For those who have had to cancel events or shift to virtual meetings in response to COVID-19, this post will provide information about ways Humanities Commons could be a resource.

CORE, our open access repository, is a place presenters can share conference papers and other presentation materials. The deposit will get a DOI and structured metadata; it will be openly available and indexed. 

Conference organizers can create a group for the event. Members of the group can use the discussion forum, calendar, documents library, and collection of CORE materials for asynchronous communication. For presenters who don’t want to share work in CORE (where work can’t be edited), Docs could be used instead of CORE. 

If the event doesn’t already have a site, organizers can create a WordPress site on the Commons to share information about the event and present conference materials. For more information, see What is the difference between a group and a site? 

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The planning committee of the Global Digital Humanities Symposium recently decided that their event would not be held as planned. Instead of meeting in person, presentations will take place via Zoom. Below, you’ll find a guide adapted directly from the materials they are distributing to symposium participants, describing how to use their Commons group and CORE to participate in the event. You may find this example helpful to think about how you might communicate with your conference participants about using Humanities Commons.

Thank you to June Oh and the Global DH Symposium organizers for making this example available!

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Message to Participants

We invite all participants to join our group on Humanities Commons (HC). Humanities Commons is a trusted, nonprofit network where humanities scholars can create a professional profile, discuss common interests, develop new publications, and share their work. Our symposium group within Humanities Commons allows the community to continue conversations and grow beyond the symposium itself. 

For Presenters

We encourage all presenters in this year’s symposium to share their work in whatever ways are comfortable and suitable so that all participants can access them and engage in conversation around them. Posters, slides, and talks deposited in the CORE repository of Humanities Commons and associated with the symposium group will be given a DOI and indexed by a range of indexing services. Depositing to Humanities Commons makes your work discoverable, citable, and sustainable. 

How do I sign up?

Navigate to the Humanities Commons website and click the “Register” button in the upper right corner. If you need more help, there is a step-by-step guide to registration and login on the Humanities Commons website, as well as a general guide to Humanities Commons. 

If you’re having trouble logging in, make sure you: (1) remember which email address you used to sign up and (2) click on the link in the confirmation email you’ll get once you’re done with the registration process. You will need to click on the link to authenticate your credentials, choose a username, and select a log-in method. 

How do I join the symposium group?

You must enroll to be a HC member before you can join the group. 

1. Search for the group in the directory of groups or search using the global search in the top right and filter by groups.
2. Visit the group page. Again, by clicking Join Group, you become a member. 

[Note to conference organizers: These will be the instructions for a public group. A private group will have a “Request Membership” button and a group admin will have to approve membership requests. A hidden group requires members be invited. It will not appear in the groups directory or search results. More on types of groups.]

General guide for HC Groups.

How do I share my document(s) with the group?

Once you are enrolled and have joined the DH Symposium group, you can share your work in a couple of ways: by uploading materials to the group directly, or by depositing items in the CORE repository and associating them with the group. 

Uploading to groups

You can choose to upload directly to this group without making a CORE deposit. The advantage of this is that you can update your document and edit it later. But, if you choose to upload your work only within the group’s documents library, it won’t be a part of the official collection of the symposium. 

To upload your materials to the group:

1. Visit the symposium group in Humanities Commons.
2. Go to “Docs” and “Create New Doc.” Add a title, description, and attach any files.
3. Or, go to “Discussion”, “Start a new topic”, and then you can make a forum post where you can describe the work and attach any relevant files.

General guide for uploading files.

Depositing to CORE

The Commons Open Repository Exchange (CORE) is a library-quality repository for sharing, discovering, retrieving, and archiving digital work. CORE provides Humanities Commons members with a permanent, open-access storage facility for their scholarly output, facilitating maximum discoverability and encouraging peer feedback. 

Once you deposit your work, it’ll be indexed by a range of indexing services and given a DOI. The files cannot be changed or deleted.

You can choose to make a CORE deposit without associating your work to any group. Your deposit will be available on your profile, appear on the News Feed, and be discoverable in the CORE repository. If you do select a group, your deposit will also be visible on the group page and the group will be associated with the deposit. This makes it easier for symposium attendees to find your work and helps the symposium keep a record of what was presented this year. 

To deposit your work in CORE and share it with the symposium group:

1. Visit the Humanities Commons site.
2. Click “CORE Repository” on the left menu, and then click “Upload your Work”.
3. Upload your file(s) and fill out all relevant metadata fields,
4. Under “Groups,” click the text box and select the symposium group. [Note: If you do not see this option, it means that you have not yet joined the symposium group. You must join the group first before depositing any items into CORE and associating them with the group.]

General Guide for CORE deposits.

FAQs about CORE deposits.

Now what?

And now you have completed all steps! But the world of collaboration, new research, and possibility awaits. Find out what Humanities Commons has to offer you. You can make your worthy research visible to the HC community—which has 20,000 members coming from over 100 countries—and the wider world. Make the best of HC by networking, collaborating, browsing other’s work, and contributing to the world of humanities!

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