9 Short instructional sessions
Rachael Samberg and Timothy Vollmer
Not everyone has either the time or the need to host a four-day, intensive extravaganza to teach LLTDM. In this chapter, we present modular opportunities with examples of shorter sessions tailored for different audience needs.
Quick overviews (15-minute sessions)
Why and when?
There are a number of contexts in which a 15-minute overview of LLTDM can be the perfect vehicle by which to introduce core concepts to new audiences. Short overviews work best for attendees who don’t need to become experts in the literacies, but wish to (or should!) be aware that the issues exist. As such, we have taught these quick overviews for:
- Students who have been assigned their first TDM projects
- Scholars interested in creating digital research archives
- Librarians who wish to feel more confident advising users about TDM projects
What should you cover?
The main goals of a 15-minute session are simply to help attendees begin to “issue spot,” and learn more about whom to contact if they get stuck or have questions. We typically approach 15-minute sessions as a quick lecture. (Fifteen minutes of an introductory overview of all the literacies just isn’t conducive to incorporating an exercise. An exercise is far more feasible if you focus on just one of the literacies.) And note that there is some false advertising here, as these sessions have always run 18-20 minutes despite being billed as 15. We just can’t lay enough context for the above takeaway points in only 15 minutes!
We believe the core concepts to establish and instill in a 15-minute session include:
- Copyright: It’s typically fair use to download or compile copyright-protected content provided you don’t break digital locks (DRM), but there are limits on what you can republish or share from what you download or compile. You don’t need to worry about fair use and how much you republish at all, though, if you use public domain materials or just facts/ideas.
- Contracts: Even if a use is fair under copyright, or if the content is not protected by copyright, there may be a contract that restricts scraping and TDM. Look for fair use savings clauses in applicable license agreements or website terms of use/terms of service. If you’re using a library database to download, what matters is the library’s license agreement, not the database’s generic terms of use online. Finally, consider vendor- or publisher-authorized options like APIs or simply negotiating with the vendor/publisher for what you want.
- Privacy: Mining data could violate federal or state privacy laws, but there are important legal exceptions that support TDM research. For instance, state privacy laws (1) often have exceptions for research that is “newsworthy” or of sufficient “public interest,” (2) typically don’t protect deceased people, and (3) are inapplicable if the subject of the works cannot be identified. You can consider the applicability of those exceptions or alternativel