Caffeine Break - Nicholas Strole, Dena Strong, Darius Summerville: The Corr-Proust Project

What do you do when you need a content management system for a digital humanities project without a budget for a database designer? While there are several resources available at the University, many people do not know where to go for help. 

The Illinois and French university members of the digital humanities project, Corr-Proust, had the task of transcribing 6,000 original letters to and from Marcel Proust and making them digitally available after going through an eight-step review and publication process. They identified their workflow issues and, through the help of the consulting resources in Scholarly Commons, Research IT, and Field Consulting, personalized a content management system (SharePoint) that allowed them to focus on their research rather than their workflow.

By using a consultative, low-code, and agile approach to development, the Corr-Proust research teammates now have a multi-lingual, multi-continental system that’s largely self-maintained, with occasional adjustments from consulting staff. The graduate student contributors describe it as easier and faster to use. And the team did it all for under $500.