#7 Digital Archives

In this digital age, many libraries are taking items from their archives and digitizing them – scanning or recording them and saving them in a format accessible on a computer or via the Internet. Many libraries are starting digital collections which are freely accessible from their websites. These collections may include photographs, postcards, manuscripts, sound recordings, films, and a wide variety of other source material.

There are several advantages to having a digital collection. One is that, like other online resources, items in a digital collection can be made available 24-7 (not limited to the library’s hours of operation) and they are accessible to anyone anywhere (not just people who are able to visit your library in person). Another advantage is that the images can be easily viewed by multiple patrons without fear of damaging the original artifact by handling, allowing the original to be preserved in its current state.

Discovery Resources
Among the largest digital collections is the Library of Congress American Memory collection. This collection incorporates “written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity.” It includes more than 9 million items.

Closer to home, we can find the Tennessee Virtual Archive (TeVA) and the Nashville Public Library Digital Collection.

The Tennessee State Library and Archives created TeVA as a digital repository of Tennessee history and culture. Its stated mission is to bring electronic versions of the state’s rich collections to a wider audience. TeVA provides an array of historical records, photographs, documents, maps, postcards, film, audio and other original materials. This digital collection includes historical postcards from Tennessee, photos of Rutherford County schools from the 1920s, photos of Appalachian people from the 1930s, photos of steamboats and river-related work from the 1920s, photos from WWI, a vast collection of American sheet music, and more. You can browse any of several individual collections, or search the whole collection by keyword. Some of the collections also offer online indexes or finding aids.

Nashville Public Library’s digital collection culls materials from the library’s Special Collection Division. Materials available include photographs, postcards, maps, oral histories, and ephemera. Materials are currently available in six categories: Capitol City, Architecture, Military History, Civil Rights, Performing Arts, and Business. Like TeVA, you can browse through any specific collection, or conduct a keyword search. The library also offers a search guide for Tips on Searching Digital Collections.

Discovery Exercise

• Spend a little time exploring TeVA or the Nashville Public Library’s digital collection.
• Create a blog post that includes an image from the collection, and tell us what about that image interested you.