Building Bridges with Boats: Preserving Community History through Intra- and Inter-Institutional Collaboration

This chapter discusses Launching through the Surf: The Dory Fleet of Pacific City, a project which documents the historical and contemporary role of dory fishers in the life of the coastal village of Pacific City, Oregon, U.S. Linfield College’s Department of Theatre and Communication Arts, its Jereld R. Nicholson Library, the Pacific City Arts Association, the Pacific City Dorymen\u27s Association, and the Linfield Center for the Northwest joined forces to engage in a collaborative college and community venture to preserve this important facet of Oregon’s history. Using ethnography as a theoretical grounding and oral history as a method, the project utilized artifacts from the dory fleet to augment interview data, and faculty/student teams created a searchable digital archive available via open access. The chapter draws on the authors’ experiences to identify a philosophy of strategic collaboration. Topics include project development and management, assessment, and the role of serendipity. In an era of value-added services where libraries need to continue to prove their worth, partnering with internal and external entities to create content is one way for academic libraries to remain relevant to agencies that do not have direct connections to higher education. This project not only developed a positive “town and gown” relationship with a regional community, it also benefited partner organizations as they sought to fulfill their missions. The project also serves as a potential model for intra- and inter-agency collaboration for all types of libraries

DeWitt Wallace Library Biennial Report 2007-2009

This report summarizes the activities in the DeWitt Wallace Library for the years 2007-09. This report is a collaborative effort by the entire staff and features highlights including new services, new people, new collections, new spaces, new technologies, and celebrations

Harnessing Openness to Improve Research, Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Colleges and universities should embrace the concept of increased openness in the use and sharing of information to improve higher education. That is the core recommendation of this report. The report was produced by CED's Digital Connections Council (DCC), a group of information technology experts that advises CED's business leaders on cutting-edge technologies

The Memory Keeper: Analyzing the Importance of Collecting and Preserving Oral Histories in a Twenty-First Century University Archival Repository

Recognizing the importance of collecting and incorporating individuals’ memories into an institution’s archival repository is a fundamental task that archivists must professionally and ethically accept. Depending on the repository’s specific needs and mission goals the collection policies will differ; however, disregarding the personal stories of the working population of the university is a disservice to archival collecting. How can a user analyze the completed history of an academic institution without providing the documented input and sharing of personal experiences of faculty, staff, and students? How can a researcher evaluate theory and explore a multitude of viewpoints, if only printed media is available as research tools? How then, does a university archivist preserve the cultural memory—or “the spiritual and familial practices,” and oral traditions of an academic institution? How are oral histories represented in the historical narrative of a college or university? Unfortunately, more often than not, the oral histories of a university community remain largely uncollected and underrepresented. Collections that do have interview transcripts or recordings of individuals are more likely to document those who are in a position of authority in the university community than those who are responsible for its daily operations. Currently the University of Massachusetts Boston’s University Archives and Special Collections holds only two oral history collections regarding individual employee experiences and personal remembrances. For a University that is approaching its fiftieth year as an academic institution, why are only a handful of such stories and personal journeys preserved? Obviously, an archivist is not physically able to collect the personal stories of every individual who has been a part of the UMass Boston community, but as a keeper of memory, how does an archival institution decide what is, and is not, worth collecting and preserving

Making Your Mobile Device an Art Expert: Using QR Codes to Tell the Story Behind artiFACTS in Your Library

Have you ever wondered about the stories behind the public art in your library? Every object has the potential to tell a story—the paintings, the sculpture, the furniture, and the building itself. At Musselman Library, Gettysburg College, we use QR codes as the technical means to satisfy the natural curiosity of our patrons. Historical information already available in our Special Collections and College Archives was repurposed for the mobile-friendly environment. The artiFACTS project proved to be simple, scalable, and a great opportunity for collaboration. This article will discuss how we implemented artiFACTS, including creating QR codes, marketing to campus constituencies and visitors, gathering feedback from students and faculty members, and evaluating the project’s success