Celebrate Love Data Week with Yale Library, Feb. 10 through Feb. 14

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February 4, 2025
Celebrate Love Data Week (Feb. 10–14) with the library’s Digital Humanities Lab, the Computational Methods and Data Department, and institutions throughout the world. This year’s theme is “Whose Data is it Anyway?,” encouraging users to think about where data comes from before using it.
 
Here is the lineup of library events. The keynote address and the crowdsourced Transcribe-a-Thon are open to the public. The two others are designed specifically for graduate students, faculty, and staff. 
 

Black Bibliography Project’s Wikidata Edit-A-Thon

Mon., Feb. 10, 1:30–4:30 p.m.
Location: Digital Humanities Lab conference room

Learn how to create metadata for Black authors and publishers in Wikidata, working with the library’s database of African American authors from the 1700s to present day. Laptop required. Open to graduate students, faculty, and staff. Register in advance.
 

Keynote address, “Building Trusted Data: An Idea for a Community-Driven Approach”

Wed., Feb. 12, 2–3 p.m.
Location: Online

Dr. Julia Lane, Professor Emerita at the New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and NYU Provostial Fellow for Innovation Analytics–will provide an overview of a promising new approach to producing data, called “democratizing data.” This approach is grounded in developing open, community-drive, tested standards. Free and open to the public. Register in advance.
 

“Skip a Thousand Words: Data Visualization Principles for Digital Humanities”

Thurs., Feb. 13, 1–2 p.m.
Location: Online

This online workshop—led by Digital Humanities Developer Gavi Levy Haskell—will introduce you to principles and techniques for making compelling data visualizations that effectively convey your digital humanities project. No programming experience required. Open to graduate students, faculty, and staff. Register in advance.
 

Douglass Day Virtual Transcribe-a-Thon

Fri., Feb. 14, all day
Location: Online

This annual international program, sponsored by the Library of Congress, marks the birth of American abolitionist Frederick Douglass (1818–1895). Each year, thousands work side by side—via the By the People crowdsourcing platform—to help create new and freely available resources for learning about Black history. Free and open to the public. Online participation is individual; register in advance. Watch YouTube highlights of past events to learn more.
 
This year’s library events are co-sponsored by the Yale Digital Ethics Center, with thanks to Kaitlin Throgmorton, former Data Librarian for the Health Sciences, for her collaboration. 
 
—Deborah Cannarella