Many researchers are familiar with HathiTrust as a collections content-provider, particularly for public domain works. And, it is assumed that users at non-member institutions can’t really access the digital library’s features, nor get access to datasets to analyze. This librarian says that you can do it!

In this session, I will show how to set up a University of Michigan Friend Account (if you aren’t from a member institution), demo the collection builder, provide an overview of dataset options, intro the HathiTrust Research Center portal, and show tips and tricks about seeing the full metadata and rights for a volume.

Additionally, I’d like to discuss — How can the library support researchers who are wanting to work with HathiTrust data? I’d like to discuss options, especially with folks who have used or who want to use datasets.

Are there any researchers attending THATCamp who have used HathiTrust datasets in their research? if so, please volunteer to share them during the session!

**Note: I teach a class MWF from 10:30a to 11:30a; any times outside of that are fine by me.

Given recent political events people are more interested in VPN and safe browsing. In this session I will introduce three tools: The Piratebox, TailsOS, and Virtual Private Networks.  Piratebox, a totally legal, open source project that converts a router into a personal file sharing device that is private, secure, and functions independently of an internet connection. Next I will show participants Tails, a legal linux distribution that prioritizes privacy and which you can install on a flashdrive.* The session will end with a discussion about  VPNs – how they work, what they protect against, and why people might want to use them – and the measure participants want to take to match the level of privacy they desire.
*for participants that bring a flashdrive of at least 6gb, there is potential for them to make a TailsOS drive during this session [note: all contents of the drive will be erased]

I propose a network visualization tutorial in Gephi – an open-source, multiplatform software, commonly referred to as Data Photoshop.

Gephi has an intuitive user-friendly interface, which allows to visualize and analyze social networks, biological networks, infrastructures, time series (dynamic graphs), map geotagged data, and much more.

We’ll also look at tools that can help you generate network data for Gephi.

Bring your own dataset or play with the ones available, and take home a cute souvenir like the one below:

Battlefronts_black

I propose a session that frames the library as a junk shop. Inspired by the bricolage and pastiche skills cultivated by second-hand print cultures (zinesters, collagists, Dada), participants will subvert the library’s traditional role as a searchable repository by browsing the stacks for provocative visual rhetoric just as one might at their local thrift store. Participants will then reproduce their scavenged fodder, bringing them into their own compositions by using the copy/scan features of photocopiers found on every floor of the library.

Though I’ve used this activity with a unit on self-publishing (and will share this handout I’ve used), we might end this session by sharing our own compositions and discussing various ways we can reframe it in our own classes as a way to introduce students to multiple resources in our libraries, encourage visual composition, and to emphasize the role of serendipity and exploration in research.