We discussed in our small group issues of disruption among library staff, and also a struggle to define and claim a mission that has not traditionally existed within libraries, necessarily. There were people from universities whose digital scholarship is located within individual departments, or in ITS departments, or centers for teaching and learning. At UNC Charlotte, we were going for some sort of central “neutral ground” that allows the stage to be set for digital scholarship in all of its varied forms

We thought we’d talk more about “digital scholarship” in contrast (or at least, in comparison) to “digital humanities” and I think that’s still a discussion I’d like to have. There are both political and disciplinary reasons to choose one over another, and each has implications for signaling to other scholars what might (or might not) be possible in terms of collaborations across and within certain fields (for instance, we had an attendee to our session who was attracted by the fact that we said “scholarship” not “humanities,” because “I don’t work in the humanities.”

When Atkins library claimed digital scholarship as turf, we centered ourselves as a place where scholars at UNCC (and, we hope, from elsewhere) can meet and work together with tools we discover, provide, and explore along with them.