The Developing Librarian Team Launches Morningside Heights Digital History (MHDH)

Two years ago we announced a professional development program in the Columbia University Libraries for the Humanities & History Division. In our first iteration of the Developing Librarian project or, as we refer to it on social media, the #devlib project, our goal was to build a common project using an adaptation of the Praxis model for professional librarians. Today, the Developing Librarian team is proud to announce the launch of our site, Morningside Heights Digital History, or MHDH.

After an initial round of ‘introductions’ to the technologies and skills needed to design our site, we divided into teams: design, editorial, management and development. For a more detailed breakdown of our different roles, please visit our credits page. The project was built on the Omeka platform, using the Neatline plugin for the interactive map and an interactive tour of the Butler Library Mural, and the Exhibit Builder for our different exhibits. We chose the Berlin theme, and modified it to suit our needs. The research was done individually, but we shared bibliographic and archival resources. We documented the process throughout on our Developing Librarian blog, where you are now.

When we set out to do this as a team, we wanted to accomplish much: to expand our ability to support and consult in digital humanities, to hone our research skills, to bridge the gap between IT and subject librarianship, and to bond as a team by sharing a common project. We feel we have accomplished all of these and more. In particular, we find all aspects of our work as a team have benefited from developing a project together. Learning to build consensus around difficult issues will have a lasting effect on all we do in the libraries and on campus.

We have many people to thank for this project: our technology team and library administrators in the Columbia University Libraries, who have seen the importance of flexibility in the technical infrastructure for our training efforts. We are also appreciative of all the conversations and feedback from colleagues at many universities, including the University of Indiana, University of Minnesota, University of Virginia, University of Florida, New York University, and Duke University.

Following this first phase of our project, we will continue our professional development through a series of targeted training sessions for and by our team and others at Columbia University Libraries. We will continue to share what we learn on our blog. We have grown as individuals and as a team during the past three years of this project. In the next phase, we will expand this model to enhance our own research (for example, one team member will be using digital tools to assess variant versions of an unpublished play by Tennessee Williams), following a model pioneered by Trevor Muñoz and MITH in their Digital Humanities Incubator for libraries. We will also be partnering with faculty to create and co-teach digital labs attached to traditional humanities courses, to improve our digital pedagogical skills. We have always emphasized process over product in this training, but we are excited to share our web exhibit and this model for future professional development at Columbia and elsewhere.

Humanities & History team, Columbia University

Nancy Friedland

Author: Nancy Friedland

Nancy Friedland is the Librarian for Film Studies and Performing Arts. She began work at Columbia in 1995 as the Assistant Undergraduate Librarian. By 1996, she was tasked with helping to develop the Butler Media Collection, Butler Media Center and related services. She continues to serve as the primary selector for the Butler Media Collection and as the liaison to students and faculty in the School of the Arts. She is currently President of Theatre Library Association. She is also a Visiting Associate Professor at the Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science and the Palmer School of Library and Information Science. Her personal research interests include costume design for film and theatre, New York City history, Yiddish theatre and digital humanities and the performing arts. Her focus for the Morningside Project is St. Luke’s Hospital.