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G2S Project Code: 2014-DC-73810
State: District of Columbia
Fiscal Year: 2014
Grantee
District of Columbia Public Library

Project Director
Director Name: Kerrie Cotten Williams
Director Phone: 202-727-1133
Director Email: kerrie.williams@dc.gov
General Information
Title: Special Collections Initiatives
State Project Code:
Start Date: 10/01/2014
End Date: 09/30/2015
Abstract: DC Public Library used LSTA funds to support its Special Collections department through digital content creation and digital and physical content preservation and instruction/consultation.   
State Goal: Access to Information
Budget Information
LSTA
MATCH-State
MATCH-Other
Total
$113,682.60
$0.00
$0.00
$113,682.60
Intent(s)
Improve users’ ability to discover information resources.
Arts, Culture & Humanities
History
Activities
Activity Details
Title: Digital Content Creation
Narrative:

The DC Public Library's Special Collections Department digitized and made available archival collections, including photographs, printed materials, audiovisual materials, maps and ephemera.  The department contracted services with Lyrasis and Creekside Digital to create digital objects from library-owned collections.  The Library also contracted with CONTENTdm to host and make available digital collections to the public.  A user guide for searching and using digital resources in CONTENTdm is made available on the CONTENTdm DigDC site. 


Intent: Improve users’ ability to discover information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Creation
Format: Digital


Quantity
Number of items digitized: 14,580
Number of items digitized and available to the public: 8,230
Number of physical items: 0
Number of open-source applications/software/systems: 0
Number of proprietary applications/software/systems: 1
Number of learning resources (e.g. toolkits, guides): 1
Number of plans/frameworks: 0


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 1
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 0
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0
Activity Details
Title: Digital Preservation
Narrative: DC Public Library Special Collections preserved digital and physical collection assets via migrating, sorting, and rehousing archival objects in safe, stable storage units and systems.  The department contracted with Preserverica to provide active preservation and access to digitized archival collections, including photographs, printed materials, audiovisual materials, maps and ephemera.  
Intent: Improve users’ ability to discover information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Preservation
Format: Combined physical & digital


Quantity
Number of items conserved, relocated to protective storage, rehoused, or for which other preservation-appropriate physical action was taken: 14,380
Number of items reformatted, migrated, or for which other digital preservation-appropriate action was taken: 336
Number of preservation plans/frameworks produced/updated (i.e. preservation readiness plans, data management plans): 0


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 1
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 0
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0
Activity Details
Title: Digital Content Instruction
Narrative: DC Public Library Special Collections contracted with Lyrasis to provide guidance and recommendations on digital collection development initiatives, including reviewing current Digital Development Plan.  The department also contracted with a Special Collections and Rare Book Appraiser to assess and appraise the library's physical collections to prioritize digitization projects. Lastly, the Library contracted THAT Camp educational consultants to engage and instruct DC Public school students on access and use of digital collections in a digital humanities project.  
Intent: Improve users’ ability to discover information resources.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Consultation/drop-in/referral
Format: Combined in-person & virtual


Quantity
Total number of consultation/reference transactions: 45
Average number of consultation/reference transactions per month: 5


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Address: 901 G Street NW
City: Washington
State: DC
Zip: 20001
Activity Details
Title: Digital Content Description
Narrative: DC Public Library Special Collections created metadata and described archival collections including photographs, printed materials, audiovisual materials, amps, and ephemera.  The department contracted services with CONTENTdm and ArchivesSPACE to make available collection metadata and administrative records.  
Intent: Improve users’ ability to discover information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Description
Format: Combined physical & digital


Quantity
Number of items made discoverable to the public: 1,600
Number of collections made discoverable to the public: 6
Number of metadata plans/frameworks produced/updated: 0


Partner Information
Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No


Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No


Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types
Public Libraries: 1
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 0
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0
Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important findings or outcomes from your project:
1. Digitizing and describing archival collections increases access to archival material. On average there are more than 700 users per month on the DigDC CONTENTdm site. Users can browse and download digital objects for use. 2.Ongoing access to digital and physical collections is dependent upon a viable preservation plan and system in place. 3. THAT Camp proved successful and will be replicated in 2016. The program was effective in engaging high school students on the use and access of archival materias in a defined digital humanities project. The appraisal of archival collections was important in inventorying and placing value on materials housed in Special Collections. It also informed digitization priorities for collections. The value and potential high use of materials may be determining factors related to digitization initiatives. 4. ArchivesSpace increases intellectual control over archival holdings via the creation and maintenance of archival accession records.
Please briefly describe importance of findings:
The following correspond to the numbers above: 1. The findings allow library staff to prioritize digitization projects and strategically plan digital collection development activities, e.g., a potentially high-use collection may be placed as a high priority for digitization barring any copyright issues. 2. DC Public Library Special Collections must have long-term preservation to provide the level of access identified in collection outreach and use initiatives. Digital and physical preservation is a required function of archival programs and facilities. 3. DC Public Library will use the information from THATCamp in strategically planning educational outreach initiatives with the DC Public School systems. 4. The findings provide the library with an understanding of how users access collections, including access points and descriptive metadata that can increase discoverability of materials.
What methods did you use to determine your findings? Check all that apply:
Based on outputs, outcomes and/or other results, explain any significant lessons learned from these findings for either the SLAA or others in the LIS field:
The following correspond to the numbers above: 2. Libraries should develop preservation plans for digital collections to accompany existing collection preservation plan for physical collections. Creating a plan will document workflows and resources required for digital preservation activities. 3. Successful recruitment of THATCamp students needs to be in coordination with an appropriate administrator in the public school system. 4. DC Public Library staff discovered that legacy finding aids and supportive documents describing collections is not always compliant with current best practices and descriptive standards. Thus, a processing manual was created for archival collections to follow DACS guidelines.
Do you anticipate continuing this project after the current reporting period ends:
Yes
Do you anticipate any change in level of effort:
No
Do you anticipate any change in the project's scope:
No
Do you anticipate any other changes in the project:
No
Exemplary: No
Exemplary Narrative
Project Tags: Digital Collections, Preservation