How to Participate in THDL Collections

The Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library was founded in 2000 at the University of Virginia (for an overview of THDL, see General Introduction to THDL). Although its technical hub rests in Virginia, THDL provides an integrated environment for digital publication of many diverse projects whose separate administrations remain decentralized and autonomous. As such, the Library overall is run by an international team of scholars, and reflects a consortium of many different universities and private organizations across the world (see the Participants page for a summary of participating scholars and institutions).

The Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library has several openings for Editors-in-Chief of its thematically organized library collections. These collections organize THDL holdings according to a specific thematic subject corresponding to academic disciplines of study, under which rubric they integrate diverse media such as text, audio, video, still images and maps. Each of these collections may in turn contain diverse individual projects that are directed by different individuals or institutions. These projects might have their own administration, content, and goals. Components of thematic collections may also be classified under other rubrics within THDL, such that, for example, a collection of religious literature may be accessed from and utilized by both the Religion Collections and the Literature Collections. These are thus an array of integrated yet separate Collections such that we have an optimal blend of diverse initiatives as well as an overall architecture integrating them.

Collections now in need of Editors-in-Chief are as follows:

• Tibetan & Himalayan Architecture
• Tibetan & Himalayan Art
• Tibetan & Himalayan Environment
• Tibetan & Himalayan Music
• Tibetan & Himalayan Religion

These are volunteer positions, although Editors will have available to them the THDL staff for technical assistance and some amount of technical work. Positions run for a three-year term. Appointment to each position must be approved by the THDL Board of Directors.

Responsibilities

At present, THDL holds vast collections of images, videos, and texts that have not been adequately prepared for public presentation. These uncatalogued materials are valuable resources—such as images of old and difficult-to-access murals, interviews with village historians, and GIS data and satellite imagery—that can form the basis for analytical studies by scholars around the world. An initial task of a Thematic Collections Editor-in-chief thus involves the organization and cataloguing of materials relevant to the given disciplinary subject matter.

Additional responsibilities may include:

• Maintaining an updated webpage
• Establishing annotated bibliographies of scholarly publications and websites and updating these resources regularly as new publications emerge
• Contributing scholarly essays and soliciting essays from others in the field
• Organizing and making available online the relevant image, video, and other relevant resources within THDL
• Moderating a discussion forum and/or mailing list, if desired
• Attempting fundraising and soliciting projects from others in your field
• Development of other materials, such as collections of syllabi, of benefit to others in the field

Requirements

• Scholarly ability and standing in the specified field, with a specialty in a region of Tibet and/or the Himalayas
• An interdisciplinary awareness of how the specifics of one’s own field interact with other aspects of scholarship and culture, and a willingness to collaborate with others in diverse disciplines
• Competence with, or willingness to learn, new technologies in order to supervise work and organize large amounts of multimedia data (programming or web design skills are not required)
• Active involvement in your field’s academic community; ability to network effectively and mobilize scholarly support
• Willingness to work skillfully and sensitively in regards to political issues so that participants from different countries are not endangered

Benefits to editors

• Opportunity to collaborate closely with other scholars in the field of Tibetan and/or Himalayan Studies
• Technical assistance in the generation and processing of digital materials
• First-hand access to THDL image, video, and text holdings before they are made available to the public
• Increased prominence and name recognition in the field of Tibetan and/or Himalayan Studies
• Take immediate advantage of new technologies and content initiatives in THDL
• Opportunity to collaborate with other scholars and institutions on large-scale grant applications

How to apply

Please send a letter of interest and your CV to David Germano, THDL Director.