1. NEVADA AND LAS VEGAS
MEMORY: DIGITAL TREASURES
FOR READERS, AUTHORS AND
THE LITERARY IMAGINATION
Vegas Valley Book Festival, November 3,
2012

2. Defining Digital Collections
 digital collection: A collection of library or
archival materials converted to machine-
readable format for preservation or to provide
electronic access.
 Example: Menus: The Art of Dining
http://digital.library.unlv.edu/collections/menus/
From the Online Dictionary of Information Science :http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_d.aspx

3. Why Digitize?
Light blue pant
suit with
matching fur-
trimmed hat
and coat
____________
__
Goals of digital
collections are
to provide
increased
access to
unique, rare, or
hard to handle
physical
collections,
24/7 worldwide.

4. Defining Digital Libraries
 digital library: A library in which a significant
proportion of the resources are available in
machine-readable format accessible by means
of computers.
 Example: Mountain West Digital Library
established by the Utah Academic Library
Consortium – UNLV is a member:
www.mwdl.org
From the Online Dictionary of Information Science :http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_d.aspx

5. Explore: American Memory
The Library of
Congress
American Memory
project connect
educators to
primary sources.
_______________
This massive
project provides
free and open
access through
the Internet to
written and
spoken words,
sound recordings,
still and moving
images, prints,
maps, and sheet
music that
document the
American
experience.
Extensive teacher
resources are also
available.

6. Digital Collections and
Educators
 Library of Congress: American Memory:
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/
 International Children’s Digital Library:
http://en.childrenslibrary.org/
 National Archives:
http://www.archives.gov/education/
 Poet’s Voice – A Digital Poetry Collection:
http://hcl.harvard.edu/collections/digital_collection
s/poets_voice.cfm
 University of Wisconsin Literature Digital Library:
http://uwdc.library.wisc.edu/collections/Literature
 Mountain West Digital Library:
http://www.mwdl.org/

7. Explore: Mountain West Digital
Library
The Mountain
West Digital
Library is a central
search portal for
digital collections
about the
Mountain West
region.
_______________
_
Goal is to provide
free access to
resources in over
350 collections
from universities,
colleges, public
libraries,
museums,
historical
societies, and
government
agencies,
municipalities, and
counties in Utah,
Nevada, and other
parts of the U.S.
West.

8. Digital Library Development at
UNLV
 UNLV Digital Collections built around content
that documents Southern Nevada:
mining, railroads, water issues
 High resolution, free images, globally
accessible 24/7
 Grant-funded projects
 Education consultant building learning objects
 Teacher guide to collection (NTS)

9. Not what you’d expect in a
library
Bluebells
pose outside
of Pan Am jet
___________
_
• Maps
• Costume
designs
• Menus
• Technical
reports

10. Using Digital Library Collections
 Three kinds of content
 Web site text, images, and content
 Database of digitized resources
 Learning objects or education content (mixed into
both areas)
 Two methods to find things
 Browse Collections
 Search results within collections via:
 Keyword searching (most users)
 Advanced search – subject terms (expert users)
 Custom results (pre-selected browse paths)

11. All About Access
Baneberry test,
Nevada Test
Site, largest
above ground
test
____________
Access
depends upon:
high-quality,
standards-
based,
shareable
metadata
(*library role)

12. UNLV’s Digital Collections
 Southern Nevada: History in Maps:
http://digital.library.unlv.edu/collections/maps
 Menus: The Art of Dining:
http://digital.library.unlv.edu/collections/menus
 Showgirls:
http://digital.library.unlv.edu/collections/showgirls
 Welcome Home, Howard:
http://digital.library.unlv.edu/hughes/
 Coming soon!!:
 Dino at the Sands
 Rebel Yell and Las Vegas Age newspapers
 African American Experience in Las Vegas

13. Out of the Library…
Students
and faculty
portrait on
stairs of Las
Vegas
School
__________
_
Connecting
the primary
materials in
digital
collections to
users and
researchers

14. …And into the Imagination
 Historic menus used for scientific study
 Showgirls collection connects former dance
partners
 Historic photo results in donation of modern
collections
 Shared stories / shared history

15. Demo
Nevada Test Site Oral History Project
http://digital.library.unlv.edu/ntsohp/

16. Inspiring Designs and Social
Features
 Rate an image
 Comment on an image
 Share a story

17. Demo
Menus: The Art of Dining
http://digital.library.unlv.edu/collections/men
us

18. Extending the Reach -
Classroom
Connecting educators to content, some methods
 Introductory Text
 Inquiry Questions
 Primary Source Sets
 Timeline Materials
 Scavenger Hunt

19. Demo
Southern Nevada: The Boomtown Years
http://digital.library.unlv.edu/boomtown/

20. Feedback from Educators
Survey Monkey
feedback
____________
__
“Thank you for
all your hard
work you put
into this
website. I teach
4th grade here
in Las Vegas,
and this site will
be used
frequently this
next school
year.”

21. Time to Explore!
1. Try to find a Vegas menu from a casino you
have visited
2. Look for a photo of the construction of the
Hoover Dam
3. Imagine what life would have been like in a
Southern Nevada mining boomtown
4. Contrast two stories told by narrators in their
own words describing their experience
watching a nuclear test
5. Choose your favorite neon sign from the Vegas
skyline

22. Discussion Questions
How might I use
these activities to
inspire my own
creativity?
______________
How might I
share them with
my family or
friends?
______________
_
What would you
like to see
online?

23. Your Feedback is Appreciated
1. Complete a collection survey:
 Boomtown Years:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Y5rxIAt9
_2fMhIGT_2fipw9GvQ_3d_3d
 Historic Landscape:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WKJ2ZXR
 Dreaming the Skyline:
http://digital.library.unlv.edu/skyline/survey

24. Collaborative Content
Postcard of
Lorenzi
Park, Las
Vegas, circa
1930
__________
_
New areas
of digital
collection
development
center
around
partnering
with
educators
and users

25. Crowdsourcing History
 HistoryPin: http://www.historypin.com/curated/
 Citizen Archivist:
http://www.archives.gov/citizen-archivist/

26. Future Directions
 Would love to hear more from users
 New type of digital curation, digital publishing
 How can we make the digital collections more
useful for you?
 Staff are available for demos
 Any interest in additional development of learning
objects (user-contributed)?
 Future collaborations
 African-American Experience in Las Vegas project
funded for 2012-2013

27. Contact
Cory Lampert
Head, Digital Collections
cory.lampert@unlv.edu
Thank You!
www.digital.library.unlv.edu