digital forsyth: through a social entrepreneurial lens

Digital ForsythThrough a Social Entrepreneurial Lens

Susan Sharpless SmithDigitizing our Cultural HistoryLLAMA WebinarSeptember 19, 2012

Forsyth County Public Library

C. G. O’Kelly Library, Winston Salem State University

Old Salem Museum and Gardens

Z. Smith Reynolds Library/Coy C. Carpenter Library,Wake Forest University

Project’s Genesis

• A 2004 brainstorming meeting among 3 Forsyth County Libraries– A desire to identify collaborative projects to

• Improve services to the community• Increase opportunities for ongoing interlibrary interaction

– Outcome: Everyone had historic photo collections and they were high demand items by our users

Project Framework

• Funded through LSTA Grants (NCEcho)– 2005 Planning Grant– 2006-2009 Multiyear Collaborative Grant

• Planning Grant formed framework that was used for the digitization grant

Project Mission

Project VisionUsers will turn to Digital Forsyth as the definitive online repository of cultural heritage resources held by Forsyth County institutions.

Through digitization, Digital Forsyth, a collaboration of cultural heritage institutions in Forsyth County, North Carolina, facilitates access to cultural, historical and scientific heritage photograph collections, thereby increasing interest in and knowledge of the past and informing future generations.

Project Processes

• Decentralized production• Centralized grant administration• Cross institution collaborative workgroups• Major process goal: Rich user experience

– Infrastructure vs. public interface– Creating rich data– Leveraging educational value

Infrastructure: DSpace

wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/jspui/handle/10339/1

Public Interface: WordPress

digitalforsyth.org

Rich Data

Educational Value

Teacher workshop to create lesson plans

Meeting project goals through a rich public interface

• Telling stories• Community photo sharing• User commenting

User Experience

Telling Stories

Photo Sharing

User Commenting

Who Uses Digital Forsyth?

Outreach Grant: Preserving Forsyth’s Past

Contact Information

Susan Sharpless Smith

Associate Dean

Z. Smith Reynolds Library

Wake Forest University

smithss@wfu.edu