wi ls worldwho talk
TRANSCRIPT
Local History for a Global AudienceWisconsin Heritage Online
Emily Pfotenhauer - WiLS World - July 25, 2012
Today’s presentation
• What is WHO?
• Our work with local history collections
• Promoting content with Tumblr
• Sorting collections with Viewshare
• Sneak peak at early stage of website redesign
Wisconsin Heritage Online is . . .
• AGGREGATED CONTENT– wisconsinheritage.org portal brings together
metadata, thumbnail images and links from digital collections across the state
• SHARED STANDARDS– imaging, metadata, and digital preservation guidelines
developed by Wisconsin librarians, archivists and curators
• TRAINING AND SUPPORT– workshops, one-on-one project support, collection
hosting
PARTNERS
wisconsinheritage.org = 118,463 digital items
How it works…
DATA HARVEST
CONTENTdm
UWDC Site Search
Other OAI-compliant databases
University of Wisconsin Digital
Collections42%
Public Libraries29%
Academic Libraries
16%
Wisconsin Historical Society
8%
Historical Societies & Museums
5%
Content Providers
Why digitize local history?
Local goals
• Improve organization and searchability of collections
• Generate revenue (reproductions, donations)
• Good PR within community
Broader goals
• Support needs of researchers (genealogists, academics, citizen historians)
• Uncover rare/unique/hidden materials
• Contribute to collective knowledge base
• Understand macro through the micro
Digitization challenges for smaller organizations
• Lots of other demands on staff/volunteer time
• Often “passion project” of single individual
• Schedules may be ad hoc or seasonal
• Learning new skills, especially metadata/cataloging
• Digital preservation
• Getting the word out beyond local community
A. J. Kingsbury Project
• Langlade County Historical Society (Antigo) scanned collection of glass negatives and postcards by local photographer A. J. Kingsbury
• Tribal Historic Preservation Officers from Lac du Flambeau, Menominee and Lac Vieux Desert (UP) identified people and locations
• Tribal Libraries, Archives and Museums (TLAM) class at UW-Madison SLIS is creating metadata
“Indian and His Bride” = Maggie Bearskin Skye and George St. Germain
Undergrad interns at local historical societies
• In partnership with Material Culture Program at UW-Madison
• Supported by CaxambasFoundation
• Students get hands-on experience in museum settings
• Organizations get jump start on digitization projects
Undergrad interns at local historical societies
• McFarland Historical Society: Norwegian-American artifacts
• Portage Historical Society: Architectural photographs
• Middleton Area Historical Society: Photographs and postcards
• Three Lakes Historical Society: Archives
InfoSoup Memory Project
• Coordinated by Outagamie Waupaca Library System; OWLS staff provide centralized training and collection hosting for member libraries Collections are hosted in CONTENTdm by OWLS
• Participants so far include Appleton, Clintonville, Door County, Hortonville, Kaukauna and Oconto Falls public libraries
• Content includes photographs, postcards, books and pamphlets
Milwaukee Area Technical College
• Glass negatives depicting early vocational classes
• In celebration of MATC’s 100th anniversary in 2012
New website: creative rationale
Dan Saal and Jeff Ganger:
• “Our assignment is to develop an engaging aggregator of curious collections, an exciting digital screen door through which people pass through on the way to discovering their Wisconsin heritage.”
• “We need to provide a space for exploration and education concerning the collections. In a way, the site will announce, ‘Here’s what I found, and here is how YOU can explore.’”
New website: key elements
• Generous interface (Mitchell Whitelaw, University of Canberra); not “what do you want” but “here’s what we have to offer”
• Three core functions:– Look
– Search
– Participate
• Search guides targeted at specific user groups and interest areas
• Spaces for community contributions
Website timeline
• NOW: refining framework, adding content
• AUGUST: Think Tank with Advisory Committee and visiting consultant
• SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER: Feedback from members, usability testing
• LATE FALL 2012: soft launch
STAY UPDATED• Twitter
@wiheritage
facebook.com/wisconsinheritage
• Tumblr
wiscohisto.tumblr.com
• Portal website
wisconsinheritage.orgTHANK YOU!
Emily Pfotenhauer
WHO Outreach Specialist