Archives are responsible for not only maintaining analog materials in the historic collections, but are also tasked with keeping digital records and materials as well. Digitization of historic materials makes collections accessible to people remotely, which expands the reach of a collection. It also ensures protection of delicate materials from the risks of damage that comes with displaying and handling rare artifacts. There are a plethora of digital collections that many archives around the world allow anyone to access. One of my favorites to browse is the Library of Congress Digital Collection.
The D'Angelo Library Special Collection has digitized quite a few resources which are available on the Digital Commons, such as historic postcards, yearbooks, and journals. A current large project currently underway is digitizing the dozens of VHS tapes in our collection to mp4 for both preservation and accessibility. VHS is a notoriously delicate material subject to preserve and is subject to rapid degradation. The process is time-consuming and requires access to the proper machines, so we decided to use a local company to migrate our materials on VHS. Accessibility is one of the highest priorities in preservation of materials, so keeping our materials from becoming obsolete is a top concern.
Our first collection of digitization in this VHS project is the collection of Follies videos which begin in the 1990s.Although the legend of past Follies has been captured in many photographs from the earliest classes at Kansas City University, with the invention of video we have a new challenge in preserving the magic of this memorable milestone.
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This photograph is in the Special Collections and comes from the Follies of 1950.
This photograph is from the Follies of 1970.
The library staff are honored to be the stewards of these fun memories of all KCU students, past and present. Keeping track of digital materials is a concern for every individual in the world today. Not everyone sees the importance of preserving their digital records as all of our digital lives keep evolving. Make It Last Forever: A Digital Preservation is a wonderful free resource to check out if you would like to learn more about how you can maintain your own digital archive of personal items, and be sure to look out for updates as we continue to share the progress of our VHS digitization project!
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