Zorich
November 2008
Council on Library and Information Resources
Washington, D.C.

FORWARD
An unspoken question runs through Diane Zorich’s detailed survey and analysis of digital humanities centers in the United States: Why do we need these centers, and what needs do they meet that traditional academic departments do not? The answer lies in her definition of a center, which she forged from a careful study of the ways in which centers themselves describe their missions, functions, and activities.

Digital humanities centers, she writes, are entities “where new media and technologies are used for humanities-based research, teaching, and intellectual engagement and experimentation. The goals of the center are to further humanities scholarship, create new forms of knowledge, and explore technology’s impact on humanities-based disciplines” (p. 4).

In an environment where scholars identify with their disciplines rather than with their departments, and where significant professional affiliations or communities of interest may transcend the boundaries of scholars’ colleges and universities, centers offer interdisciplinary “third places”—a term sociologist Ray Oldenburg has used to identify a social space, distinct from home and workplace.

Third places foster important ties and are critical to community life. Familiar examples are barbershops, beauty salons, and coffee shops where, in the age of wireless, we see tables of students hunched over laptops, textbooks, and notepads.

The academic library plays a role similar to that of a third place, providing resources, seminar rooms, and collaborative work spaces. It probably should not surprise us that both centers and libraries are frequently cited as elements in the emerging cyberinfrastructure to support advanced research in the sciences, technology, and humanities. ...

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Diane M. Zorich is a cultural heritage consultant specializing in planning and managing the delivery of cultural information. Her clients include the J. Paul Getty Trust, the American Association of Museums, the Smithsonian Institution, RLG Programs/OCLC, and many other cultural organizations and institutions.

Before establishing her consultancy, Ms. Zorich was data manager at the Association of Systematics Collections in Washington, D.C., and documentation manager at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. She served as past president and Board member of the Museum Computer Network, and was chair of that organization’s Intellectual Property Special Interest Group. She also served as project manager for A Museum Guide to Copyright and Trademark (American Association of Museums 1999) and Cataloging Cultural Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural Works and Their Images (American Library Association 2007).

Ms. Zorich is the author of Introduction to Managing Digital Assets: Options for Cultural and Educational Organizations (The J. Paul Getty Trust 1999), Developing Intellectual Property Policies: A “How-To” Guide for Museums (Canadian Heritage Information Network 2003), and A Survey of Digital Cultural Heritage Initiatives and Their Sustainability Concerns (Council on Library and Information Resources 2003). She also co-authored Beyond the Silos of the LAMs: Collaboration Among Libraries, Archives and Museums (OCLC Programs and Research 2008) and her latest publication on information policies in museums appears in Museum Informatics (Routledge 2008).

Ms. Zorich has graduate degrees in anthropology and museum studies, and is based in Princeton, New Jersey.

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