Center for Digital Knowledge and Distributed Scholarship, Florida State University

Tanya Clement

May 11, 2011

¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 Paul Marty, Associate Professor, School of Library and Information Studies, College of Communication and Information, Florida State University

¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 The Center’s goal is to meet the needs of faculty, students, and staff engaged in knowledge creation as a distributed activity in digital environments. The creation of the Center stems from the recognition that knowledge creation in the 21st century is not limited to a single organization or individual, but instead requires new models and methods supporting the co-construction of distributed, digital knowledge. The purpose of the Center will be to encourage researchers and practitioners engaged in the study and/or creation of distributed, digital knowledge to transcend disciplinary boundaries through collaborative research combined with experiential, interdisciplinary education.

¶ 3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 0 The presence of the Center on campus will have two important outcomes. First, by connecting faculty across campus who are engaged in the study and/or production of digital knowledge, the Center will build a strong base among humanities and social science researchers, and encourage scholars from different disciplines to work on boundary-spanning problems that are critically important to solve if we are to meet the needs of information producers and consumers in the 21st century. Second, by involving students as active participants in ongoing research projects, the Center will increase overall student understanding of the university’s role in knowledge creation, and help students view the university not only as a place where knowledge is imparted, but as a place where knowledge is created, actively and dynamically, through the activities of distributed research teams working in digital environments.

¶ 4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 0 The Center is currently in development as a joint project of the College of Communication and Information, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the University Libraries at FSU. It will be housed in a new Information Commons facility currently under development and planned for completion in 2014. Providing resources that go beyond a typical learning commons, this new facility will support the needs of students and faculty while encouraging them to become involved in information and knowledge management projects. The Information Commons is envisioned as a focal point for information generation and dissemination on campus, and the Center is expected to be instrumental in making this vision a reality, serving as a nexus for information activities in distributed, digital environments across FSU’s campus and beyond.

0. ¶ 5 Leave a comment on paragraph 5 0
1. Director
   Direct reports
   1. Associate Director
      Direct reports
      0. ¶ 7 Leave a comment on paragraph 7 0
      1. Graduate Research Assistants
   2. Executive Assistant
2. Other:
   Affiliated Faculty who will have office space in the Center and help coordinate the Center’s collaborative research and interdisciplinary educational activities.