Oklahoma Heritage Online

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Oklahoma Heritage Online

• Connecting Oklahomans
• To Their Heritage

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The need

• Thousands of unique materials that document the
  history of Oklahoma are hidden away in cultural
  repositories around the state. These include
  rare maps, diaries and oral histories of early
  pioneers, photographs, letters from Civil War
  soldiers, and much, much more.

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Surveys indicate that many of these treasures are

• at risk of being lost
• not cataloged or inventoried, and
• generally not available to the public.

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To help address this need

• Libraries, historical societies, and museums from
  across the state can work together to digitize
  materials and make them available through a
  common website.

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This is not a new concept

• Such projects are taking place across the nation,
  from California to Maine.
• At last count, there are 30 statewide
  digitization projects underway.
• Websites for these projects may be accessed by
  visiting
• http//www.mtsu.edu/kmiddlet/stateportals.html

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Many benefits are derived from large-scale
digitization projects

• More people can access and use unique, highly
  valuable, and often fragile materials.
• Users can view the materials from any computer
  connected to the Internet, any time of the day.
• Searchable text allows users to conduct research
  in ways not possible before.

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Additional benefits.

• Digitized materials can be used in new and
  exciting ways for research and instruction.
• Duplication of effort can be reduced.
• Projects are better coordinated.
• Uniform digitization and metadata standards are
  applied

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To encourage the development of a statewide
project, the Oklahoma Department of Libraries
has

• Submitted a proposal to the Institute of Museum
  and Library Services to fund a statewide
  digitization program.
• Although the proposal was highly rated, it was
  not funded.
• Subsequently, the proposed project, which
  involved re-granting to other institutions, was
  scaled down.

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From inspiration

• To implementation

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Preliminary work

• We looked at the digital projects of other
  states.
• Information on best practices provided by the
  Institute of Museum and Library Services was
  studied.
• Current literature was reviewed.
• Informal feasibility assessment meetings were
  held with a number of Oklahoma institutions.

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We researched

• Standards for digitizing and describing
  collections
• Best practices for building successful projects
• Content development
• Website design and functionality

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We identified project challenges

• Rapidly advancing technological environment
• Rapidly evolving standards
• Diverse and changing user expectations
• Lack of common terminology between museums and
  libraries
• Project sustainability
• Funding

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As well as challenges for organizations

• Fear of change or loss of control on the part of
  institutions
• Different organizational missions and revenue
  sources
• Limited knowledge about digitization

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We determined what worked

• Being open to different methods
• Recognizing what libraries and museums have in
  common
• Working together to find solutions
• Mutual respect

15
We determined what didnt work

• Being too committed to one course of action
• Failing to recognize knowledge gaps among
  partners
• Too many assumptions without discussion
• Losing sight of the needs of project users

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Our next steps were to

• Determine a project name
• Write vision and mission statements
• Develop goals and objectives
• Investigate software
• Design a website
• Develop a management plan
• Address standardization practices
• Seek input and invite participation

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Vision

• To ensure that Oklahomas rich cultural heritage
  is part of a new information environment that
  revolutionizes education and supports learning
  and leisure at all levels, for all ages, and in
  all communities.

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Mission

• To collaborate with statewide cultural heritage
  institutions to build a web-based collection of
  digital materials documenting the history and
  culture of Oklahoma, thereby serving the
  information needs of all Oklahomans.

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Goals

• To develop and implement a statewide digitization
  program, managed by a coalition of cultural
  institutions.
• To build comprehensive digital collections that
  reflect the full wealth of Oklahomas history and
  culture.
• To provide learning opportunities for all
  participants to assure the knowledge and skills
  necessary to successfully complete digitization
  projects.
• To work with educators to develop standards-based
  curriculum materials.

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Project name and web address

• Oklahoma Heritage Online was chosen because it
  reflects the mission and goals of the project.
• An easy-to-remember web address was secured
  www.okheritage.org

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A web site was designed

• With the knowledge that modifications will be
  necessary as Oklahoma Heritage Online matures,
  Nicole Willard, Archivist at the University of
  Central Oklahoma, with the help of student
  workers, developed a prototype website.

