With initial three-year funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Scholarly Communication Institute (SCI) began in 2003 with the overall goal of providing an opportunity for leaders in scholarly disciplines, academic libraries, advanced technologies, and higher education administration to study, develop, and implement creative and innovative strategies to advance scholarly communication in the context of the ongoing digital revolution.  Extended by Mellon for an additional six years, SCI continued in 2006 with a focus on Architectural History and in 2007 with a concentration on Visual Studies.  The 2008 iteration of SCI focused on models and strategies for national “centers of excellence” in humanities scholarship.

Three future institutes are planned, and will be held at the University of Virginia Library in the summers of 2009, 2010, and 2011.

SCI is directed by Richard E. Lucier and advised by a Steering Committee, whose members are leaders in the academic, digital humanities, and research library communities.