This document discusses the potential for digital humanities (DH) centers within museums. It provides examples of existing DH projects at museums that digitize collections, visualize and connect data, experiment with tools like GitHub, produce digital publications and scholarly editions, and more. The document advocates that museums spearhead digital projects, focus on digitizing objects/images/sounds, build staff capacity, collaborate internally and externally, and facilitate online connections. DH centers in museums could lead public humanities work and help bring history museums into the digital realm.

1. Sheila A. Brennan
Associate Director of Public Projects, Roy Rosenzweig
Center for History and New Media, George Mason
University
@sherah1918
sbrennan@gmu.edu
DH CENTERED IN MUSEUMS?

2. FUTURE OF DH CENTERS

4. DON’T GET BOGGED DOWN IN “DH”

5. DH IN MUSEUMS?
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3506656C723EAFEA

6. DIGITAL STRATEGY

7. COLLECTION-DRIVEN
https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/

8. THE PEN

9. CONNECTING & VISUALIZING DATA
http://colourlens.org/

10. EXPERIMENTING & SHARING
https://github.com/richbs/colourlens

11. DIGITAL PUBLISHING
http://www.oscitoolkit.org/

12. SCHOLARLY EDITIONS
http://vangoghletters.org/vg/

13. DH SCHOLARS + MUSEUMS
http://sappingattention.blogspot.com/2012/04/visuali
zing-ocean-shipping.html

14. SHARING AUTHORITY

15. COLLECTING STORIES ONLINE
http://americanhistory.si.edu/agheritage

16. OPEN!
http://openglam.org/

17. OPEN=BETTER FOR ALL
Discussions on open licensing from AAM and NMC:
https://storify.com/awong22/open-licensing-what-is-it-why-do-it-mar-5-
2015-pro

18. MAKER SPACES

19. 1. DIGITIZE COLLECTIONS

20. 2. SHOW THE POWER OF COLLECTIONS
http://invisibleaustralians.org/faces/

21. 3. BE OPEN & ENCOURAGE SHARED
RESPONSIBILITY
http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/calendar/event/8470

22. 4. LEAD IN DIGITAL PUBLIC HUMANITIES &
PUBLIC DIGITAL HUMANITIES

23. DESIGNING FOR ACCESSIBILITY—
IN MANY WAYS

24. WHERE ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES?

25. COMMITMENT & PHYSICAL SPACE

26. OBJECT, IMAGE ANALYSIS

27. BRING HISTORY MUSEUMS ALONG

28. DH CENTER IN A COLLEGE MUSEUM
(NOT THE LIBRARY)?

29.  Spearhead, coordinate, and collaborate among staff to lead
digital projects
 Focus on images, objects, sounds
 Build capacity: Train museum staff
 Creating change from the inside
 Collaborate outside of museum
 Facilitate digital, online, connections
DH CENTER AT A MUSEUM

30. Sheila A.
Brennan
@sherah1918 |
sbrennan@gmu
.edu
|http://lotforty
nine.org
THANK YOU!