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Policies and guidelines were drafted

• These documents are available on the OHO website
• Collection Policy
• User Agreement
• How to Participate Guidelines
• Scanning Standards
• Transcription Guidelines
• Item Selection Guidelines
• Contribution Guidelines
• Recommended Standards for Equipment and Imaging
  Software

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Digitization and metadata standards were
investigated

• To enable compatibility with other statewide
  projects, the standards in use by the Western
  Trails and Colorado Digitization projects were
  recommended.
• Dublin Core Metadata Best Practices
• www.cdpheritage.org/resource/metadata/documents/WS
  DCMBP.pdf
• Digital Imaging Best Practices
• www.cdpheritage.org/resource/scanning/documents/WS
  DIBP_v1.pdf

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Educators were consulted

• To ensure that Oklahoma Heritage Online meets the
  needs of educators, input was sought from the
  Social Studies Coordinator, the Language Arts
  Coordinator, and the Library Media Specialist
  with the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
  

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From these meetings it was determined that

• OHO should review the PASS standards and develop
  online exhibits that meet the stated learning
  objectives.
• OHO should adopt the best practices of the
  Library of Congress American Memory Fellows
  Program and the Teaching with Colorados Heritage
  Program.
• OHO should find funding to support teachers who
  are experienced in teaching with digital content
  and work with them to develop and test teaching
  materials.
• OHO should produce a series of institutes where
  teachers learn how to use the lesson plans and
  participate in the design of new plans.

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Input was sought from a wide range of cultural
institutions, including

• Nash Library, University of Science and Arts of
  Oklahoma
• Oklahoma Museums Association
• Oklahoma Historical Society
• Oklahoma Humanities Council
• Oklahoma Centennial Commission
• Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation
• National Cowboy Western Heritage Museum
• University of Oklahoma, Western History
  Collections
• Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
• University of Central Oklahoma
• Henryetta Territorial Museum
• Langston University

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These institutions expressed interest in a
statewide digitization project, envisioning that
such a project will enable them to

• Share collections with global audiences
• Provide better access to collections
• Increase organizational visibility
• Increase membership and support
• Improve their knowledge of digitizing and
  cataloging collections
• Create online exhibits
• Create digital archives for collection items
• Decrease the handling of fragile documents
• Develop closer relationships with other cultural
  organizations

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Next Steps
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Recruit committee members for

• Steering Committee
• Content Committee
• Education Committee
• Training and Outreach Committee
• Infrastructure Committee
• Standards Committee

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Work with committee members to

• Review and finalize draft guidelines and
  procedures
• Test website design and make modifications as
  necessary
• Develop a plan of action
• Develop a budget and identify sources of funding

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Assess the digitization capabilities and needs
of Oklahoma organizations through a comprehensive
survey that looks at

• Institutional needs, including equipment,
  training, funding, technical support, collection
  preservation, and project planning
• Existing digital collections
• Existing standards in use
• Types of materials to be digitized
• Collections to be considered for OHO

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Target specific resources to digitize

• Based on the identified exhibit themes, review
  the collections of cultural repositories and
  actively seek participation from organizations
  that have materials which are rare or unique,
  important to educators and researchers, and
  support the development of online exhibits.
• To support this endeavor, the Oklahoma Historical
  Records Advisory Board, an ODL sponsored
  organization, has identified the holdings of 230
  Oklahoma repositories. Additional resources will
  be identified through future surveys.

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Convene a statewide symposium to

• Unveil Oklahoma Heritage Online
• Acquaint the public with its goals and objectives
• Elicit ideas and suggestions about the types of
  materials to be included
• Explore existing resources

34
Plan and present workshops for content
contributors

• To review OHO Contributing Partner Guidelines
• To provide training in digitization methodologies
  and metadata development
• To learn how to submit materials to the website
• To learn how to create online exhibits

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Website is publicly launched

• On Statehood Day, November 16, 2006

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Your participation is invited

• Offer inputall suggestions are welcomed
• Sign up for a committee
• Tell us about the collection you would like to
  include on the Oklahoma Heritage Online website
• Share your institutional resources

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To Learn More

• Visit the website at www.okheritage.org
• Or contact
• Susan Feller, 405-522-3259
  sfeller_at_oltn.odl.state.ok.us
• Nicole Willard, 405-974-2885 nwillard_at_ucok.edu

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Links to other statewide initiatives

• Virginia www.lva.lib.va.us/dlp
• Georgia http//neptune.libs.uga.edu/cgi-n/door/ho
  mepage.cgi
• Kentucky www.kyvl.org/
• Colorado www.coloradodigital.coalliance.org/
• California http//www.cdlib.org
• Missouri www.virtuallymissouri.org
• North Carolina http//www.ncecho.org
• Washington State http//digitalwa.statelib.wa.gov
  /
• Connecticut http//www.cthistoryonline.org/
• Louisiana http//louisdl.louislibraries.org/index
  .html
• Maine http//www.mainememory.net/