Do you work with digital collections as data in your research? Apply for a contract to work with Library of Congress data in the cloud as part of the Computing Cultural Heritage Collections project. Researchers will help the Library build a rich understanding of the uses for large scale computational access to library collections, including images, audio, video, web, text, and structured metadata.
The Library of Congress has been digitizing and collecting digital content for nearly three decades, producing a massive treasure trove of data with untold potential for research. How can researchers harness the vast potential of this data? What service models and technical infrastructure would support research at scale?
The Computing Cultural Heritage in the Cloud (CCHC) project is supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.Helmed by LC Labs, the project aims to explore how the Library can deliver its rich data collections at scale using a cloud computing environment. To help us define service and technical models for digital research, we have issued a Broad Agency Announcement for up to four researchers seeking to work with Library data at scale.
Proposals will be accepted for projects involving Early Stage Exploratory Research, Advanced Topical Research, and Advance Technical Research. Any digital material held by the Library of Congress, as allowable by copyright law, can be considered for inclusion in this project, as approved by Library curators, counsel, and staff. See the Broad Agency Announcement (LCCIO20D0112) for all details and updates.
If you have scholarly, practical, or technical questions that require computational uses of library collections, we hope you’ll apply. Researchers will be invited to use Library collections in a dedicated cloud environment. A team of innovation specialists based in LC Labs will support the researchers, and a report author will document the project. Projects will be awarded contracts for up to $77,500, with work taking place between May 1, 2021 and January 31, 2022. If you are interested, please submit a 2-page concept paper by 12:00pm EST on November 30, 2020.
Need more information? See our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for Interested Researchers.
Through experimentation, research and collaboration, LC Labs works to realize the Library’s vision that “all Americans are connected to the Library of Congress” by enabling the Library’s Digital Strategy. LC Labs is home to the Library of Congress Innovator in Residence Program; has nurtured experiments in machine learning and the use of collections as data; and incubated the Library’s popular crowdsourced transcription program By the People. Learn more here on the Signal blog and by subscribing to the monthly newsletter at labs.loc.gov.