Campus Services to Support Historians

FAIN: HD-51320-11

Ithaka Harbors, Inc. (New York, NY 10006-1895)
Roger Schonfeld (Project Director: October 2010 to present)

A systematic study and projection of new information services required by scholars in the field of history, also serving as a pilot for a broader program of investigation into the future of information services for the humanities.

As the environment in which humanities scholars work continues to evolve rapidly, the set of support services that will best enable innovative scholarship also changes. But too often, the support services made available to scholars are defined by the traditional core competencies of the service provider rather than by the needs of scholars. In this project, we will take a scholar-centric approach to understanding the information service needs of scholars in the field of history, seeking both to identify concrete needs for new information services and to model an approach to service development that evolves with the needs of scholars. This project will probe how scholars in the field of history rely on existing information services, identify concrete opportunities for new support services that would address unmet needs, and serve as a pilot for a broader program of investigation into the future of information services for the humanities.