What do I care more about, love or money? What about my parents’ expectations? Am I comfortable with all these social roles I have to play? What will happen to my reputation if I make the wrong decision? When does my privacy become creepy secrecy? Should I stay within the bubble, or strike out toward the horizon? 

If these challenges ring a bell for you, you’re either a Dartmouth student, or you’re a character in a Jane Austen novel.

And the envelope, please! We were thrilled to roll out the red carpet for the inaugural Open Scholarship Commitment Award for Reproducible Research (OSCARRs) in February to celebrate community members who represent the best of reproducible research. The award spotlights Dartmouth research projects that embody the essence of reproducible research and open scholarship.

We are awash with data. Eighty percent of that data is unstructured, and that number is growing between 55 and 65% annually. Case in point, in 2022, 500 hours of video content were uploaded to YouTube every minute. Much of this unstructured data is text or “natural language” data, and accounts for approximately three-quarters of all recorded digital data. “Text” includes, but is by no means limited to, websites, blogs, social media posts, research papers, news articles, and transcripts.

Dartmouth Libraries has a rich tradition of library and community-curated exhibits. This Winter Term, we debuted four unique exhibits, each demonstrating what one might discover about a “place,” and the power and allure of it. On view until mid-March, these exhibits invite you to discover artful, historical, social, intellectual, and cultural narratives within each.

Are you curious how it feels to meticulously sift and sort through the personal and professional ephemera of a long-dead Dartmouth alum? In Kira Parrish-Penny’s ‘24 evocative article for Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, she offers a peek inside the experience. Kira describes, with candor and the intimacy of a would-be friend or relative, the hypnotic experience of getting to know a stranger (though, never really knowing them).

Have you ever wondered how some of the most bespoke, highly specific, and poignant sessions come to be taught at Rauner Special Collections Library? Curiosity and collaboration. Another factor is just how many people contribute to the process — even when separated by distance and time. How?

Picture this: motorbikes rumble past, diesel fumes waft in their wake. The sun’s heat penetrates your clothes. Humidity cloaks you in an extra layer. It’s 9am in a Ho Chi Minh City market. Hawkers splash water across their fruits and vegetables to make them sparkle in the sunshine. Brilliant variations of green, yellow, orange, and red cluster in front of you. You recognize some produce, but not all. The air is thick, vibrant, alive. You have three weeks to make a 10-15 minute documentary about food culture and the urban experience. There’s so much to see, do.

One of the many pivotal (and wonderful) roles the Libraries fill is providing access to resources and materials that elevate research, spark new knowledge, and deepen understanding of our world - as it was and how it might be. Our part in the teaching, learning, and research experience enriches Dartmouth's liberal arts experience: the interdisciplinary exploration of the arts, sciences, and humanities. The result is often a lifelong love of learning in pursuit of curiosities, inspiration, and new discoveries.