Planning, Marketing and Assessing

The Digital Humanities Center

Presentation by Jenna Hymes

Syracuse University

The Assignment

IST613: Library Planning, Marketing and Assessment

Semester-long assignment: find a librarian planning a project

Create a Literature Review, Project Plan, Marketing Plan, and Assessment Plan for this project

PLANNING THE DHC

What Can We Learn About Planning from Others?

There are some planning steps that frequently appear in the literature:

Seeking input from potential users to gain understanding of their needs

Creating planning committees made up of people from various areas of the library and university

Visiting established centers at other universities

Defining the goals and vision for the center

Defining Digital Humanities Centers

According to Diane Zorich's “A Survey of Digital Humanities Centers in the United States” (2008):

“A digital humanities center is an entity where new media and technologies are used for humanities-based research, teaching, and intellectual engagement and experimentation. The goals of the center are to further humanities scholarship, create new forms of knowledge, and explore technology’s impact on humanities-based disciplines” (p. 7).

Positioning StatementThe Digital Humanities Center: provides information and technology services

and support for Humanities and History students and faculty, as well as for the entire university community

is a “one stop shop” for digital projects of all levels – from simple citation management or Photoshop work to in-depth OCR, film editing, and scanning projects

offers the services of technology and subject specialist librarians

DHC Users and Stakeholders

Graduate and undergraduate Humanities and History students (plus students from other departments)

Humanities and History professors (plus professors from other departments)

University librarians University administration Graduate student DHC employees Visiting scholars

User Needs

The DHC staff has the opportunity to encourage new and different types of technology usage, including encouraging use of technology in coursework and creating the possibility for large-scale academic projects and collaborations using digital technologies

Goal for the Digital Humanities Center

To create a space that provides technology, information specialists, and technology specialists all in one place for the benefit of Humanities and History students and faculty.

Outcomes for the DHC

Outcome #1: After visiting the DHC, 85% of users will be able to operate and implement one or more program/pieces of equipment that they were unfamiliar with prior to their visit

Outcome #2: 75% of users will use technology they have learned in the DHC in their future research

Outcome #3: 100% of users who wish to will be able to implement larger technology based projects after visiting the DHC

MARKETING THE DHC

Goal for Marketing the DHC

A combination of online, paper, and in-person marketing tools will raise awareness of the Digital Humanities Center while also increasing usage of center services, including increased visits to the center by students and faculty, as well as an increase in large-scale digitally based academic projects in the Humanities and History.

Outcomes for Marketing the DHC Outcome #1: 70% of undergraduate and graduate

students in the Humanities and History will have used at least one service or technology in the DHC for any type of project six months after the opening of the Center.

Outcome #2: 100 students, faculty members, and library staff from across the campus will attend an open house to celebrate the opening of the new DHC.

Outcome #3: Usage of the DHC website will increase by 25% after the opening of the Center.

Outcome #4: 75% of Humanities and History classes will host a presentation by the DHC librarian by one year after the opening of the Center.

Marketing Tools

Posters Brochures Open House New/Updated Website Facebook Page Class Presentations Promotion of Projects Created in the DHC

Marketing of the DHC is key both within the university and out to the larger scholarly community

Zorich (2008) states that centers may also gain recognition by creating and sharing open source products and tools

The Importance of Scholarship

The profile of the Center for Digital Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was raised by the scholarship that researchers generated with its resources:

“the quality of their work demanded (and got) attention, from outside funding agencies, the wider scholarly community, and even university administrators” (Edwards, 2005, para. 14).

Marketing Timeline

Task Start Date End Date

Creation/Distribution of posters to notify community of future DHC during construction

January 2012 September 2012

Creation/distribution of posters to notify community of DHC opening

August 2012 September 2012

Creation and Distribution of DHC brochures

May 2012 Ongoing

Creation of new DHC website

July 2012 September 2012

Launch new website September 2012 September 2012

Create and maintain facebook page

August 2012 Ongoing

DHC Open House September 2012 September 2012

Class Presentations September 2012 Ongoing

Tracking of new projects created in the DHC

September 2012 Ongoing

ASSESSING THE DHC

Remembering the Outcomes

Outcome #1: After visiting the DHC, 85% of users will be able to operate and implement one or more program/pieces of equipment that they were unfamiliar with prior to their visit

Outcome #2: 75% of users will use technology they have learned in the DHC in their future research

Outcome #3: 100% of users who wish to will be able to implement larger technology based projects after visiting the DHC

Assessing Outcome #1

Pop up surveys on DHC computers to collect info on what the user came to the DHC for originally, what he or she learned while in the DHC, if this was the user's first use of the program/piece of equipment he or she used, and if the user was helped by a DHC employee

Data could be analyzed using tools available through online survey software (Zoomerang, Survey Monkey, etc.)

Assessing Outcome #1

Alternative method: Interviews (either one on one or in groups) of users

If the outcome is not met, the DHC librarian will work to increase awareness of DHC programs/equipment and insure that each user interaction is a teaching moment

Assessing Outcome #2

Pop up surveys on DHC computers (could be coupled with surveys for Outcome #1) with questions focusing on users' future use of technology and which types of technology they plan to use in the future

Data could be analyzed through online tools, plus gathering of answers to open-ended questions

Assessing Outcome #2

Alternative method: examining papers produced by users of the DHC – may need to be coupled with interviews

If less than desired percentage indicate they will use DHC tools in the future, will need to examine types of technology/programs offered in DHC, may also seek input from users to understand what types of equipment or software might be useful to them

Assessing Outcome #3

Measured by examining documents and projects produced by users of the DHC, plus inquiring about the methodology of the creators of projects to create connections between DHC services and academic projects

Outcome will be met when those who seek help with large-scale projects will be able to pursue and bring these projects to fruition

Assessing Outcome #3

If large-scale projects are not being implemented in the DHC, DHC could reach out to departments or professors to offer their services or to inquire into projects that may benefit from the services offered by the DHC

Assessment Timeline

Date Task

September 2012 - DHC Opens- Begin user online surveys- Begin observation and inquiries to discover large-scale projects developing in DHC

October 2012 - User surveys end- Analyze survey data- Long-term project identified in DHC – support users' technology/research needs

November 2012 - Report survey results to DHC staff

December 2012-March 2013 - Implement necessary changes based on results of survey

March 2013 - Begin user surveys again

April 2013 - User surveys end- Analyze survey data- Completion of large-scale project – analysis of project and creator's use of DHC

May 2013 - Report survey results to DHC Staff- Report of DHC role in large-scale project- Presentation of large-scale project

June 2013- August 2013 - Plan/implement changes based on survey results- Repeat survey cycle beginning in September 2013

Thank you!

References

Edwards, R. (2005). Creating the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Retrieved from

http://cdrh.unl.edu/articles/creatingcdrh.php

Zorich, D. (2008). A survey of digital humanities centers in the United States. Princeton, NJ:

Council on Library and Information Resources.