Project Title: Traveling Culture: Circuit Chautauqua Iowa Programs Project

 

Department/organizational unit(s):  Digital Library Services

 

Mentor Name(s): Nicole Saylor

 

Brief project description: Created as part of the Library of Congress’ American Memories initiative, Traveling Culture: Circuit Chautauqua in the Twentieth Century is a digital collection that includes almost 8,000 digital objects from UI Libraries Special Collections. Publicity brochures, promotional advertisements and talent circulars for some 4,546 performers who were part of the Chautauqua circuit are included in the online collection. Special Collections has identified priorities for the next phase of digitization: the Iowa programs. The fellow would be charged with surveying the physical collection to identify the Iowa programs, scanning and metadata, and working with Digital Library Services and Special Collections to develop a project plan to guide future Chautauqua digitization efforts.

 

Examples of key activities:

  • Surveying the collection to identify Iowa programs for scanning
  • Helping to develop a project plan that outlines a long-term digitization strategy
  • Working with Preservation on scanning brittle paper
  • Metadata creation
  • Digitization
  • Participate in discussions about how to migrate the collection to CONTENTdm
  • Developing or enhancing Web content describing the collection to account for the addition of the Iowa Programs

 

Number of students that can be accommodated:  Either 1 or 2

 

Duration:  Fall 07 and beyond

 

Training:

Prerequisite skills:  Basic computer skills

Acquired skills:  Working knowledge of CONTENTdm, PhotoshopCS, and Adobe Contribute software; data migration skills; experience using Dublin Core; digitizing photograph and paper documents; HTML/web design skills; research and writing skills

 

Software/Hardware Involved:

  • CONTENTdm (digital asset management software)
  • PhotoshopCS (photo editing software)
  • Adobe Contribute 4.0 (web design software)

 

External expertise requested in/for:  Experience working with Preservation on the digitization of fragile documents

 

Tangible end product, if any:  Digital collection migration, including explanatory Web site