ProfHacker isn’t usually a place for event announcements, but there is an exciting meeting that is taking place next week at the National Archives in Washington, DC, which I think is worth a posting here. Many of our readers may have seen mention here and there about the idea of creating a genuine digital public library for the United States, something many countries around the world have done. One of the most active advocates of this idea, and the one who has left the greatest trail of articles related to the proposal online is the historian and director of the Harvard University Library, Robert Darnton (see for example, this piece). I have watched Darnton speak about the DPLA on several occasions and I think he strikes the perfect balance between the pragmatist and an advocate for creating a library that isn’t afraid to reach for its true potential. The topic has also found mention here at the Chronicle, both in longer articles and in several postings over at the Wired Campus.
About a year ago, I was skeptical this would ever get off the ground. However, I have watched as bits and pieces of news emerge about meetings, plots, and the development of a secret network of shadowy cyber-utopian librarians. Ok, I didn’t get any specific intel on the shadowy network, but surely there must be one. Through their new website and not so shadowy mailing list, I read with excitement about the results of their recent “Beta Sprint” which invited various projects to submit code and concepts for the platform and functionality of the DPLA. Those chosen, which include an ongoing project of metaLAB (at) Harvard that I have been fortunate to get to know well in recent months (I’ll save that for another posting), will have the chance to present their ideas next week.
On October 21, at the National Archives, there will be an open meeting that brings together many of the stakeholders and interested parties. I’ll be up here in Boston for THATCamp NE and unable to attend, but I urge anyone in the DC area who is interested in being part of the conversation about this important initiative to attend. Read more about the event here, and register for the plenary meeting here.
