• Paola Marchionni Jisc,
• Julie Allinson University of York,
• Marilyn Deegan King’s College London,
• Simon James University of Durham,
• Dot Porter University of Pennsylvania

The aim of the session is to explore ways in which the digital content landscape needs to be developed and to explore areas for intervention, in order to achieve the widest impact for digital humanities scholarship.  

We hope the discussion will help identify a set of strategic priorities for the development of digital content to support research activity. Delegates will have the opportunity to vote on the priorities that will have been identified during the session, and the results will be announced at the ensuing reception.

This session is part of a range of consultation activities that Jisc is carrying out in order to identify strategic priorities for digital resource development over the next three years.

This panel session will be an opportunity to discuss three key aspects of the scholarly research environment, and to explore ideas for strategic development in these areas:

• Digital content: Do we need more digital content; if so, what are the thematic collections which will lead to increased impact?

Things to consider: what do we have, and what is missing? How can the development of digital collections be more strategic than it has been in the past? Is what we already have scalable?

• Linking digital content: Do we need to make better use of what we already have; if so, what are the practical steps to breaking down silos of content?

Things to consider: are the silos already being linked? How can content be better linked and shared across institutions or between communities of researchers? Are there areas in which technical change could facilitate better connections across digital collections?

• Using digital content: Do we need to learn how to use digital content better; if so, what are the tools we need to make best use of the content we have?

Things to consider: Do we already have adequate digital tools, methods and basic digital literacy skills to use digital content for scholarship? Which are they? What would help ensure that digital content provision can make a real difference to the way that we research and teach the humanities?

Each of these points will be introduced by an expert in the field who will present a provocation for discussion, and also a potential solution to their provocation, for discussion by the audience.

The panel will include lots of time for discussion and interactivity.