While our scheduled discussion of mass digitization is postponed until Thursday, we will still be working in groups today to start exploring some of the digital libraries and archives mentioned in the assigned readings. This will help us to start thinking about the different ways that cultural objects are digitized and made available online, as well as the challenges and opportunities that come with this process. It will also hopefully be a foundation for starting to discuss potential topics for your collaborative semester long project.

To begin the assignment, you should first identify your group members, which are posted under assessments, Assigned Groups. If you do not have a group, please read the instructions on this page and then reach out to the instructors as soon as possible. We will work to place you in a group as soon as possible.

You will notice that each group has a GitHub repository that you will use to collaborate on this assignment, as well as the semester long project. While the instructors will be adding you to each repository, you are also welcome to directly message Prof. LeBlanc on Discord with your GitHub username if you would like to be added sooner.

This first assignment has two components: beginning to implement group logistics for the remainder of the semester and starting to explore digitizing cultural objects. If you have questions, please reach out to the instructors on Discord.

Brainstorm Group Dynamics & Logistics

While groups are still tentative, the first part of this assignment is to begin brainstorming and discussing how you will work together as a group. This includes determining how you will communicate with each other (do you plan to use Discord or some other platform), how you will make decisions, and how you will ensure that everyone is contributing to the group project.

You should start outlining how you will rotate the role of project manager, as this will be a requirement for the semester long project and part of your initial project proposal.

For this week, you are welcome to use a Google Doc or other collaborative platform to start brainstorming and discussing these logistics. However, starting next week, you will need to use your group’s GitHub repository to collaborate on this and all other assignments.

Discovering & Digitizing Cultural Objects

Once you have started to outline your group dynamics and logistics, you should begin working on the second part of this assignment, which is designed to help you start discovering relevant materials and discussing potential focuses for your semester-long project.

Step 1: Focusing on Cultural Areas

As a group, decide on one or two broad cultural areas (three at most) to focus on for this assignment. Some potential areas include:

  • Art and Artwork: Explore how art collections have been digitized and made available online.
  • Historical Documents: Focus on the digitization of letters, diaries, and official records.
  • Literature and Texts: Look at how books, manuscripts, and literary works have been digitized.
  • Music and Sound: Investigate digital archives of music, sound recordings, or oral histories.
  • Film and Photography: Examine how visual media has been digitized and preserved.
  • Sports Data: Consider how sports-related data and memorabilia have been digitized.

This list is not exhaustive, and you are welcome to choose a different area of focus if you have a specific interest. Once you have decided on an area of focus, add it to your group’s notes. You will use this area of focus to help guide your exploration of digital libraries and archives. If you are unsure about what constitutes an area of focus, please reach out to the instructors on Discord for assistance.

You are welcome to have many areas of interest (though I would strongly recommend no more than three) and even if you decide on one area, you are not required to keep it for the rest of the semester. This exercise is designed to help you discuss and share your interests, and consider what directions you want to work on.

Step 2: Exploring Digitization of Cultural Objects

Once you have decided on an area(s) to focus on, you will work together to find and analyze examples that fit the following prompts. Each group member should take responsibility for at least one prompt, but you should all work together to discuss and analyze the examples you find. You do not need to use the same examples for each prompt, though I strongly encourage you should also consider how these examples might relate to your semester-long project.

You are welcome to use AI tools to help you with your assignment, but you should include links and screenshots to all materials you find. You should also be prepared to discuss how you found these materials and what tools you used to find them.

In our readings this week, we started to learn about how cultural objects and practices are turned into digital representations, and how these representations are then shared and preserved online. To help you understand this process, you will be exploring what this looks like for your selected area of focus.

Here are the following prompts you should answer for your area of focus:

  1. What might be considered a digital object or digital representation for your area of focus? You can have multiple examples, but you should explain why you consider it relating to your area of focus (this can be short though).
  2. How are digital objects and representations created for your area of focus? What are the processes involved in digitizing these objects? In the African American Periodical Poetry (1900-1928) dataset, we learned about the process of digitizing periodicals and Kahle also mentioned a process called OCR, Optical Character Recognition, for extracting text from digitized print materials. What are some of the digitization processes for your area of focus?
  3. Kahle repeatedly made reference to the Library of Alexandria in his article. What are some historical equivalents to digital objects in your area of focus? How do these historical objects compare to their digital counterparts?
  4. Relatedly, are there examples of born-digital materials for your area of focus? How do these materials compare to digitized objects? For those unfamiliar, born-digital materials are those that were created digitally and never existed in analog or physical form (think most social media, for example).
  5. What is the oldest digital library or archive you can find that relates to your area of focus? How has this resource been maintained and updated over time? You may also include examples that are no longer maintained or have been abandoned.
  6. Conversely, what is the newest digital library or archive you can find that relates to your area of focus? How does this resource compare to older digital libraries or archives?
  7. Are there any examples of your digital object that have gone viral? How did this happen and what impact did it have on the object or the digital library/archive that hosted it?
  8. Can you find any examples of free vs. proprietary digital libraries or archives for your area of focus? How do these resources differ in terms of access?

You should aim to find at least one example for each prompt, but you are welcome to find more.

Step 3: Documenting & Presenting Your Findings

The final part of this assignment is to document and present your findings and decisions. You should use which ever collaborative platform you have decided on to create a document that outlines your group dynamics and logistics, as well as your responses to the prompts above. As mentioned above, after this week all of your work should be done in your group’s GitHub repository.

Finally, three groups will be presenting in class next week. You will be expected to present your findings and discuss your area of focus, as well as answer questions from your classmates and the instructors. Each member should be prepared to discuss their contributions to the group’s findings. You do not need to prepare a formal presentation or any slides, but each member should be ready to engage in the discussion. These will be short 10 minute presentations with some Q&A.

As a point of clarification, we will be rotating groups that present each week, so if you do not present this upcoming week, you will present for the following group assignment in two weeks.

I will be seeking volunteers for the first group to present, and if you are interested in presenting, please let me know on Discord.