Project Librarian, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries BA (Hon) (Queens), MLIS (McGill), PMP (PMI) Email: rachel.dicresce at utoronto.ca   Hidden Stories - Project Areas of Activity Book Science Project Management Technical Development Data Management Discovery Research Interests Book Science Digital Codicology Data Management

Biography

I am a project librarian who partners with researchers to develop research services and projects using UTL's deep and unique collections. As part of the team that builds and maintains institutional digital collections, my areas of focus include investigating new data standards, softwares and repositories, working on metadata standards that enable discovery of collections and new research, and building new research tools for the study of rare materials. My work often puts me at the intersection of manuscripts and early printed books, technology and scientific inquiry. As such, I have worked closely with the Old Books New Science Lab over the past six years on projects that include Digital Tools for Manuscript Study and the Book and The Silk Roads: Phase I. As such, I have worked closely with the Old Books New Science Lab over the past six years including on the Book and The Silk Roads: Phase I project. This partnership’s current collaboration is Hidden Stories: New Approaches to the Local and Global History of the Book (2022-2026). 

As the Project Librarian for Hidden Stories, I oversee the project’s technical development and approach to intellectual property, data rights, data sovereignty, and sustainability, and curating, preserving, and mobilizing knowledge with collaborators from around the globe

Forthcoming Publication:

Di Cresce, Rachel and Melissa Moreton. “Making the Book Visible: Visualization Tools, Descriptive Terminology, and the Development of a Methodology for the Study of Global Book History.” Approaches to Digital Codicology: Interdisciplinarity and Intersections. Brepols. Submitted to editors - expected in 2024.