Special Collections
Special Collections currently incorporate traditional analog materials, digitized versions of rare items such as manuscripts and primary sources, and born-digital materials that may be useful to scholarship in the future. CNI has provided a context for the discussion of emerging trends that will help institutions innovate in this area. We also feature the use of Special Collections as resources in the curriculum and in projects where students and faculty work together with librarians on digital projects.
Recent Publications/Reports/Presentations by CNI Staff
“Machine Learning, Archives and Special Collections” (October '19)Author: Clifford A. Lynch
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Library & IT Partnerships with Campus Museums & Archives (January '17)
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“Special Collections at the Cusp of the Digital Age: A Credo” (December '09)
Author: Clifford A. Lynch
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“Medical Libraries, Bioinformatics, and Networked Information: A Coming Convergence?” (October '99)
Author: Clifford A. Lynch View more information
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Recent Project Briefings & Plenary Sessions from CNI Meetings
IndigenizeSNAC: Indigenous and Reparative Archival Search and Aggregation (November '25)
Diana Marsh, University of Maryland, College Park
Jerry Simmons, University of Virginia
Shelbi Nahwilet Meissner (Luiseño/Cupeño), University of Maryland
Veronica Pipestem (Otoe-Missouria)
Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Metadata Workflows: A Collection of Case Studies (November '25)
Brendan Quinn, Northwestern University
Kate James, OCLC
Jill Reilly, National Archives and Records Administration
Project Update: Operationalizing Artificial Intelligence to Meet Digital Accessibility Needs (Lightning Talk) (November '25)
Cory Tressler, The Ohio State University
Artificial Intelligence for Transcription and Metadata in Special Collections: Three Projects (March '25)
Douglas Boyd, University of Kentucky
Hope Dunbar, University at Buffalo
Rachel Senese Myers, Georgia State University
Reconsidering Digital Ecosystems for Curation (March '25)
Lindsey Memory, Brigham Young University
Andy Spackman, Brigham Young University
Reed Jones, University at Buffalo
Adam Strohm, Illinois Institute of Technology
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Recent Videos
Ethical Data Curation in Libraries and Archives: The Dana A. Dorsey Collection (May '25)Jamie Rogers, Florida International University
Rhia Rae, Florida International University View more information
Re-Envisioning the Digital Repository: Showcasing Our Exciting Islandora Solution (January '25)
Chulin Meng, Lehigh University
Joe Corall, Lehigh University View more information
Ontario Universities’ Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Task Force Moves Ahead (August '24)
Jacqueline Whyte Appleby, Scholars Portal
Catherine Steeves, Western University View more information
Strategic Plan 2.0: A Digitally-Infused Strategic Plan for the Library of Congress (February '24)
Leah Weinryb Grohsgal, Library of Congress
Natalie Buda Smith, Library of Congress
Carly Morse, Library of Congress View more information
ArchivesSpace at 10: Reflections on Developing a Sustainable Open-Source Content Management System (November '23)
Jessica Crouch, ArchivesSpace
Christine Di Bella, ArchivesSpace View more information
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Recent Podcasts
A Conversation with CNI’s Cliff Lynch (September '22) Speaker: Clifford LynchListen to the podcast
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Facing Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation: The Research Library’s Role and Georgetown University’s Experience (December '17) K. Matthew Dames, Georgetown University
Melissa Levine, University of Michigan View more information
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