From Project to Program: Connecticut History Online
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
The Case Study• Little background on CHO• Our sustainability efforts• Lessons learned
Initial goal of CHO• Digitize and catalog items from collections
Museum-Historical Society-Library Collaboration–
Initially Three Partner Institutions
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
•The Connecticut Historical Society•The University of Connecticut Thomas J. Dodd Research Center•Mystic Seaport
CHO II• Expand ed on a cooperative model of
shared responsibility and equal project ownership
Added partners: Connecticut State Library New Haven Colony Historical Society
Evolving goals of CHO• Expand the scope and variety of
materials represented in the digital collection:
manuscript collections, maps, drawings, broadsides, oral histories, sound recordings, costumes, art and artifacts, and more...
Evolving Goals of CHO• Enhance site
usefulness and usability for our target audience
• Add more partners
Funding• IMLS Leadership Grants
– 2000-2001[note gap]– 2003-2005
• Some additional grants• Some costs covered by
institutions
Original Staffing• CHO I & II dedicated staff:
– Project Coordinator hired by project Management Committee – works with Management Committee and directly oversees all aspects of project, including training
– Three catalogers (hired by partner institutions)
• Outside vendors do some tasks
Building a Collaborative Framework:Strong Committee structureListservsDocumentation on Web site
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
Team approach: CHO CommitteesManagementSelectionCatalogingEducationTechnical/Web Design
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Team approach: Management Committee
• Budgets• Task timelines• Overall decision-
making• Coordination of staff
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
Challenges:
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
•Structural/cultural issues –Diverse institutional cultures–Implementing decisions–Staff support of grant-funded work
•Sustaining the site
Opportunities/Benefits of Multiple Partners
• Complementary strengths in developing a digital collection of use to audiences– Museums: expertise in interpretation, educational
outreach– Libraries: organization of/access to collections,
technical expertise, familiarity with standards
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
Opportunities/Benefits• Improved access to institutional holdings
– Digitization of materials– Cataloging of materials– Web access to materials (alternative for some, sole
venue for others)• Acquisition of high-resolution surrogates
– Reduces or eliminates need to retrieve originals
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
Opportunities/Benefits• Greater public awareness of partner
institutions– Research inquiries– Reproduction requests (new income)
• Resource for public outreach (educational programming)
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
Opportunities/Benefits• Sharing knowledge and expertise— partner
institutions gain understanding of/facility with– Technical infrastructure involved in digital collections –
hardware & software– Best practices
• Digitization standards and options• Metadata standards and options
…That inform local planning, decision-making and practice
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
Challenges to DateCHO project partners have been trying to:
– Find permanent funding– Stabilize the platform– Add new partners– Move from contributed staff to “permanent” staff
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
Challenge of SustainabilityWords from WebWise*
• Users expect it• Integrate--Digital resources
as part of core mission• Collaborate• Project program • Identify audiences and their
needs (ongoing)
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
*IMLS WebWise 2005 Conference Business Planning Workshop
Planning for Sustaining CHO• Business plan• Non-profit corporation• New partners/members • Member services• Continue to develop
content, functionality
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
Sustaining the Project
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
Partners continuing to make individual contributions:
• Uconn – ContentDM and technical support• Mystic Seaport – administrative• State Library
• Grants• ContentDM
Late 2005: CHO II Web site launch
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
Collaborators in this project include:• Connecticut Humanities Council• Connecticut State Library and Iconn.org, and• Connecticut History Online,
Encyclopedia of Connecticut History Online (ECHO)
Late 2005: CHO II Web site launch
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
Project of the Connecticut Humanities Council• Funding both ECHO and CHO• Working together on Fundraising• Both are hiring staff
•CHO has hired a Coordinator
ECHO/CHO Partnership
Lessons Learned• Can’t count on grants• Adding new partners takes time and staff• One or more institutions have to take some
ownership for the “greater good”• Collaborations are not easy• Some partners will be more equal than others
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
Questions?
http://www.cthistoryonline.org
Thank YouKendall [email protected]
www.cslib.orgwww.cthistoryonline.org
http://www.cthistoryonline.org