Borderlands Storytelling: Archival Collections, Digital Approaches, and Library Engagement in Innovative Humanities Scholarship

Borderlands Storytelling: Archival Collections, Digital Approaches, and Library Engagement in Innovative Humanities Scholarship P R E S E N T E D B Y : A L A N A V A R N E R A N D M E G A N S E N S E N E Y , U N I V E R S I T Y O F A R I Z O N A L I B R A R I E S DLF 2025 Verónica ReyesEscudero she/her/hers Co-PI Katheryne B. Willock Head of Special Collections, University of Arizona Project Assessment Co-Authors Megan Senseney she/her/hers Co-PI Head, Research Engagement, University of Arizona Chelsea Wells she/her/hers Digital Borderlands GA 2022-2024 Digital Stewardship Librarian, Amherst College Alana Varner she/her/hers Digital Borderlands Project Coordinator University of Arizona Shan Sutton he/him/his PI Dean of University Libraries, Katheryne B. Willock Endowed Chair, University of Arizona Additional Project Team Members Harriett Green she/her/hers Review Board Chair 2023-Present Vice Dean, University of Arizona Sarah Shreeves she/her/hers Review Board Chair 2020-2023 Alice Sheets Marriott Dean of Libraries, University of Utah Project background: Phase 1 2020: $750,000 grant funded by the Mellon Foundation Focus on integration of library services into research Seed grant model Phase 2 2023: $1.2 million grant to expand the initiative Focus on integration of library services into instruction and student research Fellowship model Distinctive Features Data-intensive Humanities Research Data storytelling Focus on US-Mexico Borderlands Open access required for all research outputs $60,000 funding 1 year performance period Phase 1: Seed Grants Proposal Development Introducing the Digital Borderlands Initiative Scaffolding proposal development Creating clear expectations through attestation letters Establishing connections between researchers and library personnel Cohort 1 Projects Reporting on Race and Ethnicity in the Borderlands (1882-1924): A Data-Driven Digital Storytelling Hub Border Hub| Centro Fronterizo Borderlands Forensics Voices from the Migrant Incarceration System DETAINED Stitching Identities: Rarámuri Dressmaking and resistance in Chihuahua City Oasis Cohort 2 Projects Disability Experiences in the Borderlands DISCAPAZ Mapping Racist Covenants a climate justice storytelling project secrets of the agave Discovering Community in the Borderland Library Services Special Collections Data Science Support Text Analysis GIS/Mapping Oral History Digital Scholarship CATalyst Studios Data Repository Support completed projects Consultant priorites Service modeling Capacity building Sustainability Scalability Resource Needs Staffing But also... funding commercial datasets; training resources and tutorials; support and support data collection and working with data in the field; more support for programming languages and programming skills; support for research data management in the humanities and humanistic social sciences; and support for building, hosting, and maintaining websites. Implications for Libraries Awareness building Projects as professional development Service scoping and expectation management Differentiation between archival collections and thematic scholarly research collections Engaging in productive tensions: Openness vs. Privacy and Sovereignty Competing ethical frameworks for research Cooperative engagement with university research offices Implications for Universities and Funders Flexible, sustainable web hosting Strategies to better support public scholarship and community-engaged research Accounting for time, funding, and labor when... Building relationships with community Distributing funds beyond the university Creating multiple deliverables for multiple audiences Shifting focus to the classroom 1 Expanding on the use of library services that were integrated into faculty research projects to create more opportunities for student research 2 Supporting our mission as a Hispanic Serving Institution by incorporating Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and relevant regional content 3 Introducing core literacies into the classroom: data literacy digital literacy archival literacy maker literacy Faculty Fellowship Three cohorts of 6-8 instructors Fellows are required to: attend at a week long, in-person summer institute, revise a pre-existing course, deliver the revised course within 18 months following the institute Fellows receive an award of $9k, which can be used as summer salary or funds for a course buy-out. Fellows may be invited to contribute to the OER Digital Borderlands in the Classroom Anthology Summer Institute Border studies topics in curricula across disciplines Recognize the cultural assets and tools students bring Understand the value of culturally relevant library literacies Identify materials for instruction Hands-on experiences working with fabrication, data, and digital storytelling tools Learn about open pdagogy and scholarship Apply lessons to course assignments and activities Produce a plan for revising course materials OER and Symposium Final output will include a bilingual (Spanish/English) OER which will serve as a handbook for instructors across campus and at other HSIs and peer institutions to develop assignments and make similar course revisions that center key library literacies and implement culturally responsive pedagogical practices In 2027 we will host a one day symposium to launch the anthology and celebrate the culmination of 7 years of work Digital Borderlands Internships Promote engagement with digital and archival scholarship Produced by four graduate interns First episode released this week! 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