Mission
Digital Kenyon is the institutional repository of Kenyon College. It supports the mission of Kenyon by:
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Contributing value to the liberal arts education of our students through scholarship, job opportunities, and enhancement of high-impact learning programs.
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Promoting interdisciplinary research, scholarship, and creative exchange among our faculty and students.
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Preserving the rich history and vibrant traditions of the college by making them accessible to the world-wide Kenyon family.
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Engaging in collaborations with local and global communities of researchers and scholars to build partnerships and pathways to attract, retrain, and support the success of a diverse student body.
Harmful Content Warning
Kenyon College’s institutional repository is charged with maintaining the historical records of the college to tell the story of the institution and its community. As such, we maintain records and descriptions of items that may be harmful or difficult to view.
Some examples of items that may be harmful include:
Items that include racist language, images, opinions, or context.
Items that contain sexist or misogynistic language, opinions, or context.
A lack of representation in our collection that may reflect bias or exclusion in prior collecting practices.
How is Digital Kenyon working to address this problem?
Making users aware of the possibility of encountering harmful materials.
Working to improve our collection practices to better represent all members of the Kenyon community.
Inviting users to explore the archives and comment on their findings.
Kenyon College Digital Kenyon does not endorse offensive or harmful images or ideologies expressed in our collections, but believes in the importance of responsibly and transparently providing access to collections in a way that preserves the historical evidence of social conditions and attitudes, especially as they relate to the history of Kenyon College.
We welcome further discussion about these aspects of Kenyon’s history in an effort to learn from our past, rather than hide from it. If you find an item that you feel needs a content warning or have any suggestions, please contact us at .
Selection Criteria
In order to be considered for inclusion in Digital Kenyon, materials must meet the following criteria:
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Produced, submitted or sponsored by Kenyon College faculty, staff, or students;
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Scholarly, research oriented, or highlight Kenyon or local area history or culture;
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In acceptable digital format or able to be converted;
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Intended for long term availability and access;
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Submitter must have, and be willing to grant, the rights to preserve and distribute collection materials via Digital Kenyon.
Submission Process
Members of the Kenyon community are encouraged to sponsor materials from their own academic research, from Special Collections and Archives, or from the local community. A sponsor may be an author, creator, or individual wishing to utilize historical or cultural materials for research or pedagogical purposes.
Sponsors will work with a Digital Kenyon administrator, either the Digital Initiatives Librarian, Special Collections Librarian, or Archivist, depending on type of collection. The creation process varies based on the nature, size, and format(s) of the collection, as well as the sponsor’s involvement with the materials, but all collections are subject to the following guidelines:
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Sponsor(s) meet with appropriate librarian(s) to coordinate project parameters and expectations.
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Sponsor(s) agree in written communication with the appropriate librarian(s) on the timeline, goals, and expected outcomes of the project before the creation process begins including information on file formats, metadata fields, and expectations of both parties’ involvement in the process.
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Personal academic research projects must comply with all standards and requirements of the Institutional Research Board;
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Archival materials (from Special Collections and Archives or from a sponsor-provided collection) will be subject to this collection policy as well as the Special Collections and Archives Collection Policy.
Digital Kenyon tries to meet all of the digital collection requests of the College. However, with a growing emphasis on digital collections and scholarship and a limited availability of staff and resources, we do need to prioritize. We may not be able to create a collection within a desired timeline, and we may choose not to include particular collections. We may exclude a collection based on the following criteria:
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It does not match the general parameters of research and scholarship produced at Kenyon College or does not reflect its intellectual environment.
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It contains files that cannot be included due to technical issues such as excessive size, obsolete or unsupported format, data corruption, etc.
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It contains materials that the College and/or sponsor does not hold the rights to. If materials are in copyright, under license, or contain copyrighted material (such as images), they cannot be included. Any questions regarding rights should be addressed in the first collection meeting.
