In response to evolving library service models and user needs, the Digital Borderlands initiative at the University of Arizona Libraries (UAL) is exploring strategies for integrating a broad range of library services into the research enterprise through disbursing competitive seed grants. With funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the seed grants support data-intensive Humanities scholarship focused on the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands with open access for all research outputs. An enduring thread throughout the project has included deep reflections on the role libraries play in centering and supporting ethical, mutually reciprocal research relationships among scholars, library workers, and community partners. This work-in-progress session will explore the intensive proposal development process used by the Digital Borderlands Initiative to introduce researchers to the requirements of the grant and initiate the work of relationship building with library service providers. The central focus of our session will be the eight projects funded through this process which will be used as case studies for examining the six guiding questions that frame the themes of this conference. The projects intersect with multiple social justice issues with topics ranging from collaboration on digital storytelling with bilingual international communities and socially vulnerable populations, to developing research and teaching tools for digital scholarship focused on the Borderlands. Using these projects we will highlight lessons learned in developing responsive library services that work to address the role libraries play as facilitators at the nexus of digital scholarship, social justice, and community engagement.
Presenters: Alana Varner (University of Arizona), Megan Senseney (University of Arizona Libraries), Verónica Reyes-Escudero (University of Arizona), Shan Sutton (University of Arizona)
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