Digital Scholarship Project Translations
UO Libraries DREAM Lab COVID-19 Response During Spring Term 2020
Digital Scholarship Project Translations
UO Libraries DREAM Lab COVID-19 Response During Spring Term 2020
Keeping Library Students Workers Employed
Making Digital Scholarship Happen
Keeping Library Students Workers Employed
Making Digital Scholarship Happen
During the COVID-19 Spring 2020 term, the UO Libraries Digital Scholarship Services department pivoted from in-person operations to remote work. Student employees in the DREAM Lab transitioned from supporting faculty and students use of the space into building digital projects for digital research and integrating digital pedagogy into their curriculums.
Over the course of 10 weeks, 6 DREAM Lab student employees worked between 4-11 hours weekly to explore and build pre-existing digital projects (2018-2020) that were built through partnerships and grant funding by librarians, technologists, and UO faculty. With coaching and supervision by Digital Scholarship Services librarians and the Digital Scholarship Specialist Graduate Employee, student workers learned and practiced the basics of building a digital scholarship project, and consulted with other specialists in the UO Libraries.
What did we do?
One of the most frequently asked questions asked of digital scholarship librarians by at University of Oregon faculty and students is “What technology did you use to build that digital humanities project?” During the COVID-19 Spring 2020 Term, the DREAM Lab shifted student employment online
Together, we built what we’ve dubbed “digital translations.” We wanted to answer the question with student workers: is it possible to reconstruct a digital scholarship project as closely as possible using another digital technology?
Why did we do it?
Digital Scholarship Services wanted to support the DREAM Lab student workers with employment and continue to support them in building digital literacy and technology skills. We also wanted students to help build a sample collection of different technologies used to communicate digital research designed to contribute to open education, research, and the public good.
How did we do it?
Given a week turnaround during the COVID-19 Spring 2020 term, the DREAM Lab operations and management leaders, Kate Thornhill, Digital Scholarship Librarian, Anna Lepska, Digital Scholarship Specialist GE 2019-2020, and with administrative support from Franny Gaede, Head of Digital Scholarship Services, needed to pivot DREAM Lab student employment from DREAM Lab space management services.
Supervision and management of student employees took shape in a remote work environment. They supported the students in several ways while designing a term-based program focused on enhancing student employment experiences by working on digital scholarship projects. Projects that would be used to support digital librarian research and consultations with faculty and graduate students who keep digital scholarship support.
Ways the DREAM Lab Operations Management Supported Student Employees:
- Emotional support
- Pivot to supporting the DREAM Lab while the space was closed, but operations were still in-progress
- Development of skills to become part of future professional remote workforces
- Web development skills
- Actively participating in highlightly reflective processes about digital projects through one on one meetings with digital scholarship librarians and the digital scholarship specialist GE
- Engagement in critical peer review of digital projects
- Connections with a UO Libraries Research Data Management and Reproducibility librarian and Digital Scholarship Services Interactive Technology Specialist for project consultants
What are the impacts?
Student Success
- Working remotely and independently
- Preparation for jobs requiring technology experiences
- Build technology resilience
- Build experience with professional business communications technologies
- Enhance time management skill
- Write data management plans
- Make wireframes
- Use a specific digital platforms to build a digital project
- Foundations for the development of an online LIB course focused around digital scholarship
University Research Success
- Librarians have a new digital research consultation tool
- Prepare undergraduate students to engage as digital project assistant for faculty seeking research assistants
- Highlights digital scholarship projects originally designed to communicate faculty digital research
- Tool for digital scholarship librarians to use for grant consultations
Featured Student Reflections
Victoria’s Takeaway From This Term’s Work
One major takeaway I got from this term is planning skill. In this project, there were several steps I needed to do before I reached the final product. These intermediate steps can sometimes overlap with one another. At first, I did not plan out the steps that could help me to finish the project, I struggled and wasted time toward the end to have to do overlapped intermediate steps I did before. If I was to plan ahead, I can eliminate some of these works which helped me to reduce the time that I spent on these steps. Through this project, I learned about precious time. People can control the time that is given for them. If people cannot control their time well, they will lose these...
How This Term’s Work Experience Has Prepared Sabrina For Employment After Graduation
This term’s work experience has prepared me for employment after graduation in a variety of different ways that will impact me both in a matter of advancing my skills in web development and in a matter of life skills. The idea of being employed during a pandemic that had led to thousands of layoffs and unemployment leaves me feeling both thankful for the DREAM Lab and leaves me feeling more positive than I was going into my Spring quarter. Among the wide range of ‘life skills’ I had prior to Spring Term, one ‘life skill’ I definitely added to my list was being able to be motivated, even if the world surrounding me is crumbling down and also the skill of being able to make the best out...