This report, funded by the Institution of Museum and Library Services documents work done between 2016 and 2019. The project
iterated on, and shared current and potential approaches to developing cultural heritage collections that support computationally-driven research and teaching. With funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Always Already Computational held two national forums, organized multiple workshops, shared project outcomes in disciplinary and professional conferences, and generated nearly a dozen deliverables meant to guide institutions as they consider development of collections as data (Project website: https://osf.io/mx6uk/).
A major outcome of the work was the The Santa Barbara Statement on Collections as Data. The statement defies “collections as data” as follows:
The Santa Barbara Statement on Collections as Data is a set of principles developed with community feedback designed to help guide practitioners through the practical, theoretical, and ethical dimensions of collections as data work. This deliverable does not advance solutions, rather it raises core questions to be resolved in local contexts. The first version of the Santa Barbara Statement was inspired by the first collections as data national forum (UC Santa Barbara, March 1‑3 2017). After its release, the team asynchronously gathered comments on the web via open annotation and sought synchronous feedback across a series of conversations and workshops. The second version of the statement was revised and released based on community feedback. Permanent link: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3066209 (p. 10)
The report also outlines the increased uptake of the concept of collections as data that with an increase of mentions and publications on the concept.
Some key findings/outcomes:
Collections as data development must critically engage with bias in collection and description, archival silences, and assumptions about collection use (p. 14);
Collections as data development does not depend on availability of abundant resources ‑ the work is possible at a wide range of organizations. Incremental progress is a primary feature of this work. Small scale projects, experiments, and discussions can help establish a more inclusive path forward (pp. 14-15);
Collections as data development offers clear benefits to collection users and stewards (p. 15);
Collections as data development provides a context for productive destabilization of organizational silos often predicated on the management and use of analog resources (p. 15);
Collections as data development reaches its true potential when it engages specific community needs. Collections as data designed for everyone serve no one (p. 16);
Collections as data development benefits from collaboration across multiple communities of practice (p. 16).
Seven areas are outlined for further investigation:
Moving from ethical consideration to action
Conducting more community‑specific user studies to inform workflow development
Developing functional requirements in service to user and collection steward needs
Publicly charting and sharing the terms of relationships with commercial entities
Enabling widespread collections as data discovery
Addressing collections as data preservation needs and obstacles
Exploring post‑custodial approaches to collections as data (pp. 17-18)
The report includes 15 “Facets” or case studies from a variety of institutions that showed examples of collections as data. The facets include why the collection was selected, how it was done and shared, support, and next steps.To help understand use cases, the user personas were also developed to show the range of potential users of collections as data.
The report concludes with “50 Things You Can Do to Get Started with Collections as Data.” As the report notes, many of these are likely underway, some highlights include:
8. Recognize and identify the things you need to do differently than have been done for physical collection objects.
14.Socialize Collections as Data as something that can be supported by units and staff across the library. Identify some champions across the organization and people who have skills or position to do the work.
36. When planning your next digitization project, incorporate additional steps for preparing content files, OCR or transcription text, and metadata for bulk access. Document the key issues and decision points you encounter as you evolve and expand your digitization workflows.
41. Take a public services librarian, curator, or archivist out for coffee to talk about collections as data. Ask what they are hearing from faculty, students, and other users of collections about computational use and which collections have potential for taking action to lower barriers to computational use.
47. Explore what it would take for your organization to contribute subject data to Wikidata, drawing on a local collection and then incorporating the Wikidata links into your local discovery environment.
The report concludes with “position statements” from many of the participants in the March 2017 National Forum hosted as part of this project. The project was succeeded by Collections as Data: Part to Whole funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
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