The HeirLoom Project Model Andrea Ellis Weddle Head of Special Collections and Archives Texas A&M University-Commerce

TAMU-C Special Collections Housed in the James G. Gee Academic Library Employees two full-time archivists, a digital collections librarian, and a full-time receptionist

TAMU-C Digital Collections CONTENTdm Software 35 total collections ◦ 5 contain materials from the Special Collections Department ◦ 2 special projects (World War II, Korean War) ◦ 1 student organization collection ◦ 26 partner collections ◦ 1 hybrid collection

HeirLoom Project Overview Began as an effort to promote, preserve, and make local history accessible Employees a full-time archivist and cataloging assistant who work with public libraries and other rural repositories to digitize collections Staff members share expertise and technology with the surrounding communities

Project Overview (cont.) Made possible through an LSTA grant Project Staff offer training/workshops in: ◦ Basic preservation principles ◦ Digitization (scanning/copy photography/photo editing) ◦ CONTENTdm software ◦ Oral history basics

Project Overview - Budget Total: $74,000 Salary/benefits: $60,000 ◦ One archivist ◦ One cataloging assistant Supplies/Equipment: $6000 Travel: $8000

Project Overview – Geography

Project Overview - Regional Data Avg public libraries/county = 1.3 Avg annual local funds/library= $177,241 Avg number of ALA-MLS librarians/library =.46 Total number of archivists = 0

Getting Started: Forming Partnerships Started with 3 partners, expanded to 13 in first year Require an on-site interview with staff members Include a survey of the collections, staff knowledge, and resources Agreement finalized with a signed memo of understanding

Project staff train non-archivists and non- librarians to: ◦ Think like archivists when selecting items ◦ Respect copyright ◦ Recognize the limitations of digitization Stress that the digital collections are for unique, primary source items Getting Started: Identification and Selection

Digitization: Training Each partner’s level of expertise determined beforehand Some require basic “this is a scanner” training Equipment and software varies from location to location

Digitization: Beyond Scanning Digitization extends beyond operating a scanner and digital camera Partners must allot time for: ◦ Prep work (organization, set-up, etc.) ◦ Handling ◦ Editing/renaming files ◦ Preparing files for CONTENTdm ◦ Compiling Dublin Core metadata ◦ Organizing/maintaining digital files

Digitization: Adhering to Standards TAMU-C Digital Collections Librarian compiled a standards document for our collections ◦ commerce.edu/library/collections/digital/guidelines/ commerce.edu/library/collections/digital/guidelines/ ◦ Based on best practices established by the Bibliographical Center for Research Collaborative Digitization Program (BCR CDP) bp.pdf bp.pdf

Required Minimum Standards Scanning (Access files): 600 dpi; 300 dpi for black and white text Copy photography: Largest resolution/ finest quality available on digital camera All images must be cleanly cropped and rotated Files saved as JPEG/PDF/TIFF for CONTENTdm

Required Minimum Standards Dublin Core metadata Our partners must provide the following fields: ◦ Title ◦ Creator ◦ Publisher ◦ Subjects (keyword) ◦ Description ◦ Date ◦ Format ◦ Type ◦ Rights (statement provided by TAMUC) ◦ Contributor

Project Outcomes 2.5 years, 34 partners 165 librarians, staff members, volunteers, community members trained Partner collections average 50,000 hits per month

Partner Institution Total Scans/Photographs Total Items in Digital Library Atlanta Public Honey Grove Public*56439 Bonham Public* Commerce Public Cooke County Public* Delta County Public Franklin County Public*65254 Jefferson Carnegie42674 Greenville Public Lindale Public36610 Mineola Museum49774 Mt. Pleasant Public27396 Paris Public Pittsburg-Camp County Public* Quitman Public*57219

Partner Institution Total Scans/Photographs Total Items in Digital Library Rains County Public*99812 Red River Public* Sulphur Springs Public Terrell Public Van Alstyne Public66224 Whitesboro Public Winnsboro Public*40547 Totals

A New Focus African-Americans represent approximately 40% of the population of northeast Texas There are few archives or museums dedicated to collecting/preserving African American History African American artifacts are missing from public library collections