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Exhibit: "Digitizing Du Bois: One Year Later"
NEWS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: 02/22/09
CONTACT: LESLIE SCHALER, COMMUNICATIONS ASST., (413) 545-0162
UMASS AMHERST LIBRARIES PRESENTS
Exhibit: "Digitizing Du Bois: One Year Later"
Amherst, MA - The UMass Amherst Libraries present an exhibit, "Digitizing Du Bois: One Year Later," through May 21, 2010, in Special Collections and University Archives, Floor 25, Du Bois library. The exhibit features noteworthy items discovered during the process of digitizing the Du Bois Papers. The items include photos, letters, posters, and other papers relating to W.E.B. Du Bois's life and the history of the 20th century. The two-year project is nearing the halfway mark with almost 31,000 pages scanned and over 9,000 items described, in more than 40 boxes of material. The images will be available online at the end of the project.
In April 2009, with the support of a $200,000 Verizon Foundation grant, Special Collections and University Archives embarked on an historic project to make the entirety of the Du Bois Papers, more than 100,000 items, available freely on the Internet. The digitization of the Du Bois Papers will provide unprecedented access to thousands of pages of letters, speeches, writings, and photographs documenting Du Bois's interactions with many of the most influential thinkers and leaders of the 20th century. The Du Bois Papers is one of the most heavily used collections in Special Collections.
Unlike other digitization projects, which carefully select items worthy of scanning based on prescribed criteria, the Du Bois digitization project includes every item within the collection from the historic to the mundane. The project team includes Aaron Rubinstein, Du Bois digitization project manager, and metadata specialists Abby Baines and Jeremy Smith.
For more information, contact Danielle Kovacs, dkovacs@library.umass.edu, or (413) 545-2784.
Last Edited: 23 February 2010
