A DH state of mind: Libraries and the digital humanities

Partnering with faculty and students working in the digital humanities is a natural extension of librarian roles as liaisons, subject specialists, curators, and digital collections specialists. Librarians are wellpositioned to identify campus needs and opportunities, and provide research consultations, information resources, and digital project management expertise for the digital humanities. The authors propose that a "digital humanities state of mind" is a way for librarians to approach engaging in and supporting the digital humanities. This chapter explores the roles and contributions of librarians working on digital humanities projects, examines how some libraries collaborate in the digital humanities at their institutions, and explains the importance of environmental scanning and needs assessment for understanding the digital humanities researchers at one's own institution. The authors discuss three examples of digital humanities library collaborations: digitization of Mexican and Mexican American newspapers, digitization of borderland materials, and a 16mm film project.