---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Schaffner,Jennifer <schaffnj(a)oclc.org>
Date: Wed, Mar 28, 2012 at 4:42 PM
IMLS-Funded Grant for Improving Access
to Archives and Special Collections is Underway
March 26 2012
For Immediate Release – please distribute broadly
Last fall, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) awarded
a National Leadership Grant to the J. Willard Marriott Library at the
University of Utah on behalf of three consortia: (a) Utah Academic
Library Consortium’s Mountain West Digital Library, (b) Orbis Cascade
Alliance’s Northwest Digital Archives, and (c) Rocky Mountain Online
Archive, hosted by the University of New Mexico.
Objective
This collaborative planning grant is a one-year project Planning for a
Western Archival Network: Administrative, Technical, and End User
Concerns. The three consortia on the grant are currently exploring
ways to improve user access to Encoded Archival Description (EAD)
finding aids describing the archival materials in our three Western
regions, possibly via a central “Western EAD search portal.” Fifteen
staff members representing the three consortia met in Albuquerque in
January to examine ways to create better user experiences and realize
cost efficiencies through shared standards, technology and
administration. Follow up meetings are planned in Salt Lake City, UT
in April and Portland, OR in September.
Impact
This project will have national impact for both end users, and the EAD
community at large. Once the planning is completed and the methods
implemented, end users will have easier and quicker access to both a
greater volume and diversity of archival materials. The intent is to
provide a model that other organizations can implement so that
consortia across the country benefit from reduced costs and increased
access to collections.
Dr. Gregory Thompson, Associate Dean for Special Collections at the
Marriott Library, and principal investigator on the grant states: “We
are extremely excited about how this grant will open the doors to
incredible collections across the west… In the long-term, citizens
everywhere will encounter easier and faster online access to
historical photographs, manuscripts, oral histories, and many other
rare and historic materials.”
Outcomes
Based on the grant activities, final recommendations and a report will
be released in October 2012. The three consortia hope to pursue
additional collaborative funding for the implementation phase of the
project.
Contact Information
Questions and comments about the grant may be directed to:
· University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott Library:
Gregory Thompson, Associate Dean for Special Collections, and
Principal Investigator for the grant (801) 581-3421,
greg.c.thompson(a)utah.edu
· Mountain West Digital Library:
Sandra McIntyre, Program Director, (801) 585-0969, sandra.mcintyre(a)utah.edu
· Northwest Digital Archives:
Jodi Allison-Bunnell, Program Manager, (406) 829-6528, jodiab(a)uoregon.edu
· Rocky Mountain Online Archive:
Kathlene Ferris, Digital Programs Manager, (505) 277-7172, kferris(a)unm.edu
###
Background on the Consortia
Three consortia of EAD partners are working together on this project:
· The Utah Academic Library Consortium (
http://ualc.net) is a
40-year-old consortium of 14 academic libraries in Utah, along with
the Utah State Library and affiliate member libraries in Utah, Nevada,
and Idaho. UALC partners cooperate in continually improving the
availability and delivery of library and information services to the
higher education community and to the State of Utah, through fostering
research, developing and implementing cooperative library programs;
providing a means for the exchange of information on cooperative
library ventures; maximizing limited resources by improving library
methods and avoiding expensive duplicate purchases; maximizing
information delivery through shared use of technology and human
resources; and acting as an advocate for excellence in library
resources and services. One of the flagship programs of the UALC is
the Mountain West Digital Library (
http://mwdl.org), a free search
portal to 350 digital collections containing over 650,000 resources
about the Mountain West region from 62 partnering libraries, archives,
and other cultural heritage institutions. Eight partners of the MWDL
maintain EAD files, and several more are involved in creating new EAD
collections.
· The Orbis Cascade Alliance (
http://www.orbiscascade.org) is a
consortium of 36 academic libraries in Oregon and Washington. Alliance
member libraries work together to provide outstanding services to
students and faculty, share information resources and expertise,
develop library staff, and help members allocate financial and human
resources to serve the unique needs of each member. To this end, the
Alliance considers the combined collections of member institutions as
one collection. The Alliance supports a number of services that
support this vision, including Summit, a system that allows students,
faculty and staff to easily search and request library materials owned
by member libraries; courier service offering delivery of library
materials in Oregon, Washington and Idaho; the Northwest Digital
Archives (
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org), which offers enhanced access
to primary sources in the Northwest U.S.; cooperative purchasing for
databases, ebooks and ejournals; and other digital library services.
· The University of New Mexico University Libraries
(
http://elibrary.unm.edu) provides the infrastructure for the 30
contributing institutions in New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming of the
Rocky Mountain Online Archive (
http://rmoa.unm.edu ). UNM supports and
maintains RMOA as a service to libraries, museums and archives in the
three states with the goal of improving access to manuscript and
archival collections. Initiated with a grant from the National
Endowment for the Humanities in 2004, continuing support comes from
the UNM University Libraries and the Center for Regional Studies.
Jodi Allison-Bunnell
Program Manager, Northwest Digital Archives
Orbis Cascade Alliance
418 Woodford
Missoula, MT 59801
jodiab(a)uoregon.edu
(406) 829-6528
fax (860) 540-8281
I am in the Mountain time zone (two hours ahead of Alaska, one hour
ahead of Pacific, one hour behind Central, two hours behind Eastern)
Researcher website:
http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/index.shtml
Member website:
http://orbiscascade.org/index/northwest-digital-archives
--
June Samaras
KALAMOS BOOKS
(For Books about Greece)
2020 Old Station Rd
Streetsville,Ontario
Canada L5M 2V1
Tel : 905-542-1877
E-mail : kalamosbooks(a)gmail.com
www.kalamosbooks.com
http://kalamosb.alibrisstore.com/
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