[update: the application deadline has passed]
Bucknell University, with generous support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will host its third annual digital scholarship conference October 28-30, 2016. The theme for this year’s conference is “Negotiating Borders through Digital Collaboration.”
Undoubtedly, many conference presentations touch upon projects and research that describe collaborations that cross departmental or disciplinary boundaries. Yet, many of us know that too often those involved in supporting digital scholarship efforts on our campuses struggle to tear down the walls and silos that have developed in and amongst our own departments, divisions and teams as well. We often find ourselves asking: Where does digital scholarship live? Does it matter where digital scholarship lives? Are institutions duplicating positions or expecting departments to do the work often done in another area? How are librarians, instructional technologists, and other digital scholarship professionals working to break down barriers between and amongst one another?
The “Crossing Borders” Preconference Summit aims to tackle these challenges head on. Over the course of three days prior to the start of the “Negotiating Borders” Conference, participants in the Summit will discuss both the challenges and opportunities that exist for cross-departmental collaboration between librarians, technologists and those who support digital scholarship programs at our respective colleges and universities. Through both small and large group conversations and activities, participants will work towards producing a set of guidelines and recommendations to share with the broader digital scholarship community.
Who: Librarians, Instructional Technologists, Digital Scholarship professionals
What: a gathering of those interested in breaking down barriers that can and do exist between librarians, technologists and others involved in digital scholarship
When: October 26th – 28th
Participants may also wish to attend the Bucknell Digital Scholarship Conference, October 28th -30th
Where: Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
Why: Because the best ideas are almost always developed in the spirit of collaboration, not in administrative isolation
Application Process:
Participation in the Crossing Borders Summit will be determined through a competitive application process. Session facilitators will be seeking to create a participant group that reflects the diverse experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives of individuals who populate the field of digital scholarship. We especially encourage applications from individuals who are deeply interested in digital scholarship activities but who might oftentimes find themselves outside the conversation. Through the application, the session facilitators seek to learn about each applicant’s background and to hear in the applicant’s own words how they express the willingness and ability to help develop real-world strategies for encouraging collaboration between those campus entities interested in digital scholarship. We expect to select 10-12 participants.
Applications to participate should be submitted online and are due by 12:00 AM (Midnight, EDT), September 5th. Successful applications will address the following components:
- A personal narrative that helps us understand your interest/engagement in digital scholarship
- A summary of your experience in the field
- A narrative detailing your home institution’s opportunities and challenges in regards to leveraging the experience of librarians, information technologists and other digital scholarship professions for the benefit of the entire organization. For instance, if there is/was one thing you could change about how your institution approaches digital scholarship, what would it be? At the same time, what is an aspect of your institution’s approach that you would like to keep?
Applicants will be informed of their status on or before September 14th.
Thanks to the generosity of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Bucknell University will provide three nights of complimentary hotel accommodations (Tuesday – Thursday) in order to assist participants in attending the Summit. Participants will be responsible for all other travel costs.
Summit Facilitators:
Jon Breitenbucher, Director of Educational Technology, The College of Wooster
Matt Gardzina, Director of Digital Pedagogy & Scholarship, Bucknell University
Lisa McFall, Metadata and Digital Initiatives Librarian, Hamilton College
Questions:
Please contact Matt Gardzina with any questions.
matt.gardzina@bucknell dot edu