Dwight Marvin Library is leading a statewide project to boost the visibility of unique local collections and to improve access for student research. Brenda Hazard, library director, and Katie Jezik, systems/catalog librarian, presented the project at two recent meetings: the SUNY Librarians Association annual conference and the Capital District Library Council (CDLC) New York Heritage annual meeting.
Hudson Valley added the records for more than 9,000 unique local history artifacts into its new OneSearch system, putting primary source documents from local archives into results of student research. Unique records include nineteenth century photographs of local Civil War solders, historic postcards of regional tourist destinations, archival films from General Electric, and more. The collection is updated weekly and will expand to soon include contributions from the Rensselaer County Historical Society. The college’s archival images, including rare photographs of vocational training classrooms at the original Veterans Vocational School, the first edition of the college newspaper, and yearbooks, also are included. These documents were prepared by library staff members John Staerker and Patricia Kaiser.
The New York Heritage (Capital District) collection is available for other SUNY libraries to adopt. Dwight Marvin Library staff plan to expand the collection to include unique items from other areas in New York State and to encourage additional colleges in the area to adopt the collection for local research. This initiative represents successful collaboration between academic and public libraries in the region and improves access to unique documents featuring local history.
Published: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 12:04:44 +0000 by b.hazard