Facilitating Communities of Practice in Digital Humanities: Librarian Collaborations for Research and Training in Text Encoding

Librarians take an increasingly active role in the dissemination of digital humanities tools in their campus communities today, and text encoding is among the most prominent tools utilized in digital humanities research. This article examines five case studies that exemplify how academic librarians have collaborated with faculty on research initiatives and provided instructional expertise in support of digital humanities research utilizing text encoding and the application of the Text Encoding Initiative Guidelines. The analysis of the case studies will examine the strategies and outcomes of academic librarians'' work to promote broader exposure of text encoding to students and scholars entering digital humanities scholarship. The study then draws upon the work of Etienne Wenger and Jean Lave on communities of practice to consider how the research collaborations and training initiatives presented in the case studies reveal ways in which librarians can facilitate the ability of scholars to become members of communities of practice within digital humanities.