Final Project
Overview
For your final project, you will develop a Digitization and Access Plan (hereafter known as the “Plan”) for a group of materials that are not currently available online—even though these materials may be accessible in person (e.g., in a reading room). This project will consist of a written paper and an accompanying presentation, which you will deliver on the last day of class.
To guide your progress, you will submit an abstract mid-way through the semester as a check-in to ensure you have identified a suitable group of materials to work with, and are on track with your project.
See the class schedule for due date details.
Scenario
You are an archivist working in the special collections department of [organization/institution of your choosing]. As part of an initiative to enhance digital access to the institution’s archives, your department has identified a candidate collection containing records that are currently inaccessible to users that they wish to make available online.
Recognizing your expertise in digital archives workflow management, the Director of Special Collections has appointed you as Project Lead. Your task is to analyze how your institution currently handles digital access and preservation, write out a plan describing how these selected materials will be made accessible online, and present this plan to the Special Collections Committee.
Selection Criteria
To ensure a well-rounded project, your candidate collection records must meet the following criteria:
- Existing online finding aid: Your chosen collection must be documented in an archival finding aid.
- Materials not currently available online: Although the collection is held by an institution and described in an online finding aid, the materials themselves must not have been made accessible through a digital library or collection website. You will need to verify this by browsing available finding aids and confirming that the materials, while described, are not available remotely.
- Selection scope: You are not required to propose a plan for every component of a finding aid. Instead, focus on a deliberate selection of materials (e.g., one series, or one specific type of format, or one intellectual grouping) to develop your plan
- Media: While inclusion of some flat materials (e.g., photographs, maps, manuscripts) is acceptable, your project should not focus exclusively on paper-based items that require scanning or photography. Your project must incorporate at least one non-paper-based format, such as:
- Magnetic recorded media (e.g., audiotapes, videotapes, floppy disks, hard drives)
- Optical Media (e.g., CDs, DVDs)
- Born-digital records requiring file format migration or emulation (e.g., software, video games, database records, research datasets)
- …or something else!
Project Goals
Your final paper and presentation should:
- Demonstrate the significance of the materials you selected and why they should be prioritized for access.
- Articulate the technical, labor, and logistical considerations involved in not only getting the materials online, but also promoting their discovery and access.
- Explain how the project aligns with institutional priorities and contributes to broader digital preservation and archiving efforts.
This project is an opportunity to apply digital archiving and preservation principles in a real-world context, critically engage with selection and access strategies, working under specific funding, labor, environmental, technical or other constraints, connect you with practicioners, and develop skills in planning and advocacy within archival institutions.