Collaborations in Digitization: Digitizing UMBC Historic Photographs
MLA Technical Services Division
Be Creative and Collaborative:
Building your digital collections
as part of a team
Lindsey Loeper
Special Collections Archivist
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
What questions will be discussed?
How can collaborations benefit your digital
projects?
What resources can partners bring to the
collaboration?
How can you identify sources for
collaboration?
UMBC's Special Collections department
will serve as our case study
3 full-time, 1 part-time staff
members
2 part-time graduate
students
8-12 undergraduate students
Special Collections Reading Room, circa 1975
Participated in planning and
launch of UMBC's Digital
Collections (2009)
Collecting areas:
History of photography, science fiction, Maryland
history, rare books, university history, Center for
Biological Sciences Archives, Baltimore Sun
How can collaborations benefit your
digital projects?
Distribute time and
resource obligations:
Project planning
Administrative buy-in
Hardware and software
Scanning
Metadata creation
Outreach and access
Preservation of analog &
digital items
Collaborations won't make these commitments disappear, but
they can make each partner's contributions more
manageable.
How can collaborations benefit your digital
projects?
Utilize special skill sets and expertise
Recognize your areas
of skill and
acknowledge the
expertise of others!
This will be discussed in
the case study presented
this afternoon.
View of crowd at Flower Mart, Mt. Vernon Place facing Washington Apts. 1925
Hughes Company Glass Negatives, The Photography Collections, UMBC
http://www.flickr.com/photos/umbclibrary/4011621324/
How can collaborations benefit your digital
projects?
Pool contextual
information & related
resources for a more
robust reference
resource
Subject experts
Scholarly research
Related secondary
sources
Related primary
sources and archival
collections
Reference and
outreach methods
May also "virtually" connect materials and collections
through an online portal, exhibit, or artificial digital
collection.
How can collaborations benefit your digital
projects?
Increase outreach and exposure within
communities of researchers and institutions
-- people talk!
Genevieve Clark; [between ca. 1910 and ca.
1915]. Library of Congress.
Student staff members; circa 19681969. University Archives.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/3295498
512/
http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/u?/UARCphotos,31
How can collaborations benefit your digital
projects?
Opportunity for promotional activities
While the completion of a digital project is newsworthy
enough, the addition of a partnership increases interest
within partner institutions and regional/national
networks.
Library blog, local/association newsletter, Friends
groups outreach, poster or conference
presentation, announcement on appropriate list
serv (A&A, H-Maryland, MLA), brown bag
presentation to staff, online exhibit, etc.
How can collaborations benefit your digital
projects?
May lead to future
projects - either with
initial partner(s) or others
• Word of mouth
• Build confidence in
partnerships
(internally)
• Can use an example
for future proposals
for collaborative
projects - and in grant
applications!
What resources can partners bring to
the collaboration?
1. Identify your digital collection goals
2. Brainstorm what you can bring to a
partnership
3. Consider how this project could benefit
your partner(s)
What resources can partners bring to the collaboration?
Women at work on bomber, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. 1942 Oct.
Library of Congress
http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2179923220/
1. Identify your digital collection goals
Be realistic!
Remember - if you start
small, you can expand
the project.
"We would like to increase
our digital collections holdings
in the area of local
photography and unique or
rare local history publications
that are out of copyright."
"Because of increased
research interest, we would
like to digitize a small
collection of Civil War era
journals."
2. Brainstorm what you can bring to a partnership
Your participation and contributions are just as
important in collaborations as the work of your
partners. Honestly consider what you can bring to
the partnership:
Potential content
Digitization hardware
File storage and maintenance
Outreach and promotion
Online access interface
Staff time (paid or donated)
Related subject resources
Contextual content
3. How could this project benefit your partner(s)?
It is rare that partners will
participate for charity or
simple goodwill - how will
this benefit their mission?
Think of traditional reasons
that donors work with
archival repositories:
Build their digital holdings
Access for their constituency
Access to larger audience
Preservation of materials
Migrating available content
Historical observances
Lack of technical knowledge
What each partner contributes may
change for each digital project!
Rare local history book
Diary of prominant local author
You have:
Potential content
Literary society (HoCoPoLitSo)
has:
Potential content
Subject knowledge
Access for their constiuency
People hours to transcribe
Nearby university has:
Author's papers
Established online
collection of writings
Promotion
Digitization equipment
You have:
Digitization equipment
Online access interface
How can you identify sources for
collaboration?
