Day of DH 2015 with #welearntogether

Today is international Day of DH 2015 – here’s how I’m reflecting on (and doing!) digital humanities practice and possibility through the Smithsonian Transcription Center.

First, I’ve created a blog for Day of DH 2015. I’ve already posted about the opportunities “we” have to learn together with the Smithsonian Transcription Center. The “we” is me, volunteers, Smithsonian staff, the wider public, researchers and more – in any and many configurations. Today alone, we’ve learned about 19th c ink innovations, President Obama’s commitment to #PollinatorHealth and shared how the public can help, and helped new volunteers learn how to transcribe astronomical logbooks and botanical logbooks. It’s another in a series of ways #welearntogether.

Read more of my first post after the jump.

From Learning together and a lunch break:

It’s clear digital humanities is many things to many people. This is not a post to stake a claim in any one camp, but rather to reflect on the ways my role with the Smithsonian Transcription Center grapples with the boundaries of digital humanities… as well as citizen science, research, primary source history+art+science, crowdsourcing, public engagement, and serendipitous discovery.

Each day I work with volunteers, Smithsonian staff members, collection management systems, and the wider public to create a digital space that is as delightful and collaborative as possible. I frequently use the hashtag #welearntogether because it’s true! Volunteers tell us the details of the projects they’re transcribing and review – even down to the color of the pen being used on the page. That allows us to wonder aloud; together, we search for answers about activities ranging from certifying currency proofs before they head to print to the experiences of an artist as he moved from Egypt to Europe in the tail end of WWI. It’s clearly a case in which there are opportunities to learn something new several times each day.

I also consider the connections between (across) collections – in particular, the hidden social and cultural histories and contexts of collections that are stewarded by different parts of the Smithsonian. We’ve hosted descriptive field notes, specimens, photo albums, and collections logs of scientists on the same expedition (or even the same scientist!). Standing on their own, some of these items may seem closer to “citizen science” materials. Together, however, they are pulled from the many units in which they live across the Smithsonian – some with smudged or challenging handwriting – they showcase scientific practice, geographic and political boundaries, social conventions, and nod toward absent voices.

Imagine what we’ll learn as we create indexed, searchable text – as well as metadata – in the peer review process of the Smithsonian Transcription Center! Possibilities seem endless as we continue to explore and breathe new life into archival, museum, gallery, library, and other research collections. The discoveries we make every day help us think through narrative, collections, and connections – plus new projects are added each week meaning our adventures continue to unfold!

With all these potential research uses and discoveries in mind, I’m busy this morning:

– planning to deploy system updates that help our participating archives and museums get their collections into the transcribing pipeline

– connecting teachers in California with “how-to” of the Smithsonian Transcription Center, including our downloadable PDFs of completed projects

– joining in President Obama’s call for #PollinatorHealth by showcasing our bumblebee collections and asking seasoned volunteers to help newbies as they learn how to transcribe

– composing a request for participation in a special journal volume about the Smithsonian Transcription Center – focused on the practical steps, outcomes, and best practice of working with the public to make collections more accessible and opening data for research purposes

– analyzing our incoming traffic on site to make sure new volunteers can get started easily and find interesting projects

– preparing a monthly update on the state of play for our participating archives, museums, galleries AND volunteers. Biggest news: we just passed 5,000 active volunteers and have completed 92,000+ pages together!

– and right now, getting some lunch and coffee. Let’s GO.