Signs and Wonders: Integrating Multiple Systems to Digitize the Deaf Catholic Archives
Robinson, Lenora ; Stambach, Abby ; Villa, Lisa
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Abstract
The Archives and Distinctive Collections at the College of the Holy Cross is in the second half of a two-year CLIR "Digitizing Hidden Collections" grant project to preserve and provide access to key components of the Deaf Catholic Archives (DCA). Ideally, digital content would be accessible through both the institutional repository as well as the archival finding aids. Wonder how we did it? The project utilized three systems (Digital Commons, ArchivesSpace and Google) to efficiently upload thousands of items to our repository and link them to their respective finding aids. This presentation will discuss how we worked to build the repository structures and then developed workflows to create and populate an online collection that allows multiple access points for a large, complex, and growing archive. As this work continues, the next phase of the grant will use another tool to create exhibits using our IR, thus facilitating additional access, promotion and outreach efforts. These efforts, as well as the creation of metadata and description, will intentionally include input from members of the Deaf community here at Holy Cross and in partnership with others. Our experience offers suggestions for how to build out a large collection with several structures that require different technical treatments. We have already begun adapting them for other digitization projects. Though we used specific platforms, this presentation will demonstrate how different applications can be harnessed for a large, long-term project.