1. Collaborations in Digitization: Digitizing UMBC Historic Photographs MLA Technical Services Division Lindsey Loeper Special Collections Archivist University of Maryland, Baltimore County Be Creative and Collaborative: Building your digital collections as part of a team

2. 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?

3. 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 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 Special Collections Reading Room, circa 1975

4. 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.

5. 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/

6. 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.

7. 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. http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/3295498 512/ Student staff members; circa 1968- 1969. University Archives. http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/u?/UARCphotos,31

8. 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.

9. 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!

10. 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)

11. 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/

12. 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."

13. 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

14. 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

15. What each partner contributes may change for each digital project! Rare local history book You have: Potential content Nearby university has: Author's papers Established online collection of writings Promotion Digitization equipment Diary of prominant local author Literary society (HoCoPoLitSo) has: Potential content Subject knowledge Access for their constiuency People hours to transcribe You have: Digitization equipment Online access interface

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. Partner within your organization: Theatre Department Production MaterialsTheatre Department Production Materials 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 Cabaret, Spring 2001

21. Partner within your organization: The Retriever Weekly http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/retriever.php Currently available: Fall 1966-1982, 2002-2011 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 University Archives research

22. 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

23. Identify local, regional or state teammates: 1.) Volunteers from subject interest groups 2.) Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage http://www.mdch.org http://www.mdch.org EPFL and SLRC The Fireman's Record (1891, 1911) Ferdinand C. Latrobe papersFerdinand C. Latrobe papers (MDCH) Ferdinand C. Latrobe papersFerdinand C. Latrobe papers (finding aid)

24. Identify regional teammates: 3.) To strengthen a grant applications and/or large scale projects, partner with organizations that collect related materials. UMBC and UM College Park both hold photographs from the Baltimore News American: UMCP's collection guide 4.) Look for opportunities related to shared anniversaries: War of 1812 1968 Baltimore riots Baltimore Fire (1904) Poe's birthday (1809) Baltimore Sun 175th (2012) UMBC's 50th (2016) MHCC Civil War in Your Attic (2011-2012)

25. 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/

26. Identify regional teammates: 6.) Become familiar with related collections at other institutions. Look for opportunities to collaborate in case key resources are made available. Example: Hughes Company Collection and future partnership with the Maryland Historical Society 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/

27. 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)Repositories List

28. 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 NHPRCNHPRC - Basic, Detailed, Electronic Processing Maryland SHRAB Maryland Humanities Council grants

29. Thank you! Questions? Lindsey Loeper Special Collections Archivist Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery University of Maryland, Baltimore County lindseyloeper@umbc.edu (410) 455-6290