All the work I’m involved in is collaborative. But day to day, working in a large institution on funded projects, sometimes under-resourced, often working toward tight deadlines, it’s rarely easy to find the time for just catching up with a cross-section of people with similar interests.

Attending the recent Digital Humanities Australasia 2014 conference in Perth I was involved in several conversations where this was raised. I spoke with colleagues – including a number from my own university (the University of Melbourne) – and we realised the only time we ever had a chance to talk was at conferences. We resolved to do something about it. Unlike some resolutions made at conferences, we actually did.

Borrowing the concept from events like ‘Drinking About Museums’ or ‘Linguistics at the Pub’, we decided to hold a regular catch-up at a Melbourne pub where people interested in digital humanities – regardless of discipline, position, experience or institution – could get together for a social chat about their work, their projects, or anything else of interest.

We have had two Melbourne ‘Drinking about Digital Humanities’ sessions now (aka ‘DH at the pub’), and the turnout has been encouraging – academics, archivists, librarians, researchers and professional staff from a number of institutions getting together to talk about their work, find out about what others are up to, or just share stories. And while the main aim is to create a community of people interested in using digital technologies as part of their work, a few opportunities for further collaboration have already emerged.

There are still some details to be worked out. How often should these events be? Do we need to cover broad themes or topics? Do we need to work around teaching schedules and semesters? What venues are suitable? How do we spread the word?

Please let me know your thoughts. And if you are interested in hearing about the next event or finding out more you can contact me on Twitter (@mikejonesmelb) or join our Google group: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/drinkingaboutdh. All are welcome.