A New Web Platform for Scholarly Digital Projects
WashU WebPubs is a new service of Washington University Libraries that offers students, faculty, and staff flexible web space for creating digital projects. Supported by Scholarly Publishing and Digital Publishing Services (aka ScholPub) and Reclaim Hosting, WashU WebPubs lets users experiment with digital scholarship and web publishing tools to create their own customizable website.
How Does This Work?
Washington University students, faculty, and staff members can request an account via publish.library.wustl.edu. Once approved, they gain access to their own subdomain, which they can use to build their project. Users can customize their site as much as they like. Each account allows users to easily install popular applications for digital project-building like Omeka, Scalar, and WordPress.
How Can People Use This?
WashU WebPubs is a digital sandbox optimal for research, teaching, and learning. For example, at NYU, faculty and students collaborate to collect, curate, and share oral history interviews of queer and trans workers in New York City via a site that they created focused on Queer and Trans Work using Omeka. Archiving the oral histories they collect allows history students to learn about metadata and records management while working with Omeka, a tool that is regularly used to curate digital exhibits in the archives field.
If you’re interested in trying WashU WebPubs to create or showcase your digital scholarship, just get in touch with ScholPub (digital@wumail.wustl.edu) or sign up for a WashU WebPubs account.
PLEASE NOTE: If you are interested in creating an official university site—for an official university department, office, center, event, or similar endeavor—please utilize WashU Sites or contact your school’s communications department for assistance.