University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Information and Library Science)

In this Early Career Research Development project, Dr. Alexandra Chassanoff will investigate how born-digital stewards describe their current needs and challenges; what professionalization pathways exist; and what role, impact, and value communities of practice have in born-digital stewardship. Activities will include conducting an environmental scan, studying several communities of practice via site observations and focus group sessions, and interviewing other expert community of practice stakeholders. Deliverables will include a synthesis of current professionalization pathways, a summative report on born-digital stewardship, and a guide to cultivating professional born-digital stewardship communities of practice. By sharing actionable guidance derived from practitioner experiences, the project will help diminish the widening gap in born-digital stewardship between best-in-practice theories and existing realities in libraries and archives across the nation.