Delivered for WiLSWorld 2018 on July 24th in Madison, WI by Laura Damon-Moore, Community Engagement Librarian, Madison Public Library; Ann Hanlon, Head, Digital Collections and Initiatives and DH Lab, UW-Milwaukee; Erin F. H. Hughes, Mukurtu Hub Manager, WiLS; Greg Kocken, Special Collections Librarian and University Archivist, UW-Eau Claire; Emily Pfotenhauer, Community Liaison and Service Specialist, WiLS; Randi Ramsden, Program Coordinator, National Digital Newspaper Program, Wisconsin Historical Society; Tamara Ramski, Digitization Assistant, South Central Library System; and Vicki Tobias, Program Coordinator, Curating Community Digital Collections, WiLS This fast-paced session highlights new tools and innovative approaches Wisconsin libraries are using to create, share and preserve digital collections. Projects include efforts to collect oral histories and music memorabilia from community members, partnerships with local artists to reimagine digitized special collections, text mining of historical newspapers, managing Indigenous digital collections in culturally responsive ways, centralized digitization training and support for public libraries, and building LIS students’ skills in digital stewardship through hands-on fieldwork at small libraries, archives and museums around the state.

1. Innovations
in
Digital
Projects
WiLSWorld 2018
Image: UW-Madison Archives/University
of Wisconsin Digital Collections

2. 1. Vicki Tobias
Recollection Wisconsin/WiLS
2. Ann Hanlon
UW-Milwaukee
3. Randi Ramsden
Wisconsin Historical Society
4. Erin F.H. Hughes
WiLS
5. Greg Kocken
UW-Eau Claire
6. Tamara Ramski
South Central Library System
7. Laura Damon-Moore
Madison Public Library
8. Emily Pfotenhauer
Recollection Wisconsin/WiLS
Presenters:

3. Curating
Community
Digital
Collections
Vicki Tobias
Program Coordinator
vicki@wils.org

4. Digital Stewardship Practicum Experience
What is Curating Community Digital Collections?
• Goals
• IMLS-funded
• WiLS/Recollection Wisconsin
• Education focus
• Building community around digital stewardship!
Participants - Teams
• Host sites/host site supervisor(s)
• Professional mentor
• iSchool/SOIS graduate student
• Six teams in 2018, ten teams in 2019

5. Application process
• Winter 2018
• Host sites
• Students
Immersion Workshop
• Spring 2018
• 3 days in Madison
• Workflows, tools, best practices
• Amy Rudersdorf, AVP consultant
• Local experts
Digital Stewardship Practicum Experience

6. Summer 2018 participants
• Barron County Historical Society
• Jodi Kiffmeyer, Heather Stecklein, Sara Beer, Tammy Schutz
• La Crosse Public Library
• Jessica Behrman, Jesse Henderson, Scott Brouwer
• Manitowoc County Historical Society
• Cameron Fontaine, Pete Shrake, Amy Meyer
• College of Menominee Nation
• Steve Moray, Kristin Briney, Bethany Huse
• Outagamie Waupaca Library System
• Kristina Warner, Amy Cooper Cary, Amanda Lee
• Rock County Historical Society
• Sarah Lange, Stacey Erdman, Kristin Arnold, Kathy Boguszewski
Digital Stewardship Practicum Experience

7. 2018 Teams
La Crosse Public Library
Rock Co. Historical Society
Barron Co. Historical Society
College of Menominee Nation Manitowoc Co. Historical Society OWLS

8. Summer practicum projects
• June-Aug 2018
• Site visits and mentor check-ins
• Virtual capstone event
• Academic credit + summer stipend for students
Focus & goals
• Varies with each institution
• Content? photos, audio/video, oral histories…
• Digitized or born-digital, NOT digitization projects
• Digital preservation policy
• NDSA “Levels of Digital Preservation” – tiered
recommendations for digital preservation activities
(National Digital Stewardship Alliance – ndsa.org)
Digital Stewardship Practicum Experience

9. Project work and outcomes include…
• Workflows, best practices
• Tools and technology
• Inventories, metadata, scanning and QC, file
integrity checking, storage and backups,
documentation, policies and more!
• Virtual work and communication tools and
skills
• Team-based environment + support from
experts
• Confidence and expertise
• COMMUNITY, COMMUNITY, COMMUNITY!
Digital Stewardship Practicum Experience

