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2008–2009 Annual Report
The 2007–2008 Annual Report, and all subsequent annual reports, will be
published in electronic form only. No print copies will be available.
Letter from the Chairman
As a medievalist, I come to CLIR's chair with a keen appreciation for the staff of libraries and archives who have made my research, and that of previous generations, possible. As a digital humanist, I realize just how much my interaction with these colleagues has changed in the span of a few years.
A decade ago, there was a chasm between scholarly users and library providers. As digital literacy took hold, this gap narrowed. Today's scholars who use large-scale data sources rarely work alone. Digital research depends on collaboration at many levels: between scholars and information technology professionals; among scholars of the same and other disciplines; between scholars and students; and between scholars and the librarians and archivists who both facilitate research access and keep scholarship accessible. But this collaboration has not come easily as many continue to operate, consciously or not, in the mode of analog research.
Data-driven research requires us to understand and accept a new social, intellectual, and institutional context. Promoting this understanding and exploring new models of scholarship are at the heart of CLIR's work, as is shown in the pages of this annual report. Initiatives in cyberinfrastructure, the next scholar, and leadership are but a few of the diverse facets of this work. In all these areas, CLIR continues to provide a vital forum for tackling problems that are difficult for individual professional communities to address.
I am pleased to chair an organization that is facing these urgent challenges head on, and I look forward to the year ahead.
Stephen Nichols
November 2009
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