Collaborate
We're always interested in hearing from future collaborators, especially the students, faculty, and staff of NIU. If you have an idea for a project or would like to get involved in one of our existing projects, get in touch and tell us more. Please note that we are primarily interested in digitizing NIU Library materials, but we're always willing to offer advice and make referrals when appropriate.
Intern
There are some limited opportunities for students interested in acquiring hands-on experience working with digital collections. This experience might be especially useful for those who plan to work in libraries or museums, who want to learn more about the digital humanities, or who intend to do web development or design after graduating. Activities include:
- Curating an online exhibit
- Creating and managing metadata
- Digital humanities projects, such as text mining
- Web design and development
We can support a very limited number of interns, but those interested should contact us for more information. If you have experience in web development or graphic design, we would be especially interested in hearing from you.
Donate
If you've enjoyed using NIUDL, please consider donating towards future digitization projects. To make an online donation, go to the NIU Foundation website, select "Other" under "Designations" and enter "Library Digitization Lab." To make other arrangments for monetary donations, contact us directly for more details. All funds will be used to support digitization efforts at NIU, paying for hardware upgrades, software development, and student hourly wages.
If you'd like to donate towards a particular project, or if you'd like to fund a new project, please contact us with more information about what you have in mind. Projects might include digitizing an entire dime novel series or a particular manuscript collection. Our Collection Development Policy outlines what sort of collections we are actively seeking to digitize.
If you would like to donate physical objects, such as books, photographs, or documents, please refer to the donation pages for Rare Books and Special Collections or Regional History Center and University Archives. We are especially interested in any materials that fill gaps in our existing collections.