Digital Curation Education Research Articles

Digital Curation Education at the Universities of Ibadan and Liverpool

This article presents the findings of the Ibadan/Liverpool Digital Curation Curriculum Review Project, a research project conducted to formally benchmark the teaching of digital curation in the archival education programmes at the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom and the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. It provides background to the history and establishment of both universities and the development of their archives curricula. A matrix was developed using the DigCurV Curriculum Framework to assess whether digital curation skills and knowledge outlined in the framework are being taught, practised and tested in the Master’s programmes. These skills and knowledge were assessed according to the four domains outlined in DigCurV: Knowledge and Intellectual Abilities (KIA), Personal Qualities (PQ), Professional Conduct (PC), and Management and Quality Assurance (MQA), to levels appropriate to practitioners and managers. The exercise identified skill and knowledge areas where teaching materials could be shared between the universities, and areas where new materials are needed.

Building Open-Source Digital Curation Services and Repositories at Scale

The focus of this article is to share several in-progress research and development open-source approaches that seek to design, build, and test digital curation services and repositories that have the potential to scale (the IMLS-funded Fedora DRAS-TIC and the NSF-funded Brown Dog). We also discuss the creation of a big records testbed of justice, human rights, and cultural heritage collections (100 TB and 100 million records), the emergence of Computational Archival Science (CAS), and the resulting efforts at integrating digital curation education and research. We ultimately seek to develop a sustainable community of users and developers, with solutions that serve the international library, archives, and scientific data management communities. We are also focused on digital curation training and education in these innovative environments.

Digital curation on a small island: a study of professional education and training needs in Ireland

In this paper, we use the case study method to understand digital curation knowledge, skills, needs and challenges in Ireland, in order to direct the development of postgraduate digital curation educational programmes. Data was collected in three intervals over a two-year period: a web questionnaire about digital curation knowledge and skills and interest in continuing professional development (CPD); nine interviews with individuals who engaged in digital curation work about workplace challenges and CPD education; and a final online questionnaire about preferences for digital curation CPD education. Findings suggest that Ireland-specific issues emerged: (a) because there is so little understanding about digital curation in Ireland, even among information professionals, individuals were not always sure when they were doing digital curation work and if they needed to learn more and; (b) individuals were often the only ones in their institutions with digital curation skills and found themselves struggling to educate supervisors and colleagues about the necessity of their work as well as the resources needed to conduct their work. Considering these findings, comprehensive postgraduate digital curation education in Ireland would need to include a focus on these issues.

Into the Contact Zone: A reflective evaluation of open online digital curation education

This article focuses on two UK based online courses in the field of digital curation and preservation; Introduction to Digital Curation, run by University College London, and The Beginner’s Guide to the OAIS Reference Model Course, run by the University of London Computer Centre. The courses are considered not against the frame of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) as a revolutionary force in education, but against the metaphor of the ‘contact zone’ (adopted from the work of Costis Dallas (2015)), as part of the ongoing development and establishment of digital curation as a field of study. Two dimensions of difference are examined; firstly that between face to face and online learning, and secondly that between different groups of learners (such as current professionals and future professionals).  It concludes that open online education is best seen as a contact zone less in the sense of being the teaching of a professional field of practice and more in the sense of advocacy and the provision of informative resources and enlightening experiences that pique the interest, increase awareness and most of all, make contact.

Digital curation in museums

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a perspective on the development of digital curation education and practice in museums in the USA.Design/methodology/approachMethods used include: a historical overview of the development of digital curation, originally as a field of practice – primarily in the sciences – and then as a field of study; a case study of the adaptation of a digital curation curriculum (DigCCurr) framework developed in schools of library and information science (LIS) to a museum studies program; and a discussion of trends in digital curation practices in museums.FindingsThe case study (the digital curation certificate program of Johns Hopkins University’s museum studies program) describes a successful adaptation of the LIS DigCCurr framework in a museum studies program.Practical implicationsFindings could help to advance the museum field through the integration of digital curation education, practice and research.Social implicationsBy adopting and supporting digital curation practices, education and research, museums can reach and engage more online users seeking information about museum collections. More online users may also become onsite visitors.Originality/valueThere is little existing literature on digital curation education in museum studies programs.

Competency-based Curriculum: An Effective Approach to Digital Curation Education

The University of North Texas conducted a project involving rigorous curriculum development and instructional design to address the goal of building capacity in the Library and Information Sciences curriculum. To prepare information professionals with the competencies needed for digital curation and data management practice, the project developed curriculum using a competency-based approach. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the design and implementation of the digital curation curriculum at the University of North Texas. The paper advances theoretical perspectives of competencybased curriculum as steps taken toward innovative curriculum development efforts. Additionally, it contributes to the practice of digital curation education. The set of competencies defined in the paper can serve as a common language among stakeholders to prepare future digital curation professionals. This paper concludes that a competencybased approach is effective, sustainable, and can be customized to address the skill gaps in the rapidly evolving information professions.

Digital Curation Education and Training: From Digitization to Graduate Curricula to MOOCs

This paper traces the development of digital and data curation curricula. Due to the brief length of this paper, the focus is on North American initiatives and primarily on continuing education programs. It explores the strengths and weaknesses of professional workshops and the creation of graduate-level courses, certificates, degrees and MOOCs, as well as the role of funding agencies in this process. It concludes with an analysis of what is missing and what is needed to create the workforce required to steward digital assets in the foreseeable future.

Competency-based Curriculum: An Effective Approach to Digital Curation Education

The University of North Texas conducted a project involving rigorous curriculum development and instructional design to address the goal of building capacity in the Library and Information Sciences curriculum. To prepare information professionals with the competencies needed for digital curation and data management practice, the project developed curriculum using a competency-based approach. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the design and implementation of the digital curation curriculum at the University of North Texas. The paper advances theoretical perspectives of competencybased curriculum as steps taken toward innovative curriculum development efforts. Additionally, it contributes to the practice of digital curation education. The set of competencies defined in the paper can serve as a common language among stakeholders to prepare future digital curation professionals. This paper concludes that a competencybased approach is effective, sustainable, and can be customized to address the skill gaps in the rapidly evolving information professions.

"Curate Thyself" and the DigCCurr Experts' Meeting: Communication, Collaboration, and Strategy in Digital Curation Education

"Curate Thyself" and the DigCCurr Experts' Meeting: Communication, Collaboration, and Strategy in Digital Curation Education

Digital Curation Education in Practice: Catching up with Two Former Fellows

From 2008-2010, as part of the grant: ‘DigCCurr I: Preserving Access to Our Digital Future: Building an International Digital Curation Curriculum’ (DigCCurr I) funded through the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a number of fellows at the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) were comprehensively trained by library and archive professionals in digital curation theory and practice. This paper examines the curriculum skill areas matrix of the DigCCurr I program from the perspective of two former fellows, now employed in professional positions that utilize digital curation principles. Each fellow offers an analysis of digital curation functions and subfunctions as they relate to her current position, deriving suggestions for future iterations of the DigCCurr program and other graduate programs meant to prepare digital curators. While DigCCurr has been reported by its creators, a group of seasoned digital curation professionals and educators from around the world, this paper provides a fresh perspective from graduates of the program who are applying their newly learned digital curation skills and knowledge in the workforce.

Convergence through Capabilities: Digital Curation Education for Libraries, Archives and Museums

Convergence through Capabilities: Digital Curation Education for Libraries, Archives and Museums

Developing curriculum for digital libraries and digital curation education: Reflections on synergies and divergencies

Developing curriculum for digital libraries and digital curation education: Reflections on synergies and divergencies