Ohio Memory Project Progress Report

March 2002 – July 2002

 

OVERVIEW

Work on the Ohio Memory Project during the reporting period focused on completing processing of submissions received for the November 15, 2001 deadline, adding materials and preparing for the public debut of the Ohio Memory Online Scrapbook in March 2002.  The project team also made improvements to the scrapbook interface and added more than 1300 collections to the database.

 

ACTIVITIES

Submissions

The project team completed the evaluation of collections submitted for the November 15, 2002 deadline. Overall, 1038 collections from 1300 submissions have been accepted. Every effort was made to accept at least one item from each institution.  As collections have been accepted, staff made arrangements for transfer of materials, digitization, and cataloging. Slightly more than 36607, pages were digitized during the reporting period. Overall, more than 13,487 images have been digitized and are now available via the website. Analyzing all accepted collections reveals a notable diversity of institution types, historical subjects, geographic focus, and time periods.  Any areas or subjects not currently included can be addressed in the future phase of the project.

 
Scrapbook Premiere

While work was still progressing on the scrapbook, there was an overwhelming amount of interest in making the scrapbook available.  Thus, on March 26^th the scrapbook debuted at http://www.ohiomemory.org

 

The Ohio Historical Society hosted a reception on March 26th in the atrium of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus to celebrate the premiere of the Online Scrapbook.  Hope Taft, First Lady of Ohio, was an honored guest.   Project partners were recognized, including:

·         OPLIN

·         OhioLINK

·         Ohio Library Council (OLC)

·         Ohio Historical Society

·         INFOhio

·         Ohio Bicentennial Commission

 

At the event, recognition was given to several institutions as representative of similar institutions that have submitted their treasures to the scrapbook, including:

 

·         Representing Special Libraries: Athenaeum of Ohio

·         Representing Academic Libraries: Center for Archival Collections–Bowling Green State University

·         Representing Historical Societies: Dover Historical Society

·         Representing Museums: Kelton House Museum and Garden

·         Representing Public Libraries: Massillon Public Library

 

Invited guests included representatives from participating institutions, Ohio Memory Advisory Group members, Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB) members, and legislators.

 

A complete list of articles about the premiere is attached.

 

Usage

The following statistics summarize website usage over the past four months:

 

Month	Hits
March 2002 (from March 25)	133729
April	156857
May	74622
June	55268
Total	420476

 

Online Scrapbook Interface

In preparation to the launch, as well as after, the project team worked closely with OhioLINK staff to develop additional features and make the scrapbook more intuitive and useful to users. Most recently, staff has worked to develop several features, including:

 

·         adding a “New Additions” link to the front page highlighting each month’s materials

·         refining options in “My Scrapbook” including adding styles, providing a password reminder feature and providing the ability to sort contents by date or title

·         adding a “printable page” feature to facilitate printing records

·         revising browse features to include an index at bottom of pages

·         adding additional subject category descriptions and images

 

Project Web Site

As the scrapbook was launched on March 26, 2002, the project site was moved to http://www.ohiomemory.org/om.  It features project information, such as the history of the project, frequently asked questions, staff and contact information, links to digitization resources, and listserv subscription information. Also available for downloading in multiple formats are presentations, handouts, and forms. Online submission was possible via this site. Following the premiere of Ohio Memory, photographs taken at the premiere and a downloadable customizable press release were also added to the project site.

Presentations and Outreach

Ohio Memory Project staff gave presentations at the CO-ASSIST Annual Meeting in May, and the April Madison County Historical Society meeting.  Staff also provided a tour of the Archives/Library to representatives from SOLO (Southeastern Ohio Library Organization). Staff updated the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board (OHRAB) and provided information to the OHS Board of Trustees.

 

Staff also made a follow-up visit to Urbana University to examine collections and discuss scanning options.

