Page 148 - Journal of Library Science in China 2020 Vol.46

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Extended English abstracts of articles published in the Chinese edition of Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.46, 2020 147

hardcore leads to the phenomenon presented as more DH databases than research outcomes and
more debates than discipline innovation. Under the vigorous appearance, the dynamic and soul of
development is absent. This paper calls for more concern over theoretical studies of DH.
This paper discerns concepts related to DH, such as the humanities, human science and
humanism. DH, the new concept, comes into being as digital techniques are applied to the
humanities. It enriches the connotation of the humanities. As the extension and development of the
humanities, DH is a new research field made up from multiple disciplines.
Whether DH can exist as an independent discipline should be examined from three aspects.
1) From the historical perspective, the traditional humanities are static and knowledge is isolated.
Applying digital techniques to the humanities, DH breaks down and reorganizes knowledge and
searches the potential relationship of knowledge, which has become a new kind of the humanities.
2) From the scientific and philosophical perspective, the effect of DH on the humanities has gone
beyond the use of tools or methods. Instead, it is the qualitative change. Digital activities will
penetrate into all fields of the humanities and will lead to many new cultural phenomena as well as
new digital modern world views and values. 3) From the perspective of future development, DH
requires theoretical support which determines its future development.
Based on the Methodological Commons of McCarty and the Philosophy of Science of Lakatos,
the paper constructs a theoretical framework of DH, which comprises fundamental theory,
methodology, contents and research fields.

The construction of “data infrastructure” for humanities research: The
methodological contribution of library science to digital humanities
〇a*
XIA Cuijuan〇
Digital Humanities is not only the innovation of the research paradigm of humanities research
but also means a brand-new mode of knowledge production and knowledge communication.
Therefore, there comes a trend that it needs to combine researchers and research institutions in
various fields, as well as the cultural memory institutions such as galleries, libraries, archives,
museums (GLAM) to build Digital Humanities infrastructure to support new research paradigm,
knowledge production and knowledge communication. This paper aims to explore how to
build Digital Humanities infrastructure, clarify the roles, tasks and contributions of various
responsible subjects, especially GLAM institutions, so as to help libraries to identify the role,
orientation, advantages and become an indispensable organic unit in the whole Digital Humanities
infrastructure. By using the methods of literature research, requirements analysis, case study and
practical verification, the concept “Data Infrastructure” is separated from “Research Infrastructure”

* Correspondence should be addressed to XIA Cuijuan, Email: cjxia@libnet.sh.cn, ORCID: 0000-0002-1859-6979.