10. What’s next for CCDC?
• Year one evaluation and assessment activities
• Year two host site and student application – Fall 2018
• TEN host sites and students in 2019
• New projects
• Interested? Contact us!
• Follow our progress
• Blog – https://recollectionwisconsin.org/digipres
• Questions? Contact vicki@wils.org
Digital Stewardship Practicum Experience

11. Look Here! Digital
Collections and
Transformative Reuse
Ann Hanlon, UWM Libraries
WiLSWorld, July 24, 2018

18. Randi Ramsden, NDNP coordinator
National Digital Newspaper
Program

19. • 2015-2017: 15 titles, over 110,000 pages
• 2017-2019: 26 titles, 100,000 pages
National Digital Newspaper Program

21. chroniclingamerica.loc.gov

22. Bulk Data Analysis
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
28 29 30 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
04 05
1886
Use of "Milwaukee," "Chicago," "Labor," and "Strike"
(4/28-5/12/1886)
Sum of Milwaukee
Sum of Chicago
Sum of Labor
Sum of Strike

23. Bulk Data Analysis

24. • Workshops
• Chronicling America Bulk Data
Mining
• Critical Thinking Curriculum
Contact us
www.wisconsinhistory.org/WisconsinNewspapers
Randi.Ramsden@wisconsinhistory.org

26. Mukurtu Hubs &
Spokes
A Sustainable Platform for Community Digital Archiving
IMLS National Leadership Grant 2016-2019
Washington State University, Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation
Erin F.H. Hughes
Mukurtu Hub Manager
mukurtu.org
wils.org/mukurtu-midwest
@mukurtu
November 2016, odysseyonline.com

27. • Establish regional Mukurtu "hubs" that
will provide training and support to
tribal library, archives and museum
“spokes”
• Expand adoption of Mukurtu CMS
• Facilitate user testing with spokes and
create detailed user stories
• Extend Mukurtu CMS development
from 2.0 to 3.0 release
Project Goals

28. –Letter to Isaac McPherson from Thomas Jefferson, August 13, 1813
“That ideas should freely spread from one to another over
the globe, for the moral and mutual instruction of man,
and improvement of his condition, seems to have been
peculiarly and benevolently designed by nature, when she
made them, like fire, expansible over all space, without
lessening their density in any point, and like the air in
which we breathe, move, and have our physical being,
incapable of confinement or exclusive appropriation.”

30. mukurtu:
'a safe keeping place’
Warumungu dilly bag
South Australian Museum

31. SHN: Introduction to Mukurtu Content Management System Slides

32. Community records

33. Traditional Knowledge Labels

34. Thank You!
Mukurtu in Action
Erin F.H. Hughes
Mukurtu Hub Manager
mukurtu.org
wils.org/mukurtu-midwest
@mukurtu
Sustainable Heritage Network
sustainableheritagenetwork.org
Sipnuuk (Karuk Tribe)
https://sipnuuk.mukurtu.net
Great Lakes Culture Keepers
http://greatlakesculturekeepers.org
Plateau Peoples’ Web Portal
https://plateauportal.libraries.wsu.edu/

35. Greg Kocken
Head of Special Collections and Archives, McIntyre
Library, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
kockeng@uwec.edu

36. “Music Capital of the North,” 2014
Sounds of Eau Claire Oral History Project, 2017
Sounds of Eau Claire History Harvest, 2018
Sounds of Eau Claire Digital Collection, 2018

37. Project Partners
• Public History Program, UW-Eau Claire
• McIntyre Library, Special Collections & Archives,
UW-Eau Claire
• Chippewa Valley Museum
• Converge Radio 99.9FM (formerly Blugold Radio)
• VolumeOne

38. Funding
• National Endowment for the Humanities
Common Heritage Fund
• Wisconsin Humanities Council
• History Department, UW-Eau Claire
• McIntyre Library, Special Collections & Archives,
UW-Eau Claire

39. Participants
• 28 individuals participated through invited oral
history interviews in 2017.
• Nearly 200 individuals attended two hosted
“history harvest” events, 48 individuals
contributed objects for digitization at these
events.

40. Platform
soundsofeauclaire.omeka.net

41. Lessons Learned
• Student partners do not understand the concept of
metadata. More time training students on metadata
was needed, but audio recording every digitization
session helped.
• Hosted omeka sites are easy when time is limited,
but will create sustainability problems once grant
funding ends.
• Do not underestimate the importance of advertising.
• Carefully evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of
project partners to develop a division of labor.
• Students learned to apply public history through the
hands-on experience.
• Developing a history harvest reflective of diverse
genres and perspectives.

