Today, CNI is delighted to release the concluding report from Associate Director Emerita Joan Lippincott’s extensive study of the recent past, present and future of a selected set of programs at CNI member institutions addressing digital scholarship (DS), data-intensive, and computation research and interconnections among them. The report can be found at
Drawing on interviews, profiles of 47 university library initiatives, and two online forums, the report examines trends in consultations, instructional activities, constituencies served, DEI, partnerships, facilities, external funding, and staffing related to a wide array of DS activities. Aspects of the relationship of DS programs to institutional priorities, organizational structure, sustainability, and next steps are analyzed.
This report is the culmination of a set of activities that included interviews, online forums, a session at the CNI spring 2023 membership meetings, and two webinars. All materials from the initiative (including links to the online webinars and the presentation at the spring CNI meeting) are available at
The report notes that, “Many professionals involved in DS work and some library administrators believe that the kinds of programs offered by a DS unit are, in fact, core library services and should be considered mainstream, ongoing aspects of academic library work today.” I was also fascinated to see the ways in which Joan’s work points to a convergence with other programs such as research data management.
I think this work offers a wonderful set of insights into the current landscape and I am deeply grateful to Joan for her contributions!
Clifford Lynch
Director, CNI
