Information for organizations involved in digitization through SCRLC

SCHOAM! for April 2023

Special Collections, Historical Organizations, Archives & Museums

in short: News | Grants | Ideas | Events | Webinars | Jobs

News from SCRLC


Sign up for Exhibits!

Our calendar for traveling exhibits is thinning out, so take a fresh look at what you'd like to borrow for a month. It's free and we'll even handle the delivery for you. We've purchased a second copy of the Women's Suffrage exhibit and have introduced a new two-panel exhibit for Hurricane Agnes.


New Collection: Terra Cotta Roof Survey

If you haven't visited Alfred, NY, you're missing out on spectacular roofing. Alfred was once home to the Caledon Terra Cotta Company, which produced nationally-sought-after roof tiles in the early 1900s. This collection of over 2,000 color slides, digitized by Alfred University's Megan Allen, are the result of a 1991 grant-funded survey of Alfred's terra cotta roofs, organized by address.


New Collection: Backbone Ridge Newsletters

The Backbone Ridge History Group was formed in 2006 as a grassroots organization to collect the history of the Backbone Ridge area in the Finger Lakes National Forest. This area between Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake became untenable for farming into the 20th century, so the federal government bought out farms from interested residents in a New Deal program called the Resettlement Administration. This collection includes the volunteer organization's quarterly newsletters, full of historic research and news.


New Collection: Glove Industry of Spencer

Spencer, a town of about 3,000 in Tioga County, was once home to a bustling glove factory in the early 1900s. This collection of newspaper clippings follows the growth and development of the industry.


New Collection: Jewish Community of Broome County

Binghamton has a large and vibrant Jewish community, currently around 3,000, in addition to the thousands of Jewish students attending Binghamton University every year. This collection held by the Broome County Historical Society, with digitization thanks to the Broome County Public Library, includes photographs from synagogues, graduations, ceremonies, and the Jewish Community Center.


New Collections: Railroads, Floods and Community in Hornell

Thanks to funding from Consider the Source, we were able to help Hornell Public Library digitize material from their fantastic local history room. The collection about the Erie Railroad, once a major employer in the area includes a 1945 newspaper clipping about an Asian-American railroad worker being assaulted.

There are photos of the devastating 1935 flood that prompted the construction of the Arkport Dam and Almond Dam. A third collection, the Community of Hornell, includes a wide variety of fascinating pieces, including documents from a Grand Army of the Republic veteran and an 1875 city directory.

Grants & Assistance


★★★ SCRLC Digitization Grants ★★★

We have a retooled application this year, available as a .DOCX or .PDF. Funded projects can include a variety of media as well as newspaper projects. Individual projects are limited to $5,000. If you work with another SCRLC member, the limit is $8,000.


Please reach out to me for a quote to use SCRLC as a digitization vendor. You can apply for a grant from us to pay us to do the work, and this may be the most cost-effective solution. This is what Seneca Falls Library and Cayuga Onondaga BOCES SLS have done to great success.


Digital Humanities Advancement Grants

These are quite large grants with significant application requirements, meant to support innovative digital projects (like HistoryForge, for example). An optional draft application is due April 17.

Ideas & Inspiration


Why Kids Aren’t Falling in Love With Reading

This recent opinion piece in the Atlantic (available here without a paywall) blames a rigid focus on analytical skills for the decline in recreational reading among kids. The author recommends a refreshed celebration of storytelling to keep kids' attention. Are you weaving together a story when you share your digital collections? Attract students with a tale of their local history - the reasons their home looks and feels the way it does - and see if they'll take a longer look.


Outstanding Librarian Award

Nominate the best librarian you know for recognition by the New York State Senate.

Happening in the Neighborhood


Building Back a Barn

The Swart-Wilcox House Museum is working toward a new {old} barn. They have archaeological surveys from 2002 showing where the original barn stood before burning down in 1969, and they've studied the two photographs of that original barn. Re-introducing a historic barn next to the Swart-Wilcox House Museum would help complete the museum's representation as one of Oneonta's oldest farms.


Psychedelic Posters and More at Fenimore

Fenimore has opened with exciting new exhibits to check out, including one all about rock poster art of the 1960s Bay Area, another about the Painter-Etcher Movement, another full of colorful, engaging contemporary paintings, and one of photography by Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson.


New Research on Historical Cats

Zoë Van Nostrand of the History Center in Tompkins County will present her new research about the Ithaca Kitty and the possible roots of "calico cats" as a term. It's one of several great programs happening at the History Center in April, so check out their calendar here.


Dig into Comics in Corning

The Curator for Ancient Glass, Kate Larson, joins comic book illustrator / archaeologist John Swogger this month for a presentation in-person and online to tell the story of an ancient glass workshop.

Zooms & Webinars Up Your Alley


Interrupting White Nationalism

Wednesday, April 5 at 1:30 pm


Beyond the Bookshelf: Community Engagement in the Digital Age

Wednesday, April 5 at 2 pm


Girls Who Code: Cost-Free Library Curriculum and Programs

Thursday, April 6 at 11 am


Digitization Best Practices and Metadata Basics

Friday, April 7 at 9:30 am


DPLA Open Board + Community Meeting: Intellectual Freedom and Equity

Monday, April 10 at 2 pm


Caring For and Digitizing Vinyl Records

Wednesday, April 12 at 10 am


The Climate-Conscious Library: How Libraries Can Mitigate Climate Change and Save the World!

Wednesday, April 12 at 11 am


Conflict Resolution for Violence Prevention

Wednesday, April 12 at 1:30 pm


Formal Workplace Complaints: Best Practices for Investigating and Addressing Workplace Harassment, Discrimination, and Other Workplace Complaints

Friday, April 14 at 10 am


Practicing Social Justice in Libraries: Building Equitable and Inclusive Collections

Friday, April 14 at 1 pm


Library Marketing Plan 101: A Step by Step Approach

Wednesday, April 19 at 11 am


Weighing the benefits of research data management infrastructure for the library

Thursday, April 20 at 2 pm


Digital Opportunities Compass: Metrics to Monitor, Evaluate, &Guide Broadband and Digital Equity Policy

Thursday, April 20 at 3 pm


Climate change, archives and digital preservation

Friday, April 21 at 1:30 pm


Internet & Digital Equity Listening Session

Monday, April 24 at 9:30 am


Webinar: Creating Video Tutorials for Your Library

Tuesday, April 25 at 2 pm


The Beautiful, Revolutionary Future

Wednesday, April 26 at 1:30 pm


DPLA Network Coffee Chat: Wikimedia Working Group

Thursday, April 27 at 1 pm


Critical Incident Stress

Thursday, April 27 at 2 pm


Temple Grandin: Great Minds Are Not All the Same

Tuesday, May 2 at 11 am


Conferences & Courses

NEDCC: Digital Directions Online Training Conference

June 27-29, 2023


Recordings

Finding What You Love in New York: Marketing the Empire State (NYS Archives)

Electronic Records Disaster Planning and Recovery


Openings In The Field


That's all for this month! Send me an email if there's anything at your organization you'd like me to include in the next newsletter: clovell@scrlc.org | Claire Lovell, Digital Services Librarian

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