Caitlin Birch

About me

As Director of Digital Scholarship and Distinctive Collections (DSDC), I provide collaborative leadership and strategic direction for the faculty and staff of JMU Libraries’ Digital Projects and Special Collections teams. In addition to supporting the extensive expertise and creativity that DSDC folks bring to their work and teaching with rare materials, primary source collections, and thematic digital projects, I focus on building fruitful partnerships between the DSDC and centers and departments across campus; the faculty, staff, and students whose research and teaching sustain them; and the communities surrounding JMU.

Education MSLIS (Archives Management), Simmons College MA (History), Simmons College BA (English with a concentration in Journalism and minors in History and Irish Studies), University of Delaware

About Digital Scholarship and Distinctive Collections

We partner across JMU and in the surrounding communities to create, collect, steward, and imaginatively share unique collections in a variety of media types. We leverage the latest technologies and best practices in digital scholarship to support the exploration and understanding of our shared cultural heritage. Our expertise includes rare books, manuscripts, archives, digital archives, primary source instruction, preservation, conservation, digitization, digital pedagogy, and digital and immersive projects. The Digital Scholarship and Distinctive Collections (DSDC) department combines the Digital Projects and Special Collections teams.

About Academic Engagement

Academic Engagement is a new, public-facing division of the Libraries, under formation now. Departments include Library and Information Services, the Music Library, Research & Education Services, and Digital Scholarship and Distinctive Collections, which includes Digital Projects and Special Collections.

About AE Leadership

We are the leadership team for Academic Engagement (AE).