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IFLA-Satellite-Meeting 2017 Digital Humanities – Opportunities and Risks: Connecting Libraries and Research

Digital Humanities is widely understood to mean the use of computer-aided and data-driven research methods and techniques in both the arts and humanities. Some examples of this are critical editions, lexicographical projects, as well as the historical reception of large-scale collections, whether of visual objects or literary textual corpora. But intrinsic to the digitally-enabled arts and humanities are the holdings and collections offered up to researchers by libraries and other cultural heritage and memory institutions. In addition academic libraries also have an integrating role to play between the researcher, the interested public and the collections not only of libraries, but also of museums and archives especially, where strong regional cooperation or collaborations across borders have been established. Essential to this for this role are services that present appropriately curated digitized materials and provide access to them.

Such materials, as well as researchers’ work based on them, are increasingly available also to a broader public, examples of this are exhibitions of mediaeval manuscripts and early printed books, as well as archaeological or historical showcases. Visitors to cultural heritage institutions are able to interact with such materials, for enjoyment, learning and research. Directly through university outreach and indirectly via collaboration with memory institutions, the digital humanities also enable citizen science. The promise of an increasing convergence of interests between researchers and citizens, based on a shared digital culture, is being fulfilled through the active and mutual partnership between researchers, galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAMs).

The IFLA Standing Committee “Academic and Research Libraries” (IFLA SC ARL) is the organizer of the satellite meeting together with:

• BBAW - The Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities Berlin
• DARIAH - Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities in Europe
• DINI - Deutsche Initiative für Netzwerk-Information/German Initiative for Network Information
• LIBER - Ligue des Bibliothèques Européennes de Recherche – Association of European Research Libraries
• Library of the Humboldt-University Berlin.

The conference take place from August 15 to 17 in Berlin. The both hosting institutions are the Library of the Humboldt-University Berlin and the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities Berlin.