A key premise of Humanities Writ Large is that librarians must be equal partners in our scholarly endeavors. In this area, the initiative has built on Duke University Libraries’ Beyond the Walls model, in which the librarians go to where the scholarship happens. Scholarship is enriched by the distinct set of questions and innovative approaches brought by librarians. The librarians, in turn, gain vital working information about the evolution of ideas and the integration of research within the creation of knowledge.

At the center of the library component is a new staff position, Humanities Academic Technology Consultant (ATC), a role filled ably since its inception by Will Shaw. The ATC serves as a pro-active member of the humanities labs and emerging networks and also trains and coordinates specialized Library Research Assistants. Together, the ATC and the Research Assistants bring proficiency in emerging technologies to support faculty and students for courses and related digital humanities projects that arise across all elements of the HWL initiative. The ATC also serves as a liaison to other librarians and technology support staff for just-in-time assistance to faculty seeking to implement new pedagogies and make use of web technology to extend the reach of their work beyond the Duke campus.