42. Greg Kocken
Head of Special Collections and Archives, McIntyre
Library, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
kockeng@uwec.edu
Thank You!

43. Tamara Ramski, MLIS
Digitization Specialist
South Central Library System
4610 S. Biltmore Lane, Suite 101
Madison, WI 53718-2153
(608) 242-4866
www.scls.info
Centralized Digitization Training and Support for
Public Libraries

44. Public Libraries and Local History Collections
There is a need for local history materials that are housed in
public libraries to be preserved and made more discoverable
and accessible.
The South Central Library System (SCLS) began offering local
history digitization services in 2017 as part of a Library
Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant.
Condensary, 1914 (Albany, Wis).
(Source: Albertson Memorial Library)

45. Centralized Services Help Make Digitization Projects Possible
TIME: Library staff often have little time to put into digitization
projects
Centralized digitization services help remedy this concern by:
• Providing library staff with customized project plans.
• Providing metadata templates and training on creating
metadata.
• Providing training on digitization equipment and software.
• Coordinating collection set-up in Recollection Wisconsin.
• Uploading files and metadata to CONTENTdm (hosted by
Milwaukee Public Library).

46. Centralized Services Help Make Digitization Projects Possible
COSTS: Costs related to digitization can be an obstacle to
projects.
Centralized digitization services help remedy this concern by:
• LSTA Funds and the South Central Library Foundation have
provided funding for Recollection Wisconsin set-up fees and
equipment for member libraries.
• Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) pays annual
hosting fees for public libraries.

47. Project Workflow
Plan and prepare.
• Determine project mission.
• Select materials to be digitized.
• Determine copyright status of materials.
• Determine file storage, naming, and organization.
• Determine equipment and software needs.
• Establish a project workflow (Who/when/where/what/how).
204 Main Street, Reedsburg, Wisconsin.
(Source: Reedsburg Public Library)

48. Project Workflow (Continued)
• Create project plans.
• Create metadata templates (in Google Sheets).
• Provide training on using equipment, software, and creating
metadata.
• Library staff and volunteers process materials prior to
digitizing, digitize materials, and create metadata.
• Files are saved to external hard drives. When batches of
materials are digitized, a hard drive is sent to SCLS for
uploading to CONTENTdm (along with the metadata).
• Library staff and volunteers are trained on using and sharing
the digital collections.

49. Equipment
• Indus BookScanner 9000s
• Kits
• Scanning
• Cassette Digitization
• VHS Digitization
• External Hard Drives
• Libraries are given three external hard drives (3TB)

50. Equipment
Indus BookScanner 9000s
(Housed at SCLS Headquarters-not loaned
out)
• Scanning area is 18.9” x 24.5”
• Has two adjustable plates to cradle
bound items
• Laptop
• Software: Indus Virtual Library and
IrfanView

51. Equipment
Scanning Kit
Canon CanoScan 9000f Mark II Flatbed Scanner
• Has a scanning area of 8.5” x 11.7”
• 35mm film can be digitized with the CanoScan
Laptop
• Software: Canon CanoScan Utility, Canon My Image Garden,
IrfanView, and, Windows Photo Viewer

52. VHS Digitization Kit
• Sony Video Cassette Recorder
• ION Video 2PC HD Converter
• Laptop
• Software: CyberLink PowerDirector
Equipment
Cassette Digitization Kit
• Cassette player: Wikoo X001MVAOC1
• Cassette to MP3 Converter: V-Top Model AV202
• Laptop
• Software: Audacity

53. Metadata
Metadata is entered into Google Sheets.
• Elements are customized based on the types of materials.
• Determine what controlled vocabularies will be used.
Sheets include:
• Metadata entry sheets (for each sub-collection).
• Element descriptions chart.
• Right statements and URIs (from RightsStatements.org).
• Controlled vocabulary. Data-validation is used to create
drop-down lists in the metadata entry sheet for the Format,
Type, Subject(LCSH), and Rights elements.

54. Controlled Vocabulary SheetElement Description Chart

55. Image and metadata in CONTENTdm. Booker and Pinkie.
(Source: Dane County Library Service)

56. Innovating in Providing Centralized Training and Digitization
Support
• Variety of types and formats of materials.
• Developing workflows for different situations.
• Planning for the future-how the collections will be preserved
and shared over time.
Continually learning, discovering, and improving….
• Study and apply current best practices.
• Observe what others are doing.
• Collaborate with colleagues.
• Be creative and flexible with trying new workflows,
equipment, and applications.

