Giving credit where credit is due

This week we have revamped and expanded the Pleiades Credits Page, which can be found via a prominent link on the home page. 

The credits page functions as a more complete masthead than we have ever had, one that reflects the full range of contributions made to Pleiades by members of its community. We are particularly happy with the "Individual Credits" section, which mines the Pleiades database to highlight the additions and changes to content that members of our community are making. We hope this list -- which you can sort by full name, number of contributions, role (member, reviewer, editor), or start date -- will not only reward active community members by publicly showcasing their work, but also facilitate continued growth of the community by highlighting recent changes; illustrating the breadth and expertise of the community; encouraging collaboration between community members; helping new members emulate practiced colleagues and identify potential mentors; and even foster a bit of healthy competition.

Existing Pleiades members who view the new credits page may be inspired to flesh out their site profiles and upload portrait images of themselves. Their original "Welcome to Pleiades" emails contain instructions on how to do this; there's also an online FAQ on completing your Pleiades user profile.

If you are a Pleiades member, but do not find your name on the credits page, it is because you have not yet made an addition or change to Pleiades content. Please take this opportunity to dust off that Welcome message (or email pleiades.admin@nyu.edu for advice) and give it a try.

We invite comments on the new credits page from members of the Pleiades community, the wider digital humanities community, and the public at large. We recognize that we still have some steps to take, particularly in terms of crediting those whose contributions to our software (and the software "stack" that underpins and enables it) are concerned. Please don't hesitate to leave a comment on this blog post (you'll have to login using OpenID or a Pleiades username) or send an email to pleiades.admin@nyu.edu with your critiques or suggestions.

We were inspired to make these changes by some of the work that emerged from last year's workshop at the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities on professionalization in digital humanities center, now published by MediaCommons Press as Off the Tracks: Laying New Lines for Digital Humanities Scholars. In particular, we were looking at their proposed Collaborators' Bill of Rights.  We were also encouraged by the recent announcement of the Fair Cite Initiative, whose members are working to encourage "a fairer culture of citation in academia".