 

Project staff made visits to photograph items at 27 institutions:

 

·         Allen County Historical Museum

·         Auglaize County Historical Society

·         Brimfield House Association

·         Butler County Museum

·         Champaign County District Library

·         Clinton County Historical Society

·         Delphos Canal Commission

·         Edison Birthplace Museum

·         Euclid Historical Society

·         Firelands Historical Society

·         Garst Museum/Dark County Historical Society

·         Herrick Memorial Library (Wellington)

·         Johnny Appleseed Museum

·         Kent State University

·         Killbuck Valley Museum

·         Lillian Jones Museum

·         Logan County Historical Society

·         McComb Public Library

·         McCook House

·         McKinley Memorial Library

·         McKinley National Memorial

·         Pickaway County Historical Society

·         Portage County Historical Society

·         Reed Memorial Library

·         Ross County Historical Society

·         State Library of Ohio

·         Wyandot County Historical Society

 

Representatives from the following 35 institutions visited the Ohio Historical Center to meet with staff and have materials digitized: Alexandria Historical Society and Museum, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Athens County Historical Society, Attica Area Historical Society, Brecksville Historical Society, Centerville-Washington Township Historical Society, Chagrin Falls Historical Society, Champaign County Historical Society, Clark County Public Library, David Myers University, Dover Historical Society, Elyria Public Library, Greene County Archives & Records Center, Greene County Public Library, Knox County Museum, Lake Erie Islands Historical Society, Licking County Historical Society, Lorain County Historical Society, Manchester Historical Society, Mechanicsburg Public Library, OSU Rare Books & Manuscripts, OSU Theatre Research Institute, Otterbein College, Piatt Castle, Pontifical College Josephinum,  Ross County Historical Society, Sandusky Library/Follett House Museum, Selover Public Library, St. Paris Public Library, Union County Historical Society, University of Akron, Urbana University, Ursuline College, Watt Center for History and the Arts, and the Worthington Historical Society.

 

Inquiries and Contacts

Project staff had 2,591 contacts with current and potential participants via phone, fax, mail, email and personal contact. Staff also distributed information about scanning to 11 institutions interested in digitizing materials at their own facilities. 

 

The OPLIN-hosted listserv serves as an effective way to communicate with participants and potential participants. List subscribers received project updates, reminders about approaching submission deadlines, and news of web site additions. An archive of listserv messages is available via OPLIN at: http://archive.oplin.lib.oh.us/archives/index.html.

The listserv currently has 285 subscribers.

 

Articles and Press Releases

Staff wrote articles for various publications:

 

·         May/June 2002 edition of the Local Historian

·         Spring 2002 Society of Ohio Archivist’s Ohio Archivist available at: http:///www.ohiojunction.net/soa/oa

·         Ohio Libraries – upcoming issue

·         Ohio Library Council’s Access, March 2002

·         Country Living magazine—upcoming issue

 

In addition, other forms of outreach include:

• OHS website front page includes an image from the Online Scrapbook which links to the collections
• Monthly updates about new additions in April, May and June were distributed to various listservs including: SOA, INFOhio, OPLIN, OMP, ALAO, etc.

 

Education Outreach

As teachers and their students are a prime target audience for the scrapbook, staff have been working to publicize the online scrapbook to teachers in various ways including:

 

• Inclusion in a resource booklet distributed for History Day students
• Preparation of History Day handouts for students and teachers
• Participation in History Day workshops
• Presentation in a Primary Sources for Teachers Workshop, demonstrating Ohio Memory

 

This fall staff members will demonstrate the online scrapbook for WVIZ, the Cleveland area PBS station’s education advisory group. In addition presentation proposals have been submitted for the State Technology Conference 2003, and OLC chapter conferences.

 

Advisory Group

The Ohio Memory Advisory Group, which is composed of twelve members, provides oversight for the project. Advisory group members were asked to test the scrapbook interface.   They were provided with a sampling of publicity generated by the premiere.

 

Conclusion of Phase One

The initial two-year phase of the Ohio Memory Project is completed. Thanks to the assistance of OPLIN, OhioLINK, the Ohio Library Council, INFOhio, and the Ohio Bicentennial Commission and the participation of 250 participating institutions, it was a great success.

 

The Ohio Historical Society took steps to secure funding for a second, one-year phase. The society submitted grant requests to the Harry C. Moores Foundation ($50,000), the State Library of Ohio/Library Services and Technology Act grant program ($167,500), and Teaching American History program ($168,205). If awarded, these grant funds will supplement a $50,000 Legacy Grant awarded by the Ohio Bicentennial Commission. The second phase will start in October 2002, funding permitting. A major change in the project will be to accept collections created after 1903, including audio and video.