Month: April 2020

2020 HomePLACE Summer Digitization Internship

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Purpose and Scope

The Roddenbery Memorial Library in Cairo, GA seeks highly-motivated, responsible applicants for a Summer Digitization Internship fieldwork opportunity. This is a part-time, paid summer internship opportunity lasting from May-August 2020, $10 an hour for a total of 200 hours of work. Intern work shall be conducted onsite at either the Roddenbery Memorial Library in Cairo, GA or at the Georgia Public Library Service offices in Atlanta, GA as determined by the project needs and student’s location. Accommodations will gladly be made for candidates completing the internship for course credit.

Minimum Education, Training, and Experience

The successful candidate will have a demonstrated desire to work with archival materials, will possess excellent communication skills, be detail-oriented, able to work independently, have fine manual dexterity, strong written and verbal communication skills, and strong experience using Windows-based applications and the Google Suite.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

This position requires dependability, tact, knowledge of library policies and procedures, and the ability to work as part of a team. The ability to start, finish, or pick up work projects at various points, without direct supervision, is vital. Assignments will vary according to the individual project needs, and the intern may assist with other tasks as assigned. All equipment and training will be provided by Georgia HomePLACE.
The 2020 HomePLACE Summer Intern will contribute toward making digitally available 54 audio oral history interviews with African American citizens from the Cairo, Georgia area. The project, which was conducted in 1982, will also include scanning and description of 50 color slides of African American churches in the area.
The Digitization Intern will:

  • Research biographical details about the interviewees, as well as relevant historical information about Cairo in order to best describe the collection;
  • Research any privacy restrictions;
  • Create a collection-level finding aid and box list;
  • Rehouse original media into archival enclosures where required;
  • Convert recordings from VHS to digital video;
  • Scan slides on a provided flatbed scanner;
  • Perform quality control checks to ensure successful conversion;
  • Record descriptive metadata and create a detailed record for each recording and image;
  • Upload recordings to the Roddenbery Memorial Library’s YouTube account;
  • Create subject access to the recordings using the Oral History Metadata Synchronizer;
  • Create a press release and other promotional material, including but not limited to blog and social media posts and a web graphic;
  • Assist staff of the Roddenbery Memorial Library in designing a public program related to the themes and content of the digitized collection;
  • Keep a daily log of work and prepare a final report of work completed;
  • Tour the DLG and GPLS offices and work with staff to ingest the records and recordings;
  • If applicable, complete work required for course credit.

The Digitization Intern may:

  • Reach out to the partner organizations for possible collaboration;
  • Hand key transcription for full-text searchability;
  • Assist staff of the Roddenbery Memorial Library in implementing a public program related to the themes and content of the digitized collection;
  • Co-curate an online exhibit and/or subject guide to related collections. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
  • Knowledge of general library and archival principles and philosophy;
  • Computing proficiency, including the use of Microsoft Office and Google Suite applications;
  • Knowledge of basic library operational principles, practices, and application of Roddenbery Memorial Library policies, procedures, and activities;
  • Effective communication and interpersonal skills;
  • Ability to work with people with tact, patience, and courtesy;
  • Ability to maintain regular, predictable, and punctual attendance;
  • Ability to learn metadata standards and schemas;
  • Ability to learn technical processes for making digital files publicly accessible;
  • Ability to read and interpret print, script, or cursive handwriting.

About the Partnership

The Summer Digitization Internship program is a partnership between the Roddenbery Memorial Library and Georgia HomePLACE, a unit of the Georgia Public Library Service.
The mission of the Roddenbery Memorial Library is to continue our commitment to public service, assisting all individuals and groups in Grady County to attain the highest level of educational, cultural, economic and social enrichment possible.
Georgia HomePLACE encourages public libraries and related institutions across the state to participate in The Digital Library of Georgia, an initiative of GALILEO. HomePLACE offers a highly collaborative model for digitizing primary source collections, and is supported with Federal LSTA funds administered by IMLS through the Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

Apply

Applications can either be filled out online or printed and mailed to:

Director
Roddenbery Memorial Library
320 N. Broad St.
Cairo, Ga 39828.

Applications will be accepted until April 30, 2020.
Questions may be sent to jboudet@rmlibrary.org

Three Webinars about OHMS (Oral History Metadata Synchroniser)

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Doug Boyd from the University of Kentucky is hosting three workshops about OHMS (Oral History Metadata Synchroniser). Registration is $39 per workshop. Learn more and register below.

 

Webinar: Introduction to OHMS

Tuesday, April 14, 2020 from 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM (EDT) (Click on the link for more details and to register)
Webinar participants will get a comprehensive introduction to OHMS and its capabilities, then focus in on the process of getting started using OHMS, the creation of new records, synchronizing transcripts, and indexing interviews, as well as the installation and configuration of the OHMS Viewer. The webinar will discuss both practical strategies for integrating OHMS into archival workflows and the utilization of OHMS by oral history projects outside of the archive. Finally, the webinar will look at different implementations of OHMS and provide a space for workshop participants to discuss and to ask questions. 

