The Top of the SouthHistory and Heritage Story

Once upon a time....

Libraries Group – An informal group of librarians from

around the region who meet to discuss topics which transcend individual libraries

2.5 years ago the Information Services librarians from Tasman and Nelson Libraries were brainstorming ideas for improving access to local history content.

There were two heroic librarians....

Susan Price and Cathy Vaughan led a group librarians from Tasman, Nelson, the Museum, NMIT exploring ideas for a web based resource for local history and heritage.

In January 2007 the now enlarged group submitted an application for funding to the Community Partnership Fund administered by the Department of Internal Affairs.

Chapter 2... In which the librarians had to undertake an epic journey ...

Community Partnership Fund This contestable fund of $17.4 million,

was set up to invest in ICT community initiatives by providing matching grants for community projects that would be enhanced by using ICT and that focused on one of the three strands of the Digital Strategy of Content, Confidence and Connectivity.

Chapter three... In which the group have to complete many tasks ...

Community Partnership Fund Criteria

Partnership-Tasman District Libraries, Nelson Public Libraries, NMIT library, Marlborough District Libraries, Provincial Museum

Capability to implement/accountability – Nelson City Council

Community benefit – project addresses a gap in community capability: the lack of access to the wealth of local heritage and history content currently “locked up” in books, museums, heritage sites and individual memory.

And navigate their way....

Community Partnership Fund Criteria

Scalability, sustainability – Smart use of ICT

Using the skills and knowledge of the librarians who developed the idea, the project team will “un-lock” the history and heritage of the top of the south region and make it accessible via the internet incorporating interactivity into the design to enable the ongoing evolution of the site.

through many obstacles and challenges... December 2006 – we submitted an

expression of interest along with 170 other groups.

April 2007 – invited to submit a comprehensive proposal along with 120 others

Mid 2007 Top of the South Digital Stories project received notification that 64 projects had been approved including ours

The terms and conditions were finally worked out and the money allocated earlier this year

And finally made it home...

Te Tau Ihu- Top of the South Digital Stories

Scope

To provide a Top of the South Island joint library managed and owned “local stories” website; covering local history , culture, geography, folktales, biographies etc.

Authorative – high quality product

Intended audience includes:

Students – primary and secondary Local people New residents Iwi Genealogists, local historians Other New Zealanders People overseas Travelers to the area Any one interested in our story

Goal

Creating a well researched and authoritative website utilising existing recorded history, culture,artefacts, and new content to tell the stories of the Top of the South

Topics

A vast list of topics have been generated by the editorial board and of these a range of topics have been developed into annotated bibliographies so that the writer can be off running as soon as the appointment is made. The priority selection has been made to ensure that content from across the region is covered when we launch the site.

Important other entities

National Digital Forum National Library National Digital Library of New

Zealand

Similar projects

Taranaki Stories kete horowhenua Matapihi TE ARA

Sample page – from the planning stages

Important concepts

Quality of the content Good use of links to existing digitised

content ( of quality ) Future possibilities planned for in the

design Interactivity – tagging, end user input Multi-media – embedded podcasts of

relevant clips of oral history, embedded streaming video etc