UCI Libraries’ Digital Scholarship Services (DSS) designs and implements digital library tools and services to support digital scholarship work performed by the UCI community. DSS enables new modes of scholarly inquiry, publication, and collaboration. DSS assists the UCI community throughout the research lifecycle, from planning and executing research projects to publishing, preserving, and increasing the visibility and impact of research outcome.
DSS may be relevant to you as a UCI researcher in different ways, see What We Do.
From digitization to more complex media conversion, from depositing your publications into open-access repositories to digital humanities projects that involve many unknowns, you can collaborate with DSS in ways already established or yet to be discovered. See Projects & Activities for current examples. We look forward to learning about your research and partner with you to achieve success.
- Help you better understand funders’ requirements
- Advise on writing grant-winning data management plans
- Preserve and showcase your past accomplishments
Not at all! We welcome discussion of exploratory ideas and projects. It’s perfectly okay to be unsure about what you want to do and how to get there. We are happy to talk it through with you!
Email us if you have a general inquiry. Schedule a consultation if you would to meet in person, whether to know more about DSS or to discuss in detail your needs or interests. We typically respond to emails by the end of the same business day (except from weekends and holidays). Appointments for consultations are available Monday-Friday (excluding holidays) and must be requested at least 2 business days in advance (please excuse us for any inconvenience).
Once you request a consultation, DSS will select a staff member or a small group of staff to meet with you based on your expressed interests or needs. This first meeting is all about getting to know you and your scholarship. We’re interested in learning about the scope and purposes of your work and assisting you in choosing the right approach. Typically, a point person will be designated during this meeting. This person serves as your main DSS contact when questions arise. Whether you’re planning a broad collaboration with a variety of University partners or a narrower project with a specific aim, the initial meeting is where it all starts.
Your DSS contact will likely speak with you about next steps during your initial consultation meeting. Based on the project size and scope, you and the DSS contact will schedule additional meetings and will discuss objectives, timelines, and deadlines. It is likely that DSS will issue a project-specific Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to you following your first few meetings. An MOU, for our purposes, is simply a document reflecting project team members’ understanding of a project and its scope, timeline, and deadline at that moment in time. It is not a legally-binding document and is typically assessed based on an appropriate frequency. MOUs can be revised at any time based on revisions made to any project element.
- Who is the intended audience for the project?
- Is the project primarily a resource tool or will it be integrated into a course/event?
- Do you have the rights to preserve and make accessible the content to others? Are there any potential limitations on access? (See UC Copyright for more information.)
- Is there a set outside timeline or deadline? e.g., Is the project part of a grant or a larger event? Is there a partner institution?
- Are you connected or working with other resources on campus?
- Are there examples of projects you’ve seen at UCI or elsewhere that are similar to the project you envision?
- Are there specific platforms you’d like to use for your project?
- Any other pertinent information or recommendations?
It depends! DSS consultations are free. Depending on the nature of the project, there may be cost involved for implementation, marketing, etc.
Sure! DSS staff offices are located on the 2nd floor of Science Library (SL) inside Public Services librarians' office suite. Depending on who you are meeting with, one DSS member will meet you in the SL lobby and bring you up if you would like to make a physical visit. Please email us or schedule a consultation to determine a time beforehand.
Bookmark DSS homepage and frequently visit this website or follow #UCILIBDSS on Twitter. Additionally, starting Spring 2015, there is at least one DSS newsletter introducing our services or activities in every UCI Libraries Update: A Newsletter for Faculty.