Webinar: OHMS Next Steps

Thursday, April 16, 2020 from 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM (EDT) (Click on the link for more details and to register)
OHMS Next Steps is a webinar designed for those who want more in-depth practical training, as well as an opportunity to explore more advanced features and workflows. Registrants will participate in a full training session on indexing oral history interviews and synchronizing oral history transcripts. In addition to indexing and synchronization, topics will focus on the batch importing of metadata, the new auto-synchronization feature for importing transcripts with embedded time code, the bilingual capabilities of OHMS, the creation of thesauri for indexing, and the implementation of the new project management capabilities. The webinar will provide a space for workshop participants to discuss and to ask questions. 

Webinar: Integrating OHMS and Omeka

Friday, April 17, 2020 (1:00 pm – 3:30 pm EDT) (Click on the link for more details and to register)
This webinar (taught by Doug Boyd and Janneken Smucker) explores how to integrate the OHMS plugin suite with Omeka to create a powerful discovery and user experience for online oral history collections.  By displaying the OHMS Viewer within an Omeka item, users can conduct a text search of interviews, finding corresponding moments in an online audio or video file. By integrating the OHMS Viewer with Omeka Classic, users can search interview indexes and transcripts across entire collections. Following a brief overview of OHMS and a detailed exploration of Omeka, workshop participants will learn about installing, configuring, and deploying Omeka and the OHMS plugin suite. Instructors will present sample Omeka sites utilizing the OHMS plugins as well themes that are optimized for use with the OHMS Viewer. Additionally, workshop participants will explore workflow strategies and more advanced aspects of creating an Omeka site utilizing the OHMS Viewer.

Columbus and Macon city directories now freely available online in the Digital Library of Georgia

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Georgia’s public libraries continue to make new content freely available online during the public safety closures of the COVID-19 pandemic. Newly digitized Columbus and Macon city directories offer engaging social studies content for students and educator research.
March 31, 2020
CONTACT: Deborah Hakes, dhakes@georgialibraries.org
ATLANTA — Digitized city directories from Columbus (1859-1912) and Macon (1860-1899) are now available in the Digital Library of Georgia. Details in the collections about residence and resident make city directories ideally suited for local history and genealogy research, as well as student and educator research for social studies curricula.
columbus city directory from 1912
City directories antedate the phonebook as a listing of residents, businesses, organizations, and streets. In addition to basic location information, city directories frequently provided local governmental and civic information, street maps, church and cemetery information, and historical details about the city and surrounding areas. Information about individuals typically includes the resident’s name, title or salutation, home address, marital status and spouse’s name, race, occupation, and, if applicable, information about business ownership.
“We are thrilled to share city directories from the Middle Georgia Archives with our state and the world through the Digital Library of Georgia,” said Middle Georgia Regional Library Director Jennifer Lautzenheiser. “These directories allow researchers from all backgrounds to explore the rich and nuanced history of our communities.
Academics can learn about the trends that shaped our state. Students can lift the curtain on everyday life, and family genealogists can add details to the lives of their ancestors.”
The full-text searchable digital collections are part of a statewide initiative to digitize Georgia’s public domain city directories. The project is a partnership between Georgia HomePLACE, the digitization unit of the Georgia Public Library Service; the Digital Library of Georgia; the Columbus Public Library, part of the Chattahoochee Valley Libraries; and Washington Memorial Library, part of the Middle Georgia Regional Library System.
“Our city directories are frequently used by genealogists, local historians, and even owners of historical homes to learn more about the families and businesses that have been in our community’” said Wanda Edwards, Adult Services Coordinator for Chattahoochee Valley Libraries. “Digital access makes our directories available to customers regardless of their ability to visit the library.”
Students and researchers working from home will enjoy increased access to volumes that were previously only available onsite at their local library. Additional city directories available in the Digital Library of Georgia include Albany (1922-1949), Athens (1889-1958), and Atlanta (1867-1922).
“The importance of access to digital library collections has become more evident during these past weeks, said Edwards. “This is one more service we can provide for our users.”
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Georgia HomePLACE encourages public libraries and related institutions across the state to participate in the Digital Library of Georgia. HomePLACE offers a highly collaborative model for digitizing primary source collections related to local history and genealogy. HomePLACE is a project of the Georgia Public Library Service, a unit of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. HomePLACE is supported with federal Library Services and Technology Act funds administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Georgia Public Library Service.
Based at the University of Georgia Libraries, the Digital Library of Georgia is a GALILEO initiative that collaborates with Georgia’s libraries, archives, museums, and other institutions of education and culture to provide access to key information resources on Georgia history, culture, and life. This primary mission is accomplished through the ongoing development, maintenance and preservation of digital collections and online digital library resources. The Digital Library of Georgia also serves as Georgia’s service hub for the Digital Public Library of America and as the home of the Georgia Newspaper Project, the state’s historic newspaper microfilming project.
Middle Georgia Regional Library serves six counties across Central Georgia. The library’s mission is to connect all people to the information necessary to improve their lives through excellent services and materials.

The Chattahoochee Valley Libraries is a seven-branch system that serves more than 250,000 people in four counties: Muscogee, Chattahoochee, Marion and Stewart. The Library system is the most widely used cultural institution in the region, with more than 120,000 residents holding library cards. Our mission is to be your place, your partner, your library.