Doing digital research at KBLab: A practical introduction to using the National Library of Sweden’s data lab

Abstract

The emergence of digital heritage data and the rapid development of new AI tools for computational analy sis are transforming GLAM institutions, particularly in the design of digital research infrastructure. Re searchers in the digital humanities and social sciences increasingly expect to access collections at unprece dented scales. This chapter addresses such expecta tions by providing a hands-on guide to KBLab, the data lab at the National Library of Sweden (KB). It outlines the lab’s resources, including access to KB’s digitized collections and AI models like KB-BERT, and showcases innovative development projects like Bild sök, which makes visual archives more accessible. The chapter also details the steps to initiate research col laborations and discusses best practices for utilizing KBLab’s tools effectively. By bridging technical in sights with practical applications, it serves as a com prehensive starting point for conducting large-scale digital research at KB and beyond.