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Fondren Library Supports SlaveVoyages.org Re-design and Indian Ocean Voyages Database Preparation
Fondren Library has long been an advocate of the SlaveVoyages.org project but has recently committed further by allowing extensive staff time for project management, approval of Fondren Fellows projects related to the effort, supporting students working on the project, and collaborating with Rice’s Center for Research Computing on planning for sustainable support. Three developments over the past year have aligned well with Rice’s outstanding commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion advancement in the research environment. The SlaveVoyages consortium seeks to add an Indian Ocean voyages database to a new site currently in development. Jerrell Jones, Digital Initiatives Coordinator at Fondren, has provided project management for this effort throughout 2024.
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On April 23rd, Dr. Daniel Domingues da Silva, Associate Professor of History, hosted a transformative symposium at the Rice Global Paris Center entitled “Hidden Archives of Capitalism and Slavery in the Indian Ocean: State, Business, Personal Collections”. The symposium engaged 16 European scholars by providing them a platform to present their research and consider the impact of investigative archival research that would deepen their understanding of slave trading in the Indian Ocean and Asia, leading to the discovery and inclusion of documented voyages in the database. Dr. Portia Hopkins (University Historian), Dr. James Sidbury (Professor of Humanities), and Jerrell Jones also attended the symposium and provided facilitation and event support throughout the conference. Rice’s learning center in Paris is a clear source of pride for the Rice community and discussing the horrors of slavery in such a privileged environment as central Paris was impactful. Connection, collaboration, and gratitude took center stage at the symposium.
Image: a screen capture displaying some of the slavevoyages.org improvements.
The SlaveVoyages.org staging site (pre-soft-launch-deployment) has undergone significant transformation throughout 2024 and will continue well into 2025. Changes requested by Slavevoyages.org consortium members, researchers, and the broader community committed to advancing a more comprehensive understanding of Trans-Atlantic and intra-American slave trading will soon see elements they’ve requested in the new site. A summary of these improvements has been published in a press release blog entry.
Fondren 101 Online Library Orientation
Beginning in summer 2023, Rice students had a new opportunity to learn the basics of library services and resources-- Fondren 101. This 20-minute video-based course was developed as a collaboration between Digital Media Commons Director Jane Zhao and her staff, and Information Literacy Librarian Joe Goetz. In the course, students watch a short video tour of the library's spaces and service points. Then a student-produced video shows the basics of using OneSearch and locating a book in the library stacks. Three further videos introduce students to advanced search techniques, selecting library databases for specialized research, and using interlibrary loan to go beyond Fondren for research resources. Students who pass a brief quiz are emailed a Fondren 101 Certificate. In addition, Fondren 101 includes an optional in-person library tour called Explore Fondren, which offers a prize to students who take "shelfies" while finding a book and visiting various library locations.
Before the fall semester, many incoming students took Fondren 101 through the Student Success Initiatives' "Matriculating Class of 2023" Canvas course and the Office of Graduate Studies' New Student Checklist. Numerous instructors also assigned the library orientation to their classes simply by requiring students to upload their Fondren 101 Certificates to Canvas. In total, 567 users completed Fondren 101 from July 2023 to June 2024, a much higher number than previous library orientations, whether in person or digital. Feedback on the course from instructors and students was very positive, with one user saying that it is "very informative without making things complicated," and another that "I liked that the videos involved actual Rice students." Along with in-class library research workshops and reference consultations, Fondren 101 has become a helpful and efficient way for students to learn about the wealth of resources and support available to them at Fondren Library.
Spotlight on Sean Smith: Bridging Technology and Humanities at Fondren Library
Since joining the Digital Scholarship Services (DSS) team at Fondren Library in January 2024, Sean Smith has been a pivotal figure in integrating technology with research. With a unique background that includes software engineering and a PhD in history, Sean brings a dual perspective to his role, enhancing both the technical and research capabilities of the library.
