I am an Assistant Professor in History at the University of Guelph. In this position, I work to create community around digital humanities by organizing workshops, speaker series, and hands-on events (like Programming Historian meet-ups and Wikipedia Edit-a-thons). I am also the Associate Director of The Humanities Interdisciplinary Collaboration Lab (THINC Lab), a research space in the McLaughlin Library that provides space and expertise for graduate students and faculty working on digital, interdisciplinary projects.
My own research has two main areas of focus: serendipity and inclusive makerspaces. My PhD from the University of Western Ontario’s Library and Information Studies Department focussed on the role of serendipity in historian’s information-seeking, in both physical and digital environments. This work has been extended over the course of my postdoc to look at the ways that the semantic web can provide serendipitous environments for researchers. My work with The MakerBus led me to a second area of research: the use of public makerspaces by women and the LGTBQ community. Questions about community building and inclusive public spaces has resulted in The DIYversity Project, a SSHRC funded engagement with a local community makerspace, Diyode.
You can find out all about my work, research, and community-building initiatives on this site. If you are interested in collaboration, or have any questions, please reach out to kimberleymartin [at] gmail [dot] com.