Newsletter: January 2008
Site visit
The project team started off the New Year hosting representatives from the State Library who came to an all-day meeting with Heritage Partners. The Home Team prepared reports of work completed during Year III and Anna presented those reports—along with new site additions—to the group. Thanks to Tim for completing the detailed authority work, to Ginny for revisions to the metadata, and to Melissa for attending to improvements and corrections to the website. Anna’s presentation and HT reports were distributed to the team in hard copy. The 50-page report will be available on the Library Insider page. Thanks to the Mountain Heritage Center for providing a venue for the meeting. Viewing the website and report side-by-side on the auditorium’s large projection screen added to the clarity of the presentation.
Site revisions and additions
In response to a usability study commissioned last spring, Melissa and Anna have been working on revamping the site to add a new Home Page. The new page allows for multiple access points to the story as well as direct access to The Collections. Each previous top-level page—The Story, The People, The Crafts—was re-written to include multiple links to pages across the site and to second-tier pages beneath each access portal. It has taken a while for there to be enough individual digital database elements to create a site that is dynamic in its ability to link to multiple, illustrative images. The project has finally reached that critical mass.
Collection portal
One of the most significant results of the usability study was to point out the confusion the public had between the historic story and the contemporary project. We almost folded this additional information into the About the Project section, but decided it merited a more visible place on the website. The result is a 4th portal—The Collections—on the Home Page. Heritage Partners are working with Ginny to create finding aids to their collections. Several of these are now up, available from The Collections portal as the project’s “Collection Guides.”
Database numbers
The initial grant for the project promised between 2,500 and 3,000 scans to be uploaded to the database by the end of Year III. We are currently at 2,022 with many more CDs in the cue. Included in the database are a few new video clips. Melissa has re-worked the Database “front page” so that it doesn’t look as if you’ve left the website. In other words, the new Database front page is now customized with the same design scheme as the rest of the site. Heritage Partners are completing their targets for Year III, both in terms of number of scans and completing scans of specific items in their collections.
Storyboard contributions
Anna has been working with Heritage Partners to fill in significant pieces of the story while highlighting past publications that HPs have produced. New on the site are biographies of Brasstown carvers from a Folk School publication, selections for the Iron section from a Mt. Heritage Center catalog, and a number of Glossaries produced by the Guild. These take their places along side two storyboards that George and Michelle are working on: George’s travelogues and Michelle’s Penland storyboards. While we haven’t yet added new Lesson Plans, a half dozen are currently in the editorial cue.
Home Team work
Ginny is almost finished with reviewing and revising metadata and is now working on finishing up finding aids with HPs. Tim has completed the authority work and is now uploading new material. George and Melissa are working on the next travelogue. Anna is finishing up Brasstown carvers metadata, corresponding Carving webpages, and carvers’ bios for The People section. She has been researching SHCG member files and filling in details to craftsmen’s lives. Jason has double-checked facts on each new webpage and tracked down citations. Melissa is building pages as they are written.
Spin-offs
Anna has been asked to write an entry on the Craft Revival for the revised Encyclopedia of the South.
Qualla Arts progress report
Tonya and Anna are working closely with Qualla Arts and Crafts in preparation for beginning work on their basket collection. Qualla’s equipment is in place—thanks to Hunter’s Robin Hitch and Qualla staff. Tonya and Anna are beginning to identify basket patterns and make connections between generations of makers.
Year IV
Anna and Jason are beginning to gather information for Year IV grant application that will be due in March.
New staffing
With additional staff support, Year III has been extremely productive. We’ve gone from one full-time and two part-time Hunter project staff to six. In addition to two librarians—Tim and Ginny—Margaret Watson, Hunter Library’s new in-house budget manager, now tracks administration. Margaret is working directly with a new University level grant officer. These changes have significantly streamlined grant management. Tonya Carroll graduated in December and is now working 30 hours a week on the project.
New Library Dean
Within a few weeks Bil Stahl passes the leadership baton to Dr. Dana Sally who comes on board as Dean of the Library on Feb. 11th. Bil has been chief administrator of the Craft Revival project since its inception. We look forward to working with the new Dean and have promised our Partners and funders that the transition will be smooth. Thanks Bil, for your support.
Anna
Hunter Library | Library Insider | Last updated: 2/4/08 Melissa Young