From Silos to (Archives)Space: Moving Legacy Finding Aids Online as a Multi-Department Library...

Paromita Biswas, Metadata Librarian, Western Carolina University, pbiswas@wcu.eduElizabeth Skene, Digital Initiatives Librarian, Western Carolina University, emskene@wcu.edu

Charleston Conference, November 6, 2014

Project:

Move 700 legacy finding aids online via ArchivesSpace

• Finding aids overview• Past efforts • Choosing ArchivesSpace• Workflow decisions

• Showcase Appalachian life and natural history, especially of Western North Carolina

• Notable collections:Horace Kephart; George Masa; Nantahala Power & Light Company Records

Some collections digitized and available through CONTENTdm:

11 collections/5k+ items

• Most Special Collections’ materials accessible through finding aids

• 700 finding aids in MS Word

The problem:

• No online presence of finding aids

• Findings aids available only to patrons who visit or contact the library

• Finding aids/Special Collections remain hiddenand inaccessible to the larger audience

• 2010: NC ECHO* provides Hunter Library with templates for creating EAD encoded finding aids

• Two librarians work in Notepad Pro: time consuming process

• Lack of technical knowledge to modify generictemplates or publish the finding aids online

• 35 finding aids published as HTML documents via a widget available online

*North Carolina Exploring Cultural Heritage Online

• Lack of resources: No server space

No IT support

Limited staff time

• ArchivesSpace offered to Hunter Library:

Option for a hosted server space by LYRASIS

Technical assistance provided by LYRASIS

Training and relative ease of use

Interdepartmental collaboration

Special Collections—review and map finding aids to ArchivesSpace

Digital, Access, and Technology—training and aligning ArchivesSpace finding aids with digital collections

Content Organization & Management—provide catalogers to do the major work of migration to ArchivesSpace

Involved:

• Copying and pasting the Word document finding aids

• Adding controlled vocabularies—names and subjects to the finding aids

• No training required in adding controlled vocabularies

• Familiar with content management systems (CONTENTdm) other than traditional ILS

• Familiarity with the area and local history

• Summer can provide the opportunity to do majority of the migration work

• The process• Challenges• The future• Take aways

1. Project team2. Priorities

3. Training manual4. Testing 5. Training

Flickr user kenfagerdotcom, BY-NC-SA

Metadata LibrarianContent Organization & Management department

Digital Initiatives LibrarianDigital, Access, and Technology Services department

Library Technical AssistantSpecial Collections department

+ Frequently requested

+ Items in CONTENTdm

- Access restrictions

- Errors in description

MapFinding aid template

showing the corresponding field in

ArchivesSpace

Step by step guideA how-to for adding data

to ArchivesSpace

GlossaryEntries with definitions and

examples

Testing

By the project team

By a cataloger

Arents Cigarette Cards, NYPL

Training

What is it?

How does it work?

Work in pairs

Regroup, revise

Flickr user thelotuscarroll, BY-NC-SA

New software

Inconsistency of finding aids

Catalogers vs archival vocabulary

Where does ArchivesSpace live?

Word finding aidsHunter Library, Western Carolina University

Update the manual

Go live!

500 finding aids by 2016

Link to CONTENTdm

Explore regional consortium

NASA, First Lady Astronaut Trainee Jerrie Cobb

What is the end goal?

Who has the knowledge?

Progress or perfection?

Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection, BY-NC-ND

Thank you!