The Digital Hub

While data collection and analysis are paramount processes in today’s digital age, perhaps even more important is translating that data into a form that everyone can see and understand. Jason Heppler, the Digital Engagement Librarian for the University of Nebraska—Omaha, specializes in data visualization, a process which has the dual benefits of increased accessibility to often dense, technical data for the general populace and enhanced ease of pattern-spotting for researchers. Outside of his research on data visualization, Heppler also does work in open data advocacy to improve transparency and access to digital information. He is a founding member of Endangered Data Week, an annual event and collaboration between campuses, nonprofits, and libraries all over the country to “shed light on public datasets that are in danger of being deleted, repressed, mishandled, or lost” (endangereddataweek.org). Heppler is also currently working on a book on the Silicon Valley, and the intricate connections between the area’s history, suburbanization, and social and environmental political activism.

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