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special collections


The NCLA Special Collections Section was established in 1989. Our mission statement declares that we are committed to (a) uniting NCLA members from all types of libraries who are interested in special collections (b) providing an opportunity for discussion and activity, (c) actively promoting the collection, preservation and use of historical materials, and (d) seeking to fulfill the objectives of the NCLA.

Membership is open to anyone who is a member of the North Carolina Library Association (NCLA). Our members represent a great variety of organizations, including public libraries, university archives, manuscript repositories, historical societies, and state libraries. 

Some of our past activities include publishing our newsletter, organizing the popular local history workshops across the state, sponsoring NCLA conference programs on a wide variety of topics, and co-sponsoring symposiums on such topics as collecting, and professional ethics. We also maintain a list of relevant "Links of Interest" for our membership.

Future directions for our Section involve learning new ways to share information with a wider segment of librarians and archivists in North Carolina (this web page is one example; our regional workshops are another); expanding our social media presence; and increasing our membership.



Board Members

Chair: Kathelene McCarty Smith, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Vice Chair: Travis Souther, Grant County Public Library, Williamstown, KY

Past Chair: Jessica Janecki, Duke University

Director of Programing: Jennifer Daugherty, East Carolina University

Director of Communications: Alston Cobourn, East Carolina University 

Treasurer/Secretary: Stacey Krim, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro


Past Events

Title: Getting Started with Oral Histories

When: April 6, 2023 @ 10am 

Presenters: Jennifer Daugherty, East Carolina University

Description:   Are you interested in starting an oral history project but not sure how to proceed? In this session, Jennifer Daugherty, Head of the North Carolina Collection at East Carolina University, will offer advice on how to quickly start your project, conduct interviews, and how to decide when you're finished. 

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Title: Storytelling in Special Collections (Part II)

When: October 14, 2022 @ 3pm 

Presenters: Alston Cobourn and Patrick Cash, East Carolina University; Samantha Crisp, UNC Wilmington; Laura England, UNC Chapel Hill; David Gwynn, UNC Greensboro

Description:   Is there a particular item or collection you love to talk about to others? Do you have some gossipy love letters or animal photographs about which you would love to dish with other librarians and archivists? This casual panel provides the opportunity for people who work with special collections and archival materials (working in a special collection or special collections adjacent) to share the story behind material with which they have worked. This event is not so much about how to tell a story, as an opportunity for people who work with Special Collections to share something interesting about a particular item with which you have worked, the story about a collection you think is entertaining, or even a fun process, such as an unusual cataloging mystery.

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Title: Storytelling in Special Collections (Part I)

When: May 27, 2022 @ 10am 

Presenters: Sarah Downing, Western Regional Archives; Paula Jeannet, Duke University; Ashley McGhee Whittle, UNC Ashville; Kathelene McCarty Smith, UNC Greensboro

Description: This casual panel provides the opportunity for people who work with special collections and archival materials to share the story behind an item with which they have worked.

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Title: What's Up with SNAC? Social Networks and Archival Contexts 

When: December 10th, 2020 @ 2pm 

Presenters: Kelly Spring and John Dunning, East Carolina University 

Description:   Hungry for some archival records? Then try SNAC! This webinar about the Social Networks and Archival Context Cooperative will satisfy any craving. Whether you yearn for the sweet treat of archival discovery or prefer the salty satisfaction of metadata creation, your presenters have got you covered. John Dunning and Kelly Spring from East Carolina University will provide a brief overview of the SNAC Cooperative, show you how to use the free, online resource as a reference tool, and give a short demonstration on the finer points of building out a record within the SNAC editing interface. 

Link to recorded presentation.  Password: SNAC1_Web

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Title: Surf the Outer Bits: the Basics of Digital Preservation

Description: The NCLA Special Collections Round Table, in coordination with the State Archives’ Traveling Archivist Program (TAP), is sponsoring a series of webinars designed for those institutions interested in the next step of digitizing their collections. This first webinar will be an overview of basic digital preservation steps and factors to consider when planning and managing digitization projects or handling born-digital content in your collections.