Sean's primary responsibilities include teaching workshops on data management and programming and providing consultation for research projects. His workshops cover essential skills such as Python and R programming, as well as research data management, catering to a wide range of disciplines. Additionally, Sean coordinates the Research Data Services team, a collaboration between the library and the Center for Research Computing, to support teaching and research related to data and computing on campus.
One of Sean's notable contributions is the development and delivery of many workshops, including two-day sessions with The Carpentries, which have been highly beneficial for social science and natural science students. He has also played a crucial role in assisting faculty with technical aspects of their research, such as publishing code and web scraping, thereby facilitating more efficient and effective research processes.
Looking ahead, Sean aims to increase the visibility and support for research on campus. He plans to expand the range of workshops offered and ensure that faculty are well-informed about the resources available through DSS. Sean is also keen on developing his expertise in machine learning and AI to further support innovative research projects.
Sean's work is driven by a passion for helping others and solving complex problems. He finds great satisfaction in collaborating with enthusiastic researchers and contributing to projects that address societal inequalities. His vision for the future involves positioning Fondren Library as a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly in the areas of data sharing and management.
Through his dedication and expertise, Sean Smith is making significant strides in advancing digital scholarship at Fondren Library, fostering a supportive and innovative research environment.
Digital Media Commons Teaching & Learning
The DMC taught 86 classes in FY24, a 50% increase from FY23. 19 were in-class sessions for a variety of courses in the SOCI, FWIS, ENGL, and SWGS departments. 8 covered citation management with Zotero, 8 covered podcasting and audio editing, 2 covered video production and editing, and 1 covered Adobe InDesign. In addition to the increased number of classes, the DMC added short courses on a number of new topics, including Adobe Express, using genAI media tools for academic purposes, critical thinking in photography, and video editing with DaVinci Resolve. Beyond direct instruction, Ian Mellor-Crummey assisted Dr. Alida Metcalf by digitally stitching and printing maps for use in her HIST 250 class and Magdalene Alva offered one-on-one CampusPress support for Dr. Evelyn Tang to update her lab’s website, enhancing its navigability, and modernizing its design. Ian also mentored Nithya Ramcharan as part of the Fondren Fellows program, culminating in the DMC’s foray into instruction of Adobe Firefly, their new genAI tool set.
Fondren Fellows Program Expands
During FY2024, the Fondren Fellows program welcomed its largest group of Fellows yet and piloted a new summer cohort. With the Fondren Fellows program, the library serves as the focus of inquiry, not just the source of research materials. Mentored by Rice faculty or library staff, Fondren Fellows work on projects that advance the library’s goals, such as enhancing access to archival collections, improving library services, or developing new workshops. The 2023-2024 cohort of Fellows included 41 undergraduate and graduate students working on 20 projects ranging from creating a compilation of comics by Rice students to developing a guide to archival collections documenting the 50 year history of the Rice Design Alliance. The Rice News featured several articles on Fellows’ work, including projects creating an exhibit about a political campaign button collection, helping to develop a digital map documenting Black middle- and upper-class life in Houston during the early twentieth century, and contributing to an exhibit of student art at the Venice Biennale. Fellows presented posters or talks about their work at the Fondren Fellows Showcase, an international digital humanities conference, Rice Humanities Day, and other venues.
In May of 2024, the Fondren Fellows kicked off its first summer cohort program so that students could dedicate more time to their projects. Ten Rice undergraduate and graduate students worked on five projects that developed skills in areas such as conducting archival research, analyzing research interviews, and describing documents. To understand the larger context of their work and build community, the Fellows came together for weekly cohort meetings exploring project management, ethical use of artificial intelligence for research, conducting oral histories, and other topics. As a result of their work, Fellows contributed to a history of major milestones in the 50-year history of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, improved a Wikipedia article on the history of Snipe, Texas, and further developed the Archives of the Impossible. The Fondren Fellows program is funded through the John “Terry” Maltsberger III endowment.