The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) has awarded a 16-month, $23,000 grant to the Special Collections of the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery for the creation of collection level records for all archival collections Special Collections and the implementation of an Encoded Archival Description (EAD-XML) compliant workflow.
Chief Curator Tom Beck, Archivist Lindsey Loeper, and Catalog Librarian Vicki Sipe will review, revise, and create collection level records and finding aids for the archival collections maintained by the Special Collections department in the Library. Collections will include the University Archives, the Center for Biological Sciences Archives, and local history collections including the new folklife collections donated by the Maryland State Arts Council and Maryland Traditions. The descriptive records will be mapped for reuse in multiple access systems including the Library Catalog, UMBC’s Digital Collections, and the Special Collections Search. The EAD-XML formatted finding aids will comply with national standards and may be harvested for access through union catalogs such as OCLC’s ArchiveGrid and the National Library of Medicine’s History of Medicine Finding Aids Consortium. The main goal of this project is to increase access to UMBC’s unique archival collections and to reach the researchers, scholars, students and community members that are seeking the high research value materials held at UMBC.
The NHPRC is the granting agency of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), supporting “a wide range of activities to preserve, publish, and encourage the use of documentary sources, created in every medium ranging from quill pen to computer, relating to the history of the United States.” The grant is awarded as part of the Documenting Democracy: Access to Historical Records program. A list of all May 2014 NHPRC awardees is available here.
Tags: Library