When: Monday, July 30, 2018 at 2pm. 60 minutes in duration.

Presenters:

Erica Titkemeyer is the Project Director and Audiovisual Conservator for the Southern Folklife Collection at Wilson Special Collections Library, coordinating both in-house audiovisual digitization and outsourcing of materials to digitization vendors. Working with Technical Services and Library Information and Technology departments, Erica also participates in the improvement of online access and digital preservation for digitized materials.

Jessica Venlet works as the Assistant University Archivist for Digital Records & Records Management at the UNC Wilson Special Collections Library. In this role, Jessica is responsible for a variety of things related to both records management and digital preservation. In particular, she leads the acquisition and management of born-digital university records. She earned a Master of Science in Information degree from the University of Michigan.

LINK TO PRESENTATION SLIDES

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Title: Digitization Standards for Digital Collections

Description: The NCLA Special Collections Round Table, in coordination with the State Archives’ Traveling Archivist Program (TAP), is sponsoring a series of webinars designed for those institutions interested in the next step of digitizing their collections. This webinar will examine digital imaging standards and best practices for library digital collections, with emphasis on the following areas:

  • Scanning for access vs. scanning for preservation
  • Image quality and formats: compression vs. resolution
  • Proprietary vs. open formats for various types of documents
  • Brief examination of audio/video standards and best practices
  • Exceptions for "field scanning" and donated materials
  • Recommended software for institutions with smaller budgets

When: Wednesday, August 29, 2018 at 2pm. 60 minutes in duration.

Presenter:

David Gwynn - Associate Professor/Digital Projects Coordinator, Electronic Resources and Information Technology Department, University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

David Gwynn has been Digital Projects Coordinator for the UNCG University Libraries since 2009. He has led collaborative digitization projects funded by the Library Services Technology Act (LSTA), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), making thousands of local history resources available online. Along with colleague Richard Cox, he was recently awarded a three-year National Historical Publications and Records Commission grant to fund the People Not Property project, which will digitize and transcribe nearly 10,000 slave deeds from across North Carolina. Gwynn received both his BA in Urban Geography and Sociology and his MLIS from UNCG. Prior to becoming a librarian, he was a freelance web designed and also worked in retail management. His work has been published in Digital Library Perspectives and The American Archivist, and he has authored book chapters on copyright issues for local history collections and on digital collections workflows.

LINK TO PRESENTATION SLIDES AND RECORDING

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Title: Copyright Issues for Digital Collections

Description: The NCLA Special Collections Round Table, in coordination with the State Archives’ Traveling Archivist Program (TAP), is sponsoring a series of webinars designed for those institutions interested in the next step of digitizing their collections. This webinar will discuss copyright concepts as applied to digitized collections and will focus on the following topics:

  • Discussions of some specific library copyright exemptions and their implications for digital collections
  • Determining which items can be digitized with minimal copyright risk
  • Fair use, transformative use, and other justifications
  • Communicating copyright and reuse restrictions to end users (e.g. DPLA rights statements)
  • Where to go for help/advice

When: Wednesday, September 19, 2018 at 2pm. 60 minutes in duration.

Presenter

David Gwynn - Associate Professor/Digital Projects Coordinator, Electronic Resources and Information Technology Department, University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

David Gwynn has been Digital Projects Coordinator for the UNCG University Libraries since 2009. He has led collaborative digitization projects funded by the Library Services Technology Act (LSTA), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), making thousands of local history resources available online. Along with colleague Richard Cox, he was recently awarded a three-year National Historical Publications and Records Commission grant to fund the People Not Property project, which will digitize and transcribe nearly 10,000 slave deeds from across North Carolina. Gwynn received both his BA in Urban Geography and Sociology and his MLIS from UNCG. Prior to becoming a librarian, he was a freelance web designed and also worked in retail management. His work has been published in Digital Library Perspectives and The American Archivist, and he has authored book chapters on copyright issues for local history collections and on digital collections workflows.

LINK TO PRESENTATION SLIDES AND RECORDING


Upcoming Events

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