57. Innovative Tools and Applications
Currently Using
• Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
• Makes text machine readable and searchable.
• Can be applied during upload process to CONTENTdm.
Implementing in the future (possibly…)
• Oral History Metadata Synchronizer (OHMS)-for creating
indexes and time stamps of audio or video files.
• File Maker-for metadata entry.
• Developing library programs around the digital collections.
Making sure the digital collections are used both outside and
inside the libraries.

58. Laura Damon-Moore
Community Engagement Librarian

59. Project goals
1. Create an accessible digital
platform where community
members can share family and
neighborhood history
2. Help to digitally preserve
individuals’ and neighborhoods’
historical artifacts
3. Educate community members
about preserving their own
historical artifacts Image: Wisconsin Historical Society.

60. Project components
● Website with digital collections
and information about best
practices on preserving and
digitizing family artifacts
● Volunteer team who can mobilize
for large-scale story gathering
events, or who are working on
their own community history
projects to include in Living History
collection
● Workshops to onboard volunteers
and educate folks on digitizing and
preserving artifacts
Image: Wisconsin Historical Society.

61. https://www.madisonlivinghistory.org/collections/greenbush-neighborhood/merle-sweet

62. Upcoming events / collections
● Tenney Park & neighborhood centennial story
gathering
● Grant partner on near east side arts & music history
project
● ~5 neighborhood association-driven collections
● Personal artifact preservation workshops
● Volunteer onboarding in early 2019

63. Tips & resources
● Inspired by Queens Memory community history
project
● Troy Reeves at University Archives consulted
● Emily Pfotenhauer at Recollection Wisconsin

64. Listening to War:
Digitizing Wisconsin’s Wartime Oral Histories
Emily Pfotenhauer, WiLS Community Liaison & Service Specialist

65. GOAL:
Identify and inventory at-risk oral history recordings
documenting life during wartime, and develop a plan for
digitization, preservation and access.
OUTCOMES:
• Directory of content
• Oral history tip sheets
• Detailed plan/road map
• https://recollectionwisconsin.org/wioralhistory
NEH Foundations Grant 2016-2017

66. NEH Foundations Grant 2016-2017
Dana Gerber-Margie
@TheAudioSignal

67. • 107 repositories contacted
• 24 site visits
• 1300 + recordings identified
• Conflicts: WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam
War, Persian Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan
• Other topics: homefront (industry, domestic life),
refugees
• Formats represented: open reel, audio cassette,
VHS, mini DV, CD, DVD
• More than 50% born digital content
NEH Foundations Grant 2016-2017

68. NEH Foundations Grant 2016-2017
Ellen Brooks
Wisconsin Veterans Museum
Paul Hedges
Wisconsin Historical Society
Erika Janik
WPT/WPR
Stephen Kercher
UW-Oshkosh
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Susan McLeod
Chippewa Valley Museum
Troy Reeves
UW-Madison Archives
Dorothea Salo
UW-Madison iSchool
Mark D. Van Ells
Queensborough Community College, City
University of New York

69. NEH Implementation Grant 2018-2020
PROJECT PARTNERS
• Wisconsin Historical Society
• Wisconsin Veterans Museum
• George Blood, L.P.
• 22 repositories across the state
• Academic libraries/archives
• Public libraries
• Museums
• Historical societies
• Veterans memorials

70. NEH Implementation Grant 2018-2020

71. NEH Implementation Grant 2018-2020
ACTIVITIES
• Hire project coordinator, Shawn Vesely
• Digitization and QA
• Create descriptive metadata records
• Sync transcripts or create indexes
• Load content to online access platform
• Transfer preservation masters to long-term
storage
• Listening parties and other public programming

72. Vicki Tobias
https://recollectionwisconsin.org/digipres
Ann Hanlon
https://uwm.edu/lib-collections/look-here/
Randi Ramsden
https://wisconsinhistory.org/wisconsinnewspapers
Erin F.H. Hughes
https://wils.org/mukurtu-midwest
Greg Kocken
https://soundsofeauclaire.omeka.net
Tamara Ramski
https://www.scls.info/local-history-digitization-projects
Laura Damon-Moore
https://www.madisonlivinghistory.org/
Emily Pfotenhauer
https://recollectionwisconsin.org/wioralhistory