We create for a wide variety of reasons, but the impetus for work in the humanities usually has a permanent, or at least long-term, goal. The digital tools that we use and files that we create, whether for research or publication, should last until we consciously decide to erase them. In honor of the American Libraries Association’s Preservation Week 2016, I propose a session to discuss the basics of personal digital archiving to ensure that our hard work, research, and final projects remain available, whether for private use or portfolio building. We can discuss the basics of organization, metadata, storage, formats, and migration before sharing personal tips and tricks for how we make our projects sustainable and accessible for future users.

Library catalogs contain a treasure trove of data that can be used in humanities pursuits, for instance: historic place names and business addresses; the interests and diction of cultures; the appearance and features of design trends; and the materials and techniques of communication.  Have you thought of using library metadata as data?  Would you like to?

Dave Van Kleeck and myself, Allison Jai O’Dell, propose a session with a dual purpose:

1. To introduce library metadata and how it may be re-purposed (with examples!)
2. To garner ideas from the audience on how the University of Florida, George A. Smathers Libraries might serve up their metadata to better support the digital humanities

I would like to propose a teach session on how to use online exhibit creation to teach students valuable critical thinking and digital humanities skills for lifelong learning. Based off teaching Omeka and Weebly to various undergraduate courses at UF, this session would cover what types of critical thinking skills can be learned from using Omeka and free website building sites, how to use these programs in the classroom, and what types of projects students can create. Best practices for teaching and other guidelines would also be covered. If scheduled, I would anticipate attendees would also get an opportunity to play around in Omeka as well. Although my experience is in the higher education classroom, I think this session would also be great for those who work in secondary schools as well.