•
•
•
•
•
•
work as part of a team
partner within your department (Library)
partner within your organization (UMBC)
work actively with donors
identify local, regional or state teammates
use available program assistance
Work as part of a team:
If there are multiple people in your
department working on digital
projects, share the work that you've
done to save time and ensure
consistancy across collections.
•
•
•
•
Best practices for scanning
Metadata templates
Step-by-step instructions
Student/volunteer training
Partner within your department (Library):
Other people in your
department may have skills
or project ideas that can
contribute, for example:
Copyright clearance
Reference resources
Community outreach
Grant preparation
Technical and IT skills
Metadata creation**
Case study: UMBC's
Electronic Theses and
Dissertations
http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/etd.php
Partner within your organization (UMBC):
Digitization on request
• Reference/duplication requests
• Exhibit or display items
• Promotional illustration
Locate available "archives" of born
digital or digitized materials
• Central access point
• Central storage point
• Increase access
http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/uarc.php
Partner within your organization:
Theatre Department
Production Materials
Cabaret, Spring 2001
Theatre Department had:
• physical materials
• digital files
• metadata/descriptions
• audience
• staff to digitize/collect
Special Collections offered:
• consistent access
• advanced search
• digital storage and
preservation
• incorporation into larger
University Archives research
Partner within your organization:
The Retriever Weekly
Student newspaper had:
• born digital files
• audience
• staff to digitize
Special Collections offered:
• backlog of print issues
• consistent access
• advanced search
• digital storage and
preservation
• incorporation into larger http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/retriever.php
University Archives research
Currently available:
Fall 1966-1982, 2002-2011
Work actively with donors to increase access:
Funding and original documents
Access copies (Reserves staff), paid student
position to enter metadata, Archivist created
template, Library storage & preservation
Access copies, original materials,
contextual info, metadata,
audience, paid student position to
scan and enter metadata
Technical and descriptive expertise,
online access portal (CONTENTdm),
Library storage and preservation
Identify local, regional or state teammates:
1.) Volunteers from
subject interest groups
2.) Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage
http://www.mdch.org
EPFL and SLRC
The Fireman's Record
(1891, 1911)
Ferdinand C. Latrobe papers (MDCH)
Ferdinand C. Latrobe papers (finding aid)
Identify regional teammates:
3.) To strengthen a grant
4.) Look for opportunities
applications and/or large
related to shared
scale projects, partner with anniversaries:
organizations that collect
related materials.
War of 1812
1968 Baltimore riots
Baltimore Fire (1904)
UMBC and UM College Park
both hold photographs
Poe's birthday (1809)
Baltimore Sun 175th (2012)
from the Baltimore News
American:
UMBC's 50th (2016)
UMCP's collection guide
MHCC Civil War in Your Attic
(2011-2012)
Identify regional teammates:
5.) HIST 705
Introduction to Public
History
Work with local
schools to use your
collections as part of
hands on learning
projects - exhibits,
research guides,
walking tours, lesson
plans.
http://hughesco.blogspot.com/
Identify regional teammates:
6.) Become familiar with
related collections at
other institutions.
Look for opportunities to
collaborate in case key
resources are made
available.
Storefronts, including Traub Bros., Schultz & Brother, and Jacob
Sugar, Wholesale Clothing, c. 1905-1940.
Hughes Company Glass Negatives, The Photography Collections,
University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/umbclibrary/4011621506/
Example: Hughes
Company Collection and
future partnership with
the Maryland Historical
Society
Identify regional teammates:
7.) Passive or asynchronous collaboration
Seek out available best practices and examples of metadata
templates -- and make your own available!
Meet with GLAM colleagues to review their workflows,
programs, metadata templates -- and invite to share your own
projects with others!
Share your experiences and tips using MLA/MARAC or ALA/SAA
newsletters and conference sessions.
Contribute to subject or regional consortium projects
(MD History and Culture Collaborative Repositories List)
Use available program assistance:
Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage
Maryland History and Culture Collaborative
Maryland Humanities Council
Look at MLA, ALA, State Library programs
Many granting agencies look for collaborative
projects - even if this is not a requirement.
NEH Preservation and Access grants
NHPRC - Basic, Detailed, Electronic Processing
Maryland SHRAB
Maryland Humanities Council grants
Thank you! Questions?
Lindsey Loeper
Special Collections Archivist
Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
lindseyloeper@umbc.edu
(410) 455-6290