We are beyond ecstatic at the level of participation the virtual DH2020 conference has received. Several hundred of our colleagues have been able to present their scholarship in spite of the current global situation and the unanticipated need to adjust their presentations to fit a virtual format. An overwhelming number of participants are responding to their colleagues presentations in the Discussion forum, ensuring that the scholarly exchanges we so value at our in-person conferences still takes place.

At the end of an in-person conference, we are usually left with only our notes, photos, vague recollections, and perhaps a conference bag filled with business cards, pens, notepads, and other gear. Our asynchronous format on Humanities Commons this year affords us the possibility of a different kind of record: a virtual community in the DH2020 Humanities Commons group and a collection of presentations shared publicly and permanently in the CORE Repository or privately within the DH2020 group. Here’s how these elements will be sustained following the conference:

• Registration & admission to the DH2020 Humanities Commons group will close after Friday, 24 July. Just as we would at an in-person conference, we will not be continuing to accept registration, which includes access to the Humanities Commons group.
• All participants added to the Humanities Commons group by Friday, 24 July, will continue to have access to the group indefinitely. The group will remain available to members and will continue to be listed as private on the Humanities Commons platform.
• The Discussion Forum will remain open through Friday, 31 July. This will ensure that participants joining during the conference week (20-24 July) have an opportunity to view and respond to presentations. After 31 July, the Discussion Forums will be closed but will remain visible to everyone in the group.
• The Book of Abstracts will remain available indefinitely. The Book of Abstracts includes all proposals that were submitted and accepted to the DH2020 in Ottawa. In addition to the online version, a downloadable PDF will also be made available.
• Presentations submitted to CORE will remain publicly available on Humanities Commons indefinitely. These deposits, which have been assigned DOIs, can be accessed by anyone, regardless of whether they have a Humanities Commons account. They will be discoverable within the larger repository, or visitors will be able to find presentations by searching the repository for “DH2020”.
• Presentations that were uploaded directly to the Discussion Forum will remain privately available within the group unless authors request that their presentation be removed. Authors can make this request by Friday, 31 July, by sending us an email.
• The DH2020 Ottawa and Virtual DH2020 websites will remain available indefinitely.