Launched at Hamilton College in 2015, with initial funding from the Mellon Foundation, ILiADS began as a collaboration among a handful of liberal arts colleges and universities. Entering its seventh year (after a brief hiatus in 2020), ILiADS has seen more than 40 such institutions send 60 teams comprised of faculty, students, and staff to work on digital projects. During this time, it has become a robust traveling summer institute supported by a network of institutional sponsors.

ILiADS is more than a week-long opportunity for teams to focus their efforts: it has become a network of expertise, colleagues, and projects that demonstrate the scholarly and pedagogical impact of the digital liberal arts.