LIBER Webinar: Open a GLAM Lab

Digital or innovation “labs” in library or museum settings have been around for about ten years. The lab is usually a place for experimenting with digital collections in novel ways to reach new audiences or to explore new technologies. These, sometimes temporary, teams within a library, archives, or museum/gallery (GLAM) can support a range of internal and external digital services and programs. Not so long ago, participants of the “labbers” (lab-interested) community identified a need to articulate lab values, share relevant experience and case studies, and suggest some best practices for those starting up cultural heritage innovation labs. Through funding provided by the University College London, Qatar, Qatar University, the British Library and the Library of Congress, a coordinating group engaged Book Sprint, Ltd, a rapid book production and collaboration methodology, and published a call for participants to write a book about GLAM labs in five days. In late September 2019, a group of 16 librarians, developers, archivists, curators and academics from around the world landed in Doha, Qatar, to embark on a Book Sprint. Together, in five long days, they wrote a book called “Open a GLAM Lab” to galvanize and shape the emerging labs community. In this webinar on 20 January at 14:00 CET, Sophie-Carolin Wagner of Austrian National Library, Sarah Ames of the National Library of Scotland and Mahendra Mahey of British Library Lab shares more details about the Book Sprint methodology and the contents of the book itself, which was released publicly during Open Access Week, October 21-27, 2019. This webinar is organized by LIBER’s Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage Working Group and hosted by Caleb Derven, Head of Technical and Digital Services at the University of Limerick