Call for Participation 2024

Library & Information Technology invites rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors to apply for a competitive fellowship to develop an independent digital scholarship project. This program is open to students from all divisions across the three colleges at the University. Broadly defined, digital scholarship entails research that is made possible by digital technologies, or that takes advantage of technology to ask and answer questions in new ways.  As a fellow, you will learn to use digital tools and methodologies, and apply them to a digital research project of your design. Library & Information Technology  staff  will mentor you through the process of identifying a research question, understanding research methodologies, and discovering resources, such as locally housed library and archival collections, that will support your project. You will be creating a dynamic digital resource rather than a static website. We are particularly interested in projects that engage with the Bucknell or local community. You will work independently and collectively with a small cohort of your peers to understand and participate in a community of practice. 

Digital Tools

These are examples of several techniques and tools that undergraduates have used for digital projects. You are not limited to these, nor is experience in using these tools expected before beginning the fellowship.

• Text analysis and annotation: Voyant Tools, TEI-XML
• Mapping and timelines: ArcGIS Online, StoryMapJS, TimelineJS, Neatline
• Data Visualization: Tableau 
• Online presentation tools: WordPress, Scalar

Expectations of Summer Fellows

Fellows will:

• Conduct independent research to create an academic, public-facing digital scholarship project
• Participate in a structured, programmed, 8-week curriculum designed to provide you with skills and information relevant to digital scholarship; this may include assigned readings, training sessions, and workshops. The fellowship runs from May 28 – July 19, 2024.
• Create documentation of any processes, procedures, tools, and code used in the creation of their digital projects.
• Partner with Library & Information Technology to ensure preservation of your projects after your fellowship ends. Projects will be preserved and publicly accessible via Bucknell’s institutional repository, Digital Commons. Fellows retain copyright of their project.
• Reflect upon your fellowship experience and engage with the wider digital scholarship community
• Write one weekly blog post that engages a question or issue in digital scholarship
• Present your projects in a public presentation after completion of the fellowship
• Fellows will engage with topics related to diversity and inclusion in the practice of digital scholarship, and commit to maintaining a culture of diversity and inclusion during the fellowship.

Application and Statement of Interest

Please address the following questions in a single statement of 500 to 750 words:

1. Why are you interested in the Digital Scholarship Student Research Fellowship, and what do you hope to learn and accomplish during the fellowship? 
2. Please outline at least one potential project you may want to pursue. How do you think technology and/or digital tools can enhance your research project? 
3. Briefly tell us about technology you have previously used or are interested in learning that may be used to create a digital scholarship project.

Please provide the name and email address of a faculty member who will serve as a reference. We advise you to choose a faculty member who can potentially support any research consultations that may come up during your fellowship. We also encourage you to share this application with them prior to submission so they are aware of your interest. 

Applications due: Friday, February 23, 2024 Tuesday, February 27, 2024 (deadline extended)

Interviews: Potential Fellows will be selected from the first round of the application process to participate in a 30-minute interview with members of Library & IT. Interviews will be conducted in late February and early March.

Notification of acceptance by or after: Monday, March 18, 2024

If you encounter any issues submitting your application through this link, please contact Carrie Pirmann (carrie.pirmann@bucknell.edu) or Claire Cahoon (claire.cahoon@bucknell.edu).

Payment and Time Commitment

This fellowship is a full-time (32-40 hours per week) commitment. It is expected that you will attend all scheduled class and/or workshop sessions, cohort meetings, and other occasional events. All events that fall outside of normally scheduled time will be announced in advance, with as much notice as possible.

Fellows will receive $450 per week for eight weeks of full-time scholarly work, totaling $3600 for the summer. Students will be paid bi-weekly and will be eligible for on-campus summer housing for the duration of the program at no cost.

Both the $450 weekly payment and the imputed value of housing, $175 per week, will be subject to both income tax and FICA tax withholding. Payments to students who are exempt from income tax withholding (e.g. because they anticipate their annual earnings will be below the income tax threshold) must still have FICA taxes withheld under applicable law. Questions about any of the above can be directed to Carrie Pirmann (carrie.pirmann@bucknell.edu) or Claire Cahoon (claire.cahoon@bucknell.edu).

Priority will be given to students who have not previously participated in other Bucknell summer research programs.