Digital curation through the lens of disciplinarity: The development of an emerging field

Abstract

Digital curation is both maturing within the information disciplines and becoming increasingly embedded in practice. We are observing an increase in employment opportunities, education and training, and research in the area of digital curation. However, it is still unclear how and where the transmission of this knowledge and skills set fits within higher education. The purpose of this study was to explore the development of digital curation as an academic field by conducting an in-depth analysis of how this area is evolving. The research questions addressed were: Is digital curation emerging as an autonomous discipline? Where does digital curation fit within the educational landscape?

The methodologies employed were scoping the literature, content analysis of published literature in the area of digital curation, and interviews with individuals engaged in the area. In this dissertation, the conceptual model put forth by D'Agostino (2012), which views a discipline as the interaction of ten elements that characterize a discipline interpreted within a framework of "shallow consensus" was used. Five key themes emerged from the data analysis: terminology, collaboration, multiple discipline engagement, education, and areas of professional and scholarly focus. Findings suggest that digital curation has not emerged as an autonomous discipline, but does meet several of the criteria to indicate its potential for emergence. Although education for this area fits well in coordination with the information disciplines, skill development is important across all domains. This study provided markers for gauging the progress of digital curation as an emerging field.