Overview

Search high-quality, open-access resources alongside proprietary ones.
The ARC Catalog, as visualized through BigDIVA, includes metadata from leading humanities proprietors. Although online library catalogs allow users to search these resources from a single interface, institutions at times struggle to promote and provide access to a growing collection of freely available, high quality digital resources, especially scholar-generated digital projects and open educational learning resources. ARC peer reviews and aggregates such resources alongside proprietary content, enabling humanities scholars to discover the latest high quality scholarship regardless of its source or purveyor.

Removes many of the biases that often cloud scholarship and discovery due to search engine ranking algorithms.
All search engines, including Google and library catalogs, utilize algorithms to sift through thousands and even millions of search returns. While these algorithms may be effective for discovering known entities, they hinder original research. It is now accepted knowledge that these algorithms introduce bias into search results (whether based on citations, click-through on similar search queries, or other metadata), making it difficult for scholars to see outside the constraints of their expectations. The search tool for BigDIVA only categorizes the content, allowing users – not computer algorithms – to determine which items are interesting and relevant.

Transforms the act of search into research.
Minimization of bias introduces serendipity into digital research. BigDIVA can display all possible results at once, yet also reveal the items available for unselected dates and categories. That is, users will be able to see the returns that lie outside their search constraints, and thus outside their expectations. BigDIVA elevates the act of search to research

Review the BigDIVA brochure for more information.

Institutional Subscription Options

Founding Library Contribution
$20,000 per year for two years
Free thereafter

Partner Library Contribution
$2,500 for the first year
$250 per year thereafter

Founding Library may:

  • Receive free instance(s) of COLLEX for special collections at your library;
  • Guide development of ARC and BigDIVA by submitting enhancement requests;
  • Attend semi-annual meetings to participate in decision-making discussions (optional);
  • Host one of the semi-annual ARC meetings (If hosting an ARC meeting, the Founding Library will contribute $15,000 and is responsible for $5,000 in meeting expenses during that year) during which members of the ARC Steering Committee can offer public talks or panels;
  • Schedule workshops about using BigDIVA for research and teaching to faculty and students at your institutions, including workshop for faculty on creating peer-reviewable digital editions and resources;
  • Receive free subscription after an initial two (2) year term.

(Founding libraries wishing to continue to participate per above may pay $10,000 per year after the initial two years, $5,000 if hosting meetings.)