Sustainability of digital humanities projects as a publication and documentation challenge

Abstract

PurposeThis paper proposes a new perspective on the enormous and unresolved challenge to existing practices of publication and documentation posed by the outputs of digital research projects in the humanities, where much good work is being lost due to resource or technical challenges.Design/methodology/approachThe paper documents and analyses both the existing literature on promoting sustainability for the outputs of digital humanities projects and the innovative approach of a single large-scale project.FindingsThe findings of the research presented show that sustainability planning for large-scale research projects needs to consider data and technology but also community, communications and process knowledge simultaneously. In addition, it should focus not only on a project as a collection of tangible and intangible assets, but also on the potential user base for these assets and what these users consider valuable about them.Research limitations/implicationsThe conclusions of the paper have been formulated in the context of one specific project. As such, it may amplify the specificities of this project in its results.Practical implicationsAn approach to project sustainability following the recommendations outlined in this paper would include a number of uncommon features, such as a longer development horizon, wider perspective on project results, and an audit of tacit and explicit knowledge.Social ImplicationsThese results can ultimately preserve public investment in projects.Originality/valueThis paper supplements more reductive models for project sustainability with a more holistic approach that others may learn from in mapping and sustaining user value for their projects for the medium to long terms.

From Disparate Disciplines to Unity in Diversity: How the PARTHENOS Project Has Brought European Humanities Research Infrastructures Together

“…As poignantly stated in a CENDARI report on sustainability "the Digital Humanities landscape is littered with projects that were not sustained by or for their intended user community". 37 The report proposes several recommendations to overcome this situation that were successfully applied during and after the project, such as making sustainability planning an integral part of the project and sharing knowledge across affiliated projects. The involvement of various existing Humanities RI's in PARTHENOS was indeed crucial in making sure that the project did not try to reinvent the wheel.…”

Purpose, completeness, and evidential source: Typological signposts in the collections landscape

“…A failure to understand or acknowledge the particular contributions of digital projects leads project developers and curators to founder on decisions about what to sustain and preserve, at what level of fidelity or in what ways, and for what use cases. Edmond and Morselli (2020) find that "interpretations of value and durability" tend to be made on a project-by-project basis, so that decisions that affect the longevity of digital projects tend to be founded on tacit assumptions about their contributions. Indeed, the problem of understanding and supporting new modes of digital research is foundational to the development of more equitable, open, and useful knowledge ecosystems.…”

“…Maron and Pickle (2014) demonstrate that a central obstacle to the sustainment of digital scholarship is a lack of clarity, among various stakeholders (ranging from funders to academic administrators), about the value proposition of digital scholarship and how digital humanities “work and outputs support institutional aims.” A failure to understand or acknowledge the particular contributions of digital projects leads project developers and curators to founder on decisions about what to sustain and preserve, at what level of fidelity or in what ways, and for what use cases. Edmond and Morselli (2020) find that “interpretations of value and durability” tend to be made on a project‐by‐project basis, so that decisions that affect the longevity of digital projects tend to be founded on tacit assumptions about their contributions. Indeed, the problem of understanding and supporting new modes of digital research is foundational to the development of more equitable, open, and useful knowledge ecosystems.…”

“…Consequently, while various policy interventions and technological advancements in digital stewardship have made limited headway on the pervasive problem of digital scholarship, there is scant, broadly applicable guidance for the communities that develop collections, and for the libraries, funders, administrators, developers, and others who support and sustain collections over time. A growing body of literature on the obstacles that confront the long-term viability digital collections, among other forms of digital scholarship, and context-sensitive sustainability and preservation strategies (e.g., Edmond & Morselli, 2020;Fenlon, 2020;Langmead, Quigley, Gunn, Hakimi, & Decker, 2018;Smithies, Westling, Sichani, Mellen, & Ciula, 2019) would benefit from a systematic evaluation of the landscape of projects and their contributions.…”

Digital Humanitarian Project as a Component of Digital Humanities

“…Unlike the paper edition, the DHP needs constant support in the future, even in the absence of its modification and development. In this context, the key concept is the stability of the DHP in various aspects: a stable and integ rated model of metadata management, sustain able support of research needs, stable technical performance, clarity and accessibility for users [18]. As Frodeman R. concludes in the Oxford Hand book of Interdisciplinarity (2017), many complex issues arise at the stage of determining the sig nificance of various aspects of DHP: distinguis hing between individual contributions to an in terdisciplinary team, hierarchy of achievement values, evaluation of innovations that have no counterparts, etc.…”