The Digital Research and Curation Center (DRCC) supports open scholarship through the development of digital infrastructure and applications. The DRCC has developed digital scholarship resources for a range of disciplines and communities across the divisions of Johns Hopkins University. Much of the DRCC’s work is funded through grants from both federal and private sources, including the National Science Foundation, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Open Society Foundation, Microsoft Research, Library of Congress NDIIPP program and a Maryland based venture capital group.

Open Source Software Development

The DRCC builds digital information technology infrastructure in partnership with faculty and students who have identified novel requirements for open scholarship.

The DRCC’s digital infrastructure program began in 2001 through a collaboration with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and resulted in a $10 million grant through the National Science Foundation’s DataNet program in 2007.

Since that time the DRCC has developed open source software and applications that support the Library’s digital collections and services including Data Services. Most recently, the DRCC launched the University’s open source programs office (OSPO).

Open Source Programs Office (OSPO)

The DRCC has launched the university’s open source program office (OSPO) to coordinate activity related to open-source programs within Johns Hopkins. By working with organizations throughout Hopkins such as Technology Transfer, the Computer Science Department, Institute for Data Intensive Engineering and Science (IDIES), and student software developer groups, the OSPO is creating an inventory of open source and metrics for measuring impact, which are key components of the impact of open scholarship.

Through the OSPO, Johns Hopkins University has become a member of the Eclipse FoundationThe OSPO also works actively with other foundations and technology companies such as Microsoft. The OSPO represents the first point of contact for Baltimore City organizations that wish to work with IDIES.  Through Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the OSPO is administering the first University-based Free and Open Source (FOSS) Contributor Fund. 

Information Technology Infrastructure

The DRCC manages IT infrastructure for applications that support research, teaching, learning and engagement. Recently, the DRCC provided hosting services and IT consultation for the Johns Hopkins University global Covid-19 map and dashboard. The DRCC systems engineers provide operational support for the open source programs office (OSPO) through an enterprise GitHub account, Bitergia analytics for open source software, and the Free and Open Source (FOSS) Contributor Fund.

Additionally, the DRCC has expertise related to both on-premise and cloud-based infrastructure including GitHub actions, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft Azure.