About Digital Initiatives & Special Collections
Digital Initiatives & Special Collections (DISC) is a division within Appalachian State University Libraries that includes:
The Special Collections Research Center
Located on the four floor of Belk Library and Information Commons, the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) collects, preserves, and provides access to original materials in four primary collecting areas:
- W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection
- Rare Books & Manuscripts
- Stock Car Racing Collection
- University Archives & Records Management Services
The SCRC promotes the use of these collections through exhibits, instruction, public programming, digitization, and social media. Learn more about the Special Collections Research Center.
Digital Scholarship & Initiatives
Digital Scholarship and Initiatives (DSI) engages and collaborates with library partners, campus, and community to support new scholarship in a rapidly changing digital landscape. DSI provides and sustains innovative digital tools and publishing platforms for content delivery, discovery, analysis, data curation, and preservation. In line with the library’s mission, DSI is committed to representing and reflecting the unique experiences and perspectives of all people, partners, and the community. We enhance student learning and encourage faculty research, primarily by providing access to and information about new methods of digital scholarship and lending support in the areas of copyright, fair use, and intellectual property.
DSI’s Work
- Oversees the long term preservation of the digital materials for Special Collections and University Archives.
- Oversees project specific data preservation needs of the campus community and for regional collaborative digital projects.
- Offers comprehensive digitization services for the reformatting of monographic materials and analog audiovisual materials.
DSI’s Project Development Services
We are here to help you with your digital projects and research. We provide consultation and support for project development including:
- project planning
- digitization
- metadata
- collection building
We also offer space, training, and support for creating collections and exhibits in our instance of Omeka. Please come to us with ideas for grants, websites, databases, or other digitally-based projects.