Join us for a series of inspirational and educational lightning talks by members of the Digital Commons community, for members of the Digital Commons community. Session 4.1 hosted by Ann Connolly, Digital Commons.
Reagan L. Grimsley, University of Alabama in Huntsville
Promoting Undergraduate Research Via Digital Commons: UAH Research or Creative Experience for Undergraduates (RCEU) Program
Identifying campus partners who will benefit from the Digital Commons Institutional Repository is a crucial part of the implementation process. At the University of Alabama in Huntsville, the Research or Creative Experience for Undergraduates, or RCEU, is a robust summer program which produces high quality research. Working with the UAH Director of Undergraduate Research, we were able to migrate these posters from their prior digital home and create a unique collection of undergraduate research materials which both highlight and showcase the summer academic research of our students. We were also able to ingest the project proposals, which show the work process of both faculty mentors and students. Digital Commons offers a much higher level of visibility than our old platform and a greater circulation of this specific work product.
Greg Murphy and Eddie Cruz, Pace University
Publishing the Publishing Theses
We recently uploaded almost 1,000 theses from the Publishing department at Pace University utilizing the bulk upload system. I will be talking about this project, copyright concerns regarding theses, metadata challenges, and access control to the collection.
Helena “Lena” Marvin, University of Missouri-St. Louis
OER in the DCX
Open Educational Resources look great in Digital Commons, and fantastic in a Digital Commons Exhibit. At my institution we found out what OER was being used by which instructors and using the power of the five Rs of OER, we're retraining and redistributing those OERs in our IR and showcasing them in DCX. I'll explain how and why you should too!
Todd Seguin, Western Kentucky University
Connecting with the Community: Genealogical Resources in the IR
Genealogy materials are a popular request at Western Kentucky University’s Special Collections Library. Between 2018 and 2020, librarians and staff worked together to upload three regional genealogical newsletters to expand access and address university wide strategic initiatives. We will look at the download numbers and locations to draw some conclusions about the popularity and success of this project.
Heidi J. Southworth, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Mapping South Central Minnesota: An Aerial Photograph Digitization Project
In 2021, a team consisting of Evan Rusch (Government Documents/Reference and Instruction Librarian), Nicole Smith (Maps Technician), Heidi Southworth (Digital Initiatives Librarian), and student workers Britney Hartmann, Samuel Lemma, Jasmyne Fisher began digitization of 27,441 unique aerial photographs. These aerial photographs are from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) District 7 covering south central Minnesota from 1957-2006. They are housed in the Dr. Mary T. Dooley Map Library at Minnesota State University, Mankato. These photographs are heavily utilized by students and faculty in our geography and engineering departments and by other researchers who visit our campus. Through digitization, we have not only aided in their preservation but expanded access to these unique materials, making them available to a global audience for study. Now, one year later, we have successfully digitized 32.47% of the collection and have added 18% of the photographs to our institutional repository, Cornerstone. This lightning talk will share this unique and complex project and show the new interactive ArcGIS map that Graduate Assistant Ira Raber created that is found on the gallery’s home page and updated as we add digitized photographs.
Jackie Werner, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
2 Good 2 Be 4Gotten: Virtual "Yearbooks" on the DigitalCommons
After COVID disrupted campus life at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, DO student yearbooks were discontinued. In response, librarians and the campus photographer collaborated to preserve the wealth of photography for future generations on the DigitalCommons. This talk will cover the opportunities and challenges of this ongoing project.
