SPEC Kit 326: Digital Humanities · 77
University of Miami
University of Miami Digital Scholarship and Programs: Overview
University of Miami Digital Scholarship and Programs: Overview
In the University of Miami Libraries’ Department of Digital Scholarship and Programs, scholars,
technologists, librarians, and archivists collaboratively explore creative applications of digital media and
web technology to the future of research, teaching, and learning. The department leads initiatives that
result in sustainable creative tools for digital scholarship, make unique materials available on the web,
and facilitate the meaningful use of new media in scholarly research.
Digital Scholarship
In 2010, the University of Miami Libraries and the College of Arts and Sciences received a grant from the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to rebuild the technical and organizational infrastructure for the Cuban
Theater Digital Archive (CTDA, http://scholar.library.miami.edu/archivoteatral/), a unique digital
collection of Cuban theater materials. The CTDA is a resource for teaching, learning, and research in
Cuban theater and performance as well as in related fields a community repository for important Cuban
theatrical materials and a forum to foster scholarly communication in this field. The department of
Digital Scholarship and Programs is leading the development of a technical platform to support the CTDA
for scholars and students in the College of Arts and Sciences, and is interested in similar strategic
partnerships across the university community and beyond to expand the impact of contemporary
scholarship on the web. A beta version of the new system will be made available on the web in late
2011.
Digital Reproduction
The department of Digital Scholarship and Programs houses a Digital Production Lab specializing in the
conversion of unique materials held in the university's archives and special collections to digital format.
Trained in digital imaging and audio and video conversion, the lab's technicians reproduce print and
visual materials, audio recordings, and videos, in digital format for purposes of long-­‐term preservation
and accessibility on the web. Many of these unique materials can be browsed and searched online in
the University of Miami Libraries' Digital Collections (http://merrick.library.miami.edu/).
New Media
To support the use of new media by scholars, librarians, and archivists, the Department of Digital
Scholarship and Programs provides extensive outreach in its areas of expertise. This includes
consultations to faculty on using new media in teaching and research, workshops, and the development
of open source software for program needs.
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