NEWSLETTER January 2006
PROJECT STAFF
With the beginning of the spring semester, the project took off with the help of two new graduate students from WCU’s Public History program. Christian Dwight and Anne Collins are each working on the project. At the first of the semester, students were treated to a refresher course in scanning and Content dm. Along with undergrad Travis Hurdle, all three are assisting a number of Heritage Partners with scanning and data input. These well-trained students will be available throughout the semester, depending on their class schedules, of course. A second undergrad, Hannah Jones, continues work on the artisan files, which will be helpful in cross-referencing biographical material.
Also, I’d like to formally welcome Brian Sealy, Hunter’s Metadata Librarian to the project. Brian has been assisting with revising metadata rules and the controlled vocabulary lists. Brian came to the Hunter last summer at about the same time as I did, so we’ve both had to find our way in a new place and on a new project. An advantage to having Brian on board is that, in his position as part of the library’s Cataloging Dept., he can help pave the way for future digitization projects that the Hunter may want to undertake. We’ve talked about ways to integrate these future projects into the library’s cataloging system.
DATABASE
We had a few false starts with the test images, but it now appears that everyone’s equipment and software is working fine. We’ve received and posted images from each of the Heritage Partners. Both the Campbell Folk School and Penland have begun scanning brochures that tell about the early history of their respective schools. The Mountain Heritage Center is scanning photographs of period objects in their collection. We will be using their collection to show how things were made before, during, and after the Revival as points of comparison. Here at the Hunter Library, Special Collections is providing images that will set the stage for the site’s storyboard. We have selected scenic postcards and illustrations from 19th century travel guides to show how western North Carolina looked on the eve of the Revival.
PRESS RELEASE
Western’s public relations department sent out a press release that announces the project to the public. Included in the release is an announcement of the new URL for the project’s promotional website: http://craftrevival.wcu.edu
PROMOTIONAL WEBSITE
Thanks to the patience of Cullowhee weaver Neal Howard, we’ve added a new set of hands to the promotional website. Please take a look. The site is currently at: http://www.wcu.edu/libtestbed/testthings/craftrevival/index.htm, but will soon be moving to: http://craftrevival.wcu.edu
LSTA SITE VISIT
The activity that has consumed most of my time this month is our preparation for the LSTA site visit. On February 6th and 7th a team of four will be coming to Cullowhee to meet with project leaders and partners. They will be making separate visits to the Folk School and Penland. For those of you who might be interested, I am attaching the site visit itinerary.
YEAR II PARNERS
I am in touch with our Year II Heritage Partners, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian and Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc. In February, I will be visiting them in Cherokee to finalize our agreement. I am so pleased that they will be coming on board. The Craft Revival is one of western North Carolina’s most significant untold stories and Cherokee craftsmen played a large part, and in many ways, were its inspiration.
YEAR II GRANT APPLICATION
The grant application is due in Raleigh on March 22nd. During our last few meetings, Bil and I have talked about what we’ll need to submit. Basically, we are still following our initial plan, with a few exceptions. Notable, we were overly ambitious in the number of images we thought we could process during the grant year. Except for that change and a few, rather minor budget adjustments, we will be moving forward with drafting the Year II grant application. I hope to have this to you before the meeting, so that we can talk about it at the meeting and still have a bit of time for revisions before submission.
NEXT MEETING
Our spring Advisory meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 8th. Bil suggested we aim for spring break so that parking will not be so much of an issue. After polling the group, spring break was the best week, so we’ve got a date. The past format has been working well. Advisors and Partners attend the morning session (10-noon); Partners and Project Team attend the afternoon session (1:30-3:30). We will again be providing lunch for Advisors and Partners. I look forward to seeing you all again.
Anna Fariello
February 1, 2006
Hunter Library | Library Insider | Last updated: 2/15/06 Melissa Young