The Library as Data: An overview

New

Is the "digital library" more than a virtual rendering of the bookshelf or filing cabinet? Does the transformation of books into bytes and manuscripts into pixels change the way we create and share knowledge? This session introduces a conceptual toolkit for understanding the library collection in the digital age, and provides a guide to key methods for accessing, transforming and analysing the contents as data. Using the rich collections of Cambridge University Library as a starting point, we will explore:

• Relations between digital and material texts and artefacts
• Definitions of data and metadata
• Methods for accessing data in bulk from digital collections
• Understanding file formats and standards

The session will also provide an overview of the content in the rest of the term’s Library as Data programme, and introduce our annual call for applications to the Machine Reading the Archive Projects mentoring scheme.

PhD Students and Staff

Number of sessions: 1

• Machine Reading the Archive
• The Library as Data