DARIAH-CH/GLAM/Meeting-2025-03

The first meeting of the DARIAH-CH GLAM working group aims at collaboratively coordinate the actions to be taken during 2025 by the DARIAH-CH GLAM working group. The meeting takes place online on March 6, 2025, at 4pm CET.

Report

Introduction This report summarizes the key points and decisions discussed in a recent meeting of the Working Group (WG) focused on strengthening collaboration between GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) institutions and higher education institutions in the digital humanities field. The meeting centered around aligning current and upcoming actions with the WG’s 2025 objectives, as outlined on the Metawiki. A general recommendation was made to gather detailed information about ongoing institutional initiatives represented in the WG and match these with the set objectives to track impact and progress.

Objective 1: Balanced Representation of Stakeholders A significant achievement noted during the meeting is the inclusion of three GLAM institutions in the DARIAH-CH consortium, which is a step toward the WG’s goal of balanced representation among researchers, curators, data experts, and higher education institutions. To continue progress in this area, the WG emphasized the need to broaden participation in its activities to ensure more equitable and diverse representation across disciplines and institutions.

Objective 2: Sharing of Data, Processes, and Resources Establishing a sustainable and effective system for sharing data and related resources is a key priority. The Metawiki was identified as a suitable starting point for resource and documentation exchange. Cristina Grisot will create a dedicated page for this purpose. Additional actions include:

Compiling a list of platforms for sharing data.
Mapping existing datasets already available via Wikidata.
Producing documentation on technologies, standards, and best practices for sharing data.

It was suggested that a future ECHOES project could focus on these aspects of data-sharing and technological infrastructure.

Objective 3: Joint Sustainability Goals The WG acknowledged that while it benefits from structural sustainability through its connection to the DARIAH-CH Consortium, more focused discussions are needed on other dimensions of sustainability—particularly financial and institutional. A dedicated future meeting will be organized to explore how collaborations can be sustained in the long term. The WG also raised a critical point: ensuring that the research contributions and institutional value of GLAM partners are acknowledged, especially considering the complex and costly nature of infrastructure-related work.

Objective 4: Support for Thematic Collaborative Projects To further collaboration between GLAM and higher education institutions, the WG aims to actively seek or initiate thematic projects. A notable opportunity discussed is the current ECHOES Call for Projects, with a deadline of May 15. The WG encourages members to consider submitting proposals that contribute cultural heritage datasets for the European Cultural Heritage Cloud.

Objective 5: Knowledge Sharing and Skill Building Knowledge transfer is a key objective. The ETH Zurich (ETHZ) Library offers a course on Python for the Humanities, which was proposed for promotion within the WG and associated institutions. Course link: ETHZ Course Other initiatives include:

Integrating training components into existing events.
Supporting UNESCO’s recommendations on open culture.
Sharing ETHZ’s practical guidelines on decolonizing archives and collections, currently available in German, with a suggestion to translate them into English.

Events Planned for 2025

Kick-Off Event – June 11, 2025

ETH Library will host a closing workshop for its “Collections as Data” ORD project. This event will serve as the WG’s official kick-off meeting.

Autumn Event – DaSCHCon 2025 – October 15, 2025

A second major event is scheduled for autumn 2025: DaSCHCon 2025 – Cultural Institutions in the Digital Age Theme: The Future of Infrastructures More info: DaSCHCon 2025

There is also the possibility of co-branding with DARIAH-CH for other events. For coordination, members are encouraged to contact Cristina Grisot.

Join the mailing list of the WG

The meetings are open to all members of the WG. To become member, please subscribe to the mailing list by sending an email to dariah-ch-glam-request@maillist.unibas.ch and put “subscribe” as the subject line.