email address: wacha2@wisc.edu
I am a historian and librarian whose interests 
include the history of the book, cartography, manuscript studies, public history, the digital humanities, digital curation, and multi-spectral imaging. My work on medieval documentary cultures and practices within institutional contexts imitates and informs practices in modern-day archives and libraries.
I received my MLIS degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison’s iSchool in 2021 and my PhD in Medieval History from the University of Iowa in 2016.
The common thread woven into my professional experiences and research interests is a love of primary source materials and a passion for studying the constructed nature of archival collections, i.e. the makers and the users. At the intersection of librarianship and history, the library plays an important role in collecting and supporting a diverse genre of information material, organizing and interpreting that material in engaging formats, and promoting digital scholarship and publication in the humanities. I am committed to creatively studying and sharing collections and to facilitating collaborative engagement with primary source collections for a wide audience of users and readers.
My recent postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Wisconsin (University of Wisconsin 2020 Postdoctoral Fellowship in Medieval Studies and Digital Humanities and CLIR (Council of Library Information Resources) Postdoctoral Fellowship in Data Curation for Medieval Studies) have resulted in six peer-reviewed articles, two medieval map editions, one co-edited volume on Book History and the Digital Humanities (University of Wisconsin Press, 2021), and a critical edition of the Cartulary of the Abbey of Prémontré (University of Toronto Press, 2023). Several collaborations– with the Videntes Multispectral Imaging Collective, UW’s Center for the History of Print and Digital Culture, English department, iSchool, Special Collections library, Research Data Services, Ebling Library for the Health Sciences, and the Library of Stains project–have also led to multiple presentations and invited talks.
Image: Central portal of the Cathedral of Laon.
Heather Wacha 