The Digital Public Library of America, Me, and You | Dan Cohen's Digital Humanities Blog

abernard102@gmail.com 2013-03-07

Summary:

Twenty years ago Roy Rosenzweig imagined a compelling mission for a new institution: “To use digital media and computer technology to democratize history—to incorporate multiple voices, reach diverse audiences, and encourage popular participation in presenting and preserving the past.” I’ve been incredibly lucky to be a part of that mission for over twelve years, at what became the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, with last five and a half years as director. Today I am announcing that I will be leaving the center, and my professorship at George Mason University, the home of RRCHNM, but I am not leaving Roy’s powerful vision behind. Instead, I will be extending his vision—one now shared by so many—on a new national initiative, the Digital Public Library of America. I will be the founding executive director of the DPLA. The DPLA, which you will be hearing much more about in the coming months, will be connecting the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums so that the public can access all of those collections in one place; providing a platform, with an API, for others to build creative and transformative applications upon; and advocating strongly for a public option for reading and research in the twenty-first century. The DPLA will in no way replace the thousands of public libraries that are at the heart of so many communities across this country, but instead will extend their commitment to the public sphere, and provide them with an extraordinary digital attic and the technical infrastructure and services to deliver local cultural heritage materials everywhere in the nation and the world.  The DPLA has been in the planning stages for the last few years, but is about to spin out ofHarvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society and move from vision to reality. It will officially launch, as an independent nonprofit, on April 18 at the Boston Public Library. I will move to Boston with my family this summer to lead the organization, which will be based there. It is such a great honor to have this opportunity.  Until then I will be transitioning from my role as director of RRCHNM, and my academic life at Mason ..."

Link:

http://www.dancohen.org/2013/03/05/the-digital-public-library-of-america-me-and-you/

From feeds:

Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) » abernard102@gmail.com

Tags:

oa.new oa.libraries oa.museums oa.tools oa.librarians oa.glam oa.apis oa.dpla oa.archives oa.announcements oa.curators oa.archivists oa.ch

Date tagged:

03/07/2013, 16:38

Date published:

03/07/2013, 11:38