PROPOSAL: This case study examines the transition of a “Media Lab” to a “Digital Scholarship Center” in the new library at Princeton Theological Seminary. It explores the questions: What does it mean to intentionally change from one kind of digital space to another? Does the digital space’s presence in a theological library present any special challenges or opportunities?

The shift at Princeton was driven by a variety of internal and external shifts, including the construction of a new library building, the restructuring of the seminary’s IT and library departments, a strengthened institutional emphasis on both student digital fluency and alum lifelong learning, and the need to respond to shifts in scholarly tools, production habits and an evolving curriculum.

The Digital Scholarship Center’s conceptual framework, physical and programmatic design, assessment and management approaches are each explored. Conceptually, the DSC moves away from a space-centric “lab” orientation, which possessed a sole emphasis on audio/visual editing and production, to a “center” orientation, providing a suite of physical open spaces and project rooms, programs (workshops, tutorials, Digital Humanities lunches), services (technology choices, pilot projects), and curriculum engagements (new two-credit Digital Humanities course). Shifts in management (reorganization, shifting schedules, growth of student peer trainers) and assessment (use and impact data gathering) approaches to the new center are also outlined. Finally, the Digital Scholarship Center’s presence in a seminary library provides a unique space to explore themes popular in current discussions about theological libraries such as hospitality and engagement.

This paper actively describes how to use the BeagleBone Black microserver to host and run the lightweight institutional repository Omeka. Additional to the technical discourse, conceptual discussion is given around why to select a self hosted option over cloud hosting. This topic is framed by questions relating to security, privacy, and content ownership around cloud services.

Advances in technology allow for new modes of access to both secular and religious information. Historically, some religious groups seem to have been eager to accept technological developments, while others have done so reluctantly. Nevertheless, the sustainability of a religious tradition depends on the ability of its practitioners to continually access information in an evolving world. Modern technology has occasioned broader religious information landscapes than ever before, to the extent that religion can seemingly be practiced using entirely online tools. Is this possibility borne out in reality? Through a synthesis of the nature and historical development of Zen Buddhism and Roman Catholicism, this study identifies some aspects inherent in each tradition that have influenced each one’s religious information landscape. It then explores the extent to which each religion can be practiced without an in-person faith community. These findings suggest an opportunity for further investigation into the information behavior of technology-enabled believers as a means of better understanding the future of religious experience.