Dear Colleagues,

 

I am sharing the announcement below on behalf of Ian Spangler, Assistant Curator of Digital & Participatory Geography, Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library.

 

Hi folks:

 

I'm writing on behalf of the Leventhal Map & Education Center (LMEC) to share an exciting opportunity for folks working at the intersection of librarianship, civic data, and digital humanities. 

 

Last year, LMEC partnered with the team at Civic Switchboard to host a 2-day institute at the Boston Public Library (BPL) focused on how library workers can serve as intermediaries between community members and civic data (it's part of a larger set of institutes focused on the same topic, spanning the entire U.S.).

 

Applications are now open for the Boston Institute, which will be held June 27-28 at BPL. Its main goals include:

• Connecting with other regional library workers and expand a community of practice focused on libraries and civic data;
• Exploring your civic data ecosystem and potential roles for your library;
• Connecting with exemplars of library civic data intermediary work by engaging with the work of host sites;
• Discovering critical dimensions of data work, including power, social justice, and responsible data practices to mitigate harms;
• Helping improve civic data educational materials for a library audience.

On day 2 of the Boston Institute, LMEC staff will also spend some time discussing our own work with civic data, from both research/reference and collections perspectives.

 

We would love to see library workers who also have interests in the digital humanities participate in the institute. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly if you have any questions about the application or the institute itself. Thanks for your attention!

 

Cheers,
Ian Spangler
Assistant Curator of Digital & Participatory Geography
Leventhal Map & Education Center
Boston Public Library

 

 

Administrative Chair, Music Encoding Initiative

Editor, Technical Reports and Monographs in Music Librarianship (MLA)