Newsletter: October 2008
Newsletter
I am sending this out to some new people. Anyone who does not wish to receive this newsletter, please hit reply (not reply to all) and ask to unsubscribe.
Systematic review of Contentdm
Unfortunately, we continue to have problems with Contentdm. After noticing a few images mismatched to metadata, the Home Team took on a systematic review of the database. In June 2007 the project had hired Ginny Daley to complete an item-by-item review of database entries. We know that there were none of these problems at that time. This past month, with a fully staffed Home Team, we split up database entries by Partner to complete a systematic, item-by-item review. This review revealed that, of 3,000 project images, 100 were corrupted. Anna Craft created a spreadsheet that shows which items were affected; this has been sent to Contentdm for review.
Digital submissions
In response to this issue, we have asked Partners not to use their Contentdm Acquisition Stations. Anna and I spent the last month creating and revising a template for metadata input. The template closely follows the look of the Contentdm form. We’ve tried out this new way of entering data in Cherokee and have had one other Partner try it out (thanks Deb!). We believe the new system will work well, eliminating one factor in pinning down the cause of the Contentdm scramble. Now, the only direct entry points to Contentdm are located on 3 workstations in the Hunter Library.
Metadata Word-doc Template
While our initial reason for implementing this new workflow process was because of technical problems we are having with Contentdm, the new procedure allows the Hunter Library more control over uploading content and images. After testing these new documents and processes, we have created a free-flowing pipeline for submissions that begins at each Partner site and moves through a number of checkpoints before going up on the web. Each of our 7 Partners will be receiving a CD with the new Metadata Entry Form, Instruction Sheet, and Scan Log. These will be sent out out in a subsequent email.
New Project Assistant: Kate Carter
Kate Carter has joined the project as a Project Assistant. Kate has a BA in History and has taken graduate coursework in Cherokee Language and Cherokee History as part of WCU’s Cherokee Studies program. She had an internship at the Center for Southeastern Native American Studies, and has 7 years experience at the Schiele Museum of Natural History in South Carolina. As an introduction to the project, Kate read over the website, but she also noted any typos or dead links. While there were not many, Kate did find enough to make the review time worthwhile. Kate is also a Scanning Assistant at the Museum of the Cherokee.
Training
Anna F. and Jason have been training new staff at Partner sites in Cherokee. Qualla is working with Lucas Rogers and Yona Wade as Scanning Assistants. Kate is across the street at the Museum. We’ve begun by scanning folders of photographs of Cherokee basketmakers.
New database entries
After a short hiatus, during which we re-formatted our entry process, new items are beginning to enter the project’s pipeline. There are new images up from Qualla and from the Southern Highland Craft Guild. The Qualla images depict Lottie Queen Stamper making baskets, and from SHCG we have photographs of Craftsman's Fairs of the Southern Highlands, including pictures of Lottie Stamper, Lucy George, Maude Welch, Goingback Chiltoskey, and Caroline Wolfe. We expect to have many more images going up now that we’ve opened the faucet.
New webpages
With so much to do in terms of re-inventing our process, we don’t have much in the way of new web pages this month. After setting up a poster session last month and another this month, Anna had the idea of including photographs of this exhibit—and various others that illustrate the project—as part of the project’s documentation. See the new Exhibits pages at:
http://craftrevival.wcu.edu/about/exhibits.html
Site Visits
Anna Craft and I made site visits to the John C. Campbell Folk School and to both Cherokee sites. At the Folk School we met with Anna Shearouse (yes, another Anna) to evaluate what items we want to upload before the end of this year. Anna F. spent a second day there and photographed ironwork by Oscar Cantrell and additional Brasstown carvings. She and Jason are working on the metadata for these items. We are also working with Peter Koch and Michelle Francis to determine what is left from the Mountain Heritage Center and Penland School of Crafts that should be added before the end of the EHCO-funded phase of the project.
Outreach
Anna F. participated in the Society of NC Archivists meeting at ASU in Boone a few weeks ago by putting up an informational poster display. Part of the display was a powerpoint presentation explaining the history and scope of the Craft Revival, the Craft Revival project, and the Cherokee basket project sponsored by the Cherokee Preservation Foundation. Anna was also one of the judges for this year’s annual autumn Cherokee Indian Fair. She got to see lots of wonderful Cherokee artworks. It was terrific to participate in an event that has been going on since the Craft Revival period. We have flagged a collection of historic fair guides in the Cherokee Museum’s collection that will be scanned.
Possible IMLS grant
Anna F. has initiated a conversation with a grant officer from the Institute of Museum and Library Services about a grant application. The new proposal will allow us to continue adding to the Craft Revival website and expand the training side of the project. Specifically, we want to enable the Library to continue to add to its digital collections, strengthen the library’s Home Team, and develop a viable workflow as part of the next grant proposal. While the grant application is not due until early spring, federal grants are complex, so we are beginning to outline our needs and goals. Anna will be meeting with IMLS in November.
Advisory Meeting
Since we will only be having one Advisory meeting this semester instead of the usual two, we will try to find a date that works for everyone’s schedule. Jason will be contacting all Partners and Advisors. Our meeting will fall somewhere between December 1 and 17th. Please look at your schedules and tell us what days do NOT work for you; we hope to be able to find one or two days that are open for everyone.
Anna
Hunter Library | Library Insider | Last updated: 11/3/08 Melissa Young