In
the first year of the partnership, the English
Department helped establish some basic computer
training and resources through the Scott's
Run Settlement House. The second year continued
the computer-training program, but added
a new emphasis: under the new title of Writing
Heritage and in cooperation with the
Scott’s Run Settlement House, the
project emphasized community literacy and
writing – writing as both a subject
and an action. The active process
of writing involved sharing, recording,
and archiving community members’ stories
and perspectives. Through events such as
storytelling evenings and class visits,
the WVU-Scott’s Run partnership made
writing and literacy an active part of everyday
life. The subject of writing was
equally important: the community's written
documents help link past, present, and future.
The growing archive of interviews, documents,
photographs and other materials, recognized
the unique history of the Scott’s
Run.
The
Writing Heritage I web site, designed by
the CLC, is available at www.as.wvu.edu/~srsh.
More information about the Center for Writing
Excellence is available at http://www.as.wvu.edu/english/cwe/index.html.
In the third year, the partnership between
Scott’s Run and the English Department
focuses on digital heritage studies through
a close relationship between the CLC, directed
by Professor Sandy Baldwin, and the Scott’s
Run Museum, directed by Paulette Shine.
While the 2001-2002 Writing Heritage Project
gathered a wealth of primary materials,
data gathering is only a first step. The
major task remains of organizing and archiving
these materials into an accessible, usable
format. This is a complex project, including
the creation of metadata schemes, careful
digitization of materials, and the planning
and implementation of a large web site.
Furthermore, a wealth of additional material
about the area is still available at the
Scott’s Run Museum and at other sites
(such as the West Virginia Collection).
In addition, issues of access are central,
as with any use of technology. The success
of the project hinges on creating digital
resources that are accessible and meaningful
to the Scott’s Run community, as well
as to the larger community of scholars and
students. Towards this end, the project
explores low-bandwidth web-based materials
for delivering the multimedia archive of
Scott’s Run materials.
The
main outcomes of the Writing Heritage II
project include:
-
Tagging of all items in the Scott’s
Run Museum collection
-
Metadata for all items tagged
-
A searchable database of the metadata,
accessible over the web
-
A web site presenting a sampler or introduction
to the museum’s holdings and information
about the museum
The need for access and preservation is
clear. Digital heritage resources are not
simply contributions to scholarship but
active additions to the community. By representing
these materials, we bring attention to the
community itself: the digital returns us
to the real.
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