This presentation provides an overview of the concept of collections as data; shares information about our "dLOC as Data" grant initiative, a collaboration between the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC), the Florida International University (FIU) Libraries Digital Collections Center, and the University of Florida Libraries, funded by the Mellon sub-award program, "Collections as Data: Part to Whole" ; as well as provides an opportunity to talk about how we can share more collections as data resources and undertake new and exciting projects at FIU.
Although the concept of collections as data isn't new, it is becoming more mainstream. As data analysis technologies become more ubiquitous and researchers in humanities and social sciences become more familiar with data analysis methodologies, the desire to use these tools to explore unique and information-rich special collections resources grows. This presentation shows how librarians and archivists are meeting this need by increasing access to digital collections for bulk download and organizing content for easier computational analysis.