File Formats
Digital Kenyon includes as many file formats as possible, which includes multiple formats for text, images, audio, and video. In some cases however, the proprietary or executable nature of file formats may make it impossible to support, or to guarantee persistent access as digital technologies evolve. Recommended formats can be found listed in the Library of Congress’s Sustainability of Digital Formats documentation to ensure long-term accessibility of materials. File format options can be discussed with the appropriate Digital Kenyon administrator(s).
Metadata
Materials in Digital Kenyon require basic descriptive information, otherwise known as metadata, in order to make them accessible and useable. This information typically includes things like title, author/creator, date, etc. Digital Kenyon uses the Dublin Core metadata standard. This standard is flexible, and can be used to describe a range of materials, such as publications, still images, video interviews, and raw data sets. Using a standard allows metadata to be easily searchable, migrated across software platforms, and sustained over time. The Digital Kenyon administrator(s) can assist with questions about metadata.
Access and Copyright
Placement of materials in Digital Kenyon is equivalent to publication, so sponsors must exercise due diligence in clearing any needed rights (including third party copyrights).
Collections in Digital Kenyon are, by default, accessible world wide, that is, they are openly and freely available via the World Wide Web. Open access to deposited items encourages the distribution, dissemination, promotion, and use of the research and scholarship produced at Kenyon College.
LBIS strongly encourages sponsors not to place access restrictions on deposited research, however, we also recognize there may be situations which require access restriction, such as embargo periods or protecting intellectual rights. If you wish to include restricted materials in Digital Kenyon, please discuss it with the Digital Kenyon administrator(s). Restricted access terms must be agreed upon before collection creation.
Digital Preservation
LBIS seeks to provide perpetual support for all materials deposited in Digital Kenyon. Files and associated metadata will be preserved using current best practices for data management and digital preservation. However, the proprietary or executable nature of some file formats may make it impossible to guarantee persistent access as digital technologies evolve. Refer to the File Format section of this document for more information.
Collection Support
The Digital Kenyon administrator(s) may request some level of ongoing support from sponsor(s). This support may include responding to enquiries about the collection or materials, periodic audits to ensure continued accessibility of unusual or unstable file types, or other involvement in updating the collection. Sponsor(s) may request, or may be requested to be collection administrators, which gives them access to revise and update the collection through the Digital Kenyon software. Terms should be agreed upon with the Digital Kenyon administrator(s) on submission of the collection and training will be provided when applicable.
Migration
The nature of digital collections sometimes precipitates the need for platform changes and/or file updates. If/when a migration or update of materials becomes necessary, the Digital Kenyon administrator(s) will be responsible for the transfer and update of materials. Sponsors and collection administrators will be notified of platform and/or file changes as appropriate.
Revisions and Removal of Materials or Collections
LBIS seeks to provide perpetual access to all materials deposited in Digital Kenyon. Revisions to materials or collections can be made by a collection administrator or Digital Kenyon administrator. LBIS will not typically remove materials or collections. Deletions are not reversible, and can result in broken links, which reflects poorly on the repository.
However, in rare cases, materials or collections may be removed for the following reasons:
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The collection is abandoned by the agreed upon collection administrator(s) or sponsor(s) and the Digital Kenyon administrator(s) is not able to sustain it.
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There are copyright, contract, or IRB issues (refer to the Submission Process and Access and Copyright sections of this document) that emerge after the creation of the collection.
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The files become technologically obsolete, and an update is not available or technically feasible (refer to the File Format section of this document).
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There is factually incorrect information presented in the materials or collections.
In the case of removal, LBIS will make every effort to contact the sponsor(s) and/or collection administrator(s) prior to removal, and work with them to find a viable alternative. In the case of removal, the links will be maintained with information regarding why the materials or collection were removed for a minimum of 12 months.
Last edited May 2024.
Digital Kenyon Administrators
Jenna Nolt
Digital Initiatives Librarian
(740) 427-5698
Abigail Tayse
College and Digital Collections Archivist
(740) 427-5668