Issues in Humanities Data Curation

As both the materials and the analytical practices of humanities research become increasingly digital, the challenge of sustaining meaningful access to the outputs of humanities research becomes more urgent. Continuing technological change and new institutional pressures require a sustainable commitment to curate humanities data throughout its entire lifecycle from creation to re-use and long-term preservation. Success will depend on coordinated, collaborative efforts and arrangements amongst scholars, librarians, administrators, funders, and their organizations. This document is intended to provide background and provoke discussions about the skills, professional roles, training, and institutional support needed for curation of humanities research materials. Each section contains questions for further exploration and debate that we hope will provide participants with opportunities to share their own experiences and knowledge. The final white paper resulting from the Humanities Data Curation Summit sponsored by the Data Curation Education Program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and CenterNet is intended to advance the development of a curation agenda for the digital humanities as a vital piece of conceptual infrastructure [1] [#svensson2011] for the field. Based on a shared understanding of current problems, the final white paper will propose concrete, specific recommendations for scholars, librarians and archivists, professional societies, institutions, and funders.