Next in our series of interviews with Digital Library Program staff. Today, Kevin Warstadt, Edward Connery Lathem ’51 Digital Library Fellow, answers questions about his work.
What does the Edward Connery Lathem ’51 Digital Library Fellow do?
The Digital Fellowship is in many ways a learning position, and as such involves interacting with several different facets of the Digital Library Program. Since I started, I’ve produced digital objects through photo capture and scanning, curated faculty publications through Symplectic Elements, edited and marked up text for the Journal of e-Media Studies, and written blog posts on digital collections. I also represent the Digital Program on the Library Marketing and Communications Committee. The position has given me the opportunity to see many different aspects of library work and to cooperate with the great people that we have here at the library.
How did you get here? That is, what was your path to becoming the Digital Library Fellow here at Dartmouth?
I graduated from Georgia Tech in 2013 with a degree in Science, Technology, and Culture. In that program, I did a lot of work in film and history, and dabbled some in museum studies. I started up in Dartmouth’s MALS program in spring 2014 and simultaneously started working part-time doing capture for the Photo Files project. I continued working here during my time as a student studying writing, history, and literature. When applications for the position opened up earlier this year, I applied and was accepted.
What’s a notable (interesting, challenging, unusual) project that you’ve worked on recently?
I did some work using OpenRefine right after I started in July, reconciling geodata with place names. OpenRefine is a useful tool for sorting through and editing data en masse. It allows a user to sort data with facets and instantly find and change entries that diverge from a standard or desired format. There was some difficulty in learning the ropes of the reconciliation process as my coding knowledge is fairly limited. However, after some finagling and Lynda.com videos, I was able to get it running. This process should allow us to link artifacts or documents to a specific geospatial point, which could open up a number of paths for interesting projects in the future.
What do you wish that more people knew about digital libraries?
My primary concern is that people know what exists within our collections. I’d also like to see increased use of those collections. I’ve grown particularly fond of the Photo Files over the last couple of years and it makes me sad that there are people and places in those images waiting to be remembered.
As for the process itself, I suppose it would be good for library patrons to know the amount of labor that goes into digitization. This would help with the digitization request process and might also aid us in getting more funds/resources so that we can expand our digital selection.
Who are you when you’re not being the Digital Library Fellow?
I’m one of the great indoorsman of our age. I’ve explored all over the great lands that stretch between my desk and my kitchen. When I’m not schlepping down to the Coop for groceries or hanging out on that cool new bridge in White River Junction, I’m usually writing short stories or screenplays.
On campus, I’m a member of the Dartmouth Writer’s Society and am currently the art editor for the MALS Journal (now called Clamantis). I attend Dartmouth Film Society meetings when time allows, and I’ve written film notes for them over the last couple of years.
I’m also in the market for an affordable used car if anybody has any leads.
Are there Dartmouth collections that are currently restricted that you’d like to see available in an open institutional repository like the Dartmouth Academic Commons? (question from Jen)
Ultimately, I’d like to see everything available online. Rauner Special Collections Library has so many fascinating pieces that are out of reach for people who can’t make it to the physical space. Unfortunately, we don’t have the staff to digitize everything that we find interesting. For example, during my research on one of our pieces for a blog post, I ended up looking into an old newspaper, but struggled to find any copies online. As it turned out we had some physical copies in Rauner. Being on campus, I’m able to access those pieces, but others might not be able to. It would be nice to get those things up online so that everyone has access.
What question would you like another member of the Digital Library Program staff to answer?
What new tools are coming in the world of digital librarianship? How are we preparing for changes in the field?