The Meertens Institute studies and documents language and culture in the Netherlands and Dutch language and culture in the world. Diaries and other ego documents give a specific and personal view of the phenomena that shape everyday life in our society. These diaries are a unique source for linguists, historians and ethnologists. The Meertens Institute therefore also collects diaries and collaborates in this area with the Dutch Diary Archive. With the help of the grant for Small Data Projects, the project of entering the metadata of (paper) diaries could be kicked off.
Douwe Zeldenrust (Collection Manager of the Meertens Institute) confirms the importance of sharing and reusing data and the convenience of the KDP grant: “In this way, a start has been made on making this beautiful collection accessible. The metadata are now available and users can browse through. The physical diaries can be examined at the Meertens Institute itself “.
The project has been published in the Research Data Journal for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Among other things, it explains how the collection is stored in EASY and CLARIN in a sustainable way.
Previously, Douwe Zeldenrust applied for a KDP grant for the Dutch Dialectenbank, which was also honored. The grant provided the data-oriented project with a nudge into the right direction
Additional information
Interested in a KDP grant? The conditions and procedure of the grant application can be found here. You can apply for a KDP grant until 1 October 2019.
The dataset of the diaries can be found in EASY. For more information about the collections of the Meertens Institute, please contact Douwe Zeldenrust. Information about the Diary Archive can be found on the website of the Meertens Institute.
