Bringing Local History OnlineEmily Pfotenhauer, Recollection Wisconsin Program Manager, WiLSWisconsin Council for Local History Regional Meeting, Capital RegionBrodhead, Wisconsin – August 14, 2014

recollectionwisconsin.org provides free access to a growing set of state and local history resources from the collections of libraries, archives, museums and historical societies across Wisconsin.

South Wood County Historical Museumhttp://content.mpl.org/u?/swch,64

Recollection Wisconsin also provides guidelines, training and support to contributing partners and offers opportunities for visitors to share their own stories, images and comments.

UW-Madison Archiveshttp://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SSRecIDSearch?

repl1=UW&repl2=UW.uwar00831.bib

Program sponsors and partners• WiLS (Wisconsin Library Services)• Milwaukee Public Library• University of Wisconsin-Madison• Wisconsin Historical Society• Nicholas Family Foundation• Academic libraries, public libraries, archives,

museums, and historical societies around the state

Wisconsin Historical Societyhttp://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/maps/id/248

Contributing Partnersrecollectionwisconsin.org/map

August 2014: recollectionwisconsin.org includes…199,403 historical resources from 213 digital collections

…and more content is added every month.

McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapidshttp://content.mpl.org/u?/mcml,1319

• Photographs• Postcards• Letters • Diaries• Maps• Yearbooks• Scrapbooks• Music• Recipes

• City directories• Local histories• County histories• Oral histories• Artifacts• Artworks• Magazine articles• Newspaper clippings

New Berlin Historical Societyhttp://content.mpl.org/u?/nbhs,33

Behind the recollectionwisconsin.org website is a search engine that brings together information about the digital items contributed by our partners. This search engine is like a bridge, linking users to content from around the state.

Oshkosh Public Libraryhttp://oshkoshpub.cdmhost.com/cdm/ref/

collection/p15089coll3/id/24

Eau Claire

Ashland

Metadata, links and thumbnail images harvested by UW-Madison GLS using OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting)

Search results link users back to original sourceManitowoc

South Wood County Historical Museumhttp://content.mpl.org/cdm/singleitem/

collection/swch/id/1229/rec/232

Why digitize?• Connect to your

community• Reach new audiences• Improve access to

“invisible” materials• Protect fragile or heavily

used materials• Learn more about your

collections• Contribute to our

collective knowledge

What do you mean, digitize?

• Select materials• Reformat materials (scan

or photograph)• Add metadata

(descriptive information)• Provide access• Store and maintain digital

files and data (digital preservation)

Wisconsin Historical SocietyMilwaukee Public Libraryhttp://content.mpl.org/u?/mcml,1319

Before you even start…..

• Don’t scan a mess! Take the time to assess and organize your originals.

• A digital project is an ideal time to evaluate collection conditions and rehouse materials as needed.

• Resources for collections care and organization:– Wisconsin Historical Society Field Services staff– Wisconsin Archives Mentoring Service

http://www.uwosh.edu/archives/wams/– National Park Service Conserve-O-Grams

http://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/cons_toc.html

Who’s your audience?

Milwaukee Public Libraryhttp://content.mpl.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/

MilwWaterwa/id/462/rec/6

• Local residents• Former residents• Students and teachers• Genealogists• Hobbyists (e.g. Civil War

re-enactors, railroad buffs)• Academic researchers• Curious Wisconsinites

Selection - Setting Priorities

Ask yourself which materials are…• most significant?• most used?• oldest?• newest?• at risk?

Wisconsin Historical Society WHi-36392

Considering copyright:Can I put this online?

UW-Milwaukee Librarieshttp://collections.lib.uwm.edu/cdm/ref/collection/gfmmke/id/483

• Item is in the public domain – No longer under

copyright; you’re free to use

• Item is in copyright– Contact copyright holder

to request permission to publish online

Tools for determining copyright status

• Public Domain Sherpa: Public Domain Calculatorhttp://www.publicdomainsherpa.com/calculator.html

• Copyright Advisory Network– Copyright Slider:

http://librarycopyright.net/resources/digitalslider/ – Copyright Genie:

http://librarycopyright.net/resources/genie/

Metadata = information about stuff

Field Name Sample Data

Title DiVall barber shop, Middleton, 1925

Subjects Barbers; Barbershops

Type Still image

Format image/tiff

Rights statement This material may be protected by copyright law. The user is responsible for all issues of copyright.

File name 2006_01_12.tif

Submitter Middleton Area Historical Society

Date digitized 2013-04-05

Middleton Area Historical Society

Field Name Sample Data

Creator Bartle, F. C.

Date Created 1925-09-12 OR 1920-1930

Materials Photographs

Description Ralph DiVall (left) and Edwin T. Baltes (right) shave two men seated in barber chairs. According to a family history on file at the Society, DiVall operated this barber shop from the 1920s until his retirement on July 1, 1966.

Location Middleton, Dane County, Wisconsin

Collection DiVall Family Collection

Identifier 2006.01.12

Middleton Area Historical Society

Metadata = information about stuff

• Scanner• Outsourcing imaging to a

commercial vendor• Digital camera and related

equipment• Internet access• Software for providing online

access• Storage for digital files• Archival storage supplies• Be sure to budget for TIME and

SPACE

Potential project costs

Mount Horeb Public Libraryhttp://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/SSRecIDSearch?repl1=WI&repl2=WI.hitch0187.bib

Finding funding• Grants

– Historical societies: WI Council for Local History mini-grants

– Public libraries: LSTA Digitization of Local Resources grants (Dep’t of Public Instruction)

– Local corporations or foundations

• In-kind contributions– Tech support– Equipment use

• Biggest expense is TIME– Paid staff time– “Free” volunteer time– Students/interns Ripon College

– File naming– Digital preservation– Protecting your physical

collections– Metadata– Project promotion– Video tutorials on photo

scanning and assigning titles to historic photos

recollectionwisconsin.org/guidelines

– Project planning– Selecting materials– Copyright– Creating digital images

Woodville Community Libraryhttp://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/

SSRecIDSearch?repl1=WI&repl2=WI.indh0078.bib

Ways to participate

Add up to 50 items to the Recollection Wisconsin Shared Collection• Simple submission form at

recollectionwi.org/contribution

• Free• Uses Omeka software

Wisconsin Historical Societyhttp://collections.lib.uwm.edu/cdm/ref/collection/march/id/663

Ways to participate

Build a collection hosted by Milwaukee Public Library through Recollection Wisconsin• $200 one-time setup fee• Annual hosting fees starting

at $75 for 500 items• Uses CONTENTdm software

McMillan Memorial Libraryhttp://content.mpl.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/mcml/id/178/rec/33

http://content.mpl.org/ashland

Wisconsin Historical Society WHi-19562

Ways to participate

Build a collection using a compatible platform of your choice.• D.I.Y. database (the

Brodhead method)• PastPerfect Online• Omeka• ResCarta

To be harvested by Recollection Wisconsin: $100 one-time setup fee; $50 annual hosting fee.

Thank You!Emily Pfotenhaueremily@wils.org608-616-5796

recollectionwisconsin.org/organizations

Mineral Point Historical Societyhttp://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/

singleitem/collection/mphs/id/3/rec/29