Abstract
The James Merrill Papers, housed in Washington University Libraries Special Collections, contains manuscripts, drafts, and other materials from the renowned poet. In 2013, work began to digitize and deliver a selection of the Merrill Papers towards his epic poem, The Book of Ephraim. Because the Libraries’ already used Omeka digital exhibit software for a number of projects, the materials were delivered in an Omeka exhibit, The James Merrill Digital Archive. The process of transforming an archival collection into a digital exhibit required the expertise and input of many collaborators including library staff in Special Collections and Scholarly Publishing, and students and staff from the Humanities Digital Workshop. Through this collaborative effort, scanning, metadata, initial arrangement of materials, and creation of an Omeka exhibit was completed over the course of a summer. The exhibit showcases Merrill’s writing and editing process forThe Book of Ephraim, including Ouija board session transcripts, poem drafts, and typescripts. Development of the digital archive has continued, as students and staff transcribe and encode some of Merrill’s handwritten and typed manuscripts using Subversion versioning software and oXygen XML editor. Future goals for the project include continuing TEI XML markup; adding Merrill materials from other archives; and continuing to train and work with students to add to the exhibit. The James Merrill Digital Archive is a demonstration of cross-campus and interdepartmental collaboration, employing student workers to perform high-level exhibit curation and encoding, and using and customizing Omeka for delivering sophisticated digital collections. Presented by Shannon Davis, Digital Library Services Manager, and Joel Minor, Curator of Modern Literature Collection and Manuscripts, this presentation will be delivered by project contributors who can speak to both the digital and archival aspects of the collection.
Type of Proposal
Presentation
Proposal Category
Systems, Workflows, Workflows, Metadata, Collaborations, Presentation, Systems, Decisions
Keywords
digital exhibit, collaboration, platform customization
Acknowledgements
Shannon Davis, Digital Library Services Manager, and Joel Minor, Curator of Modern Literature Collection and Manuscripts
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Davis, Shannon and Minor, Joel (2016). "The James Merrill Digital Archive: Channeling the Collaborative Spirit(s)," Central Plains Network for Digital Asset Management. https://newprairiepress.org/cpndam/2016/day1/7
Additional Files
ShannonDavisJoelMinorBios.pdf (169 kB)Shannon Davis & Joel Minor bios
20161115Session1_915AM.mp4 (259279 kB)
Download video
Included in
Archival Science Commons, Cataloging and Metadata Commons, Computer and Systems Architecture Commons, Data Storage Systems Commons, Digital Communications and Networking Commons, Digital Humanities Commons, Management Information Systems Commons, Modern Literature Commons, Technology and Innovation Commons
The James Merrill Digital Archive: Channeling the Collaborative Spirit(s)
The James Merrill Papers, housed in Washington University Libraries Special Collections, contains manuscripts, drafts, and other materials from the renowned poet. In 2013, work began to digitize and deliver a selection of the Merrill Papers towards his epic poem, The Book of Ephraim. Because the Libraries’ already used Omeka digital exhibit software for a number of projects, the materials were delivered in an Omeka exhibit, The James Merrill Digital Archive. The process of transforming an archival collection into a digital exhibit required the expertise and input of many collaborators including library staff in Special Collections and Scholarly Publishing, and students and staff from the Humanities Digital Workshop. Through this collaborative effort, scanning, metadata, initial arrangement of materials, and creation of an Omeka exhibit was completed over the course of a summer. The exhibit showcases Merrill’s writing and editing process forThe Book of Ephraim, including Ouija board session transcripts, poem drafts, and typescripts. Development of the digital archive has continued, as students and staff transcribe and encode some of Merrill’s handwritten and typed manuscripts using Subversion versioning software and oXygen XML editor. Future goals for the project include continuing TEI XML markup; adding Merrill materials from other archives; and continuing to train and work with students to add to the exhibit. The James Merrill Digital Archive is a demonstration of cross-campus and interdepartmental collaboration, employing student workers to perform high-level exhibit curation and encoding, and using and customizing Omeka for delivering sophisticated digital collections. Presented by Shannon Davis, Digital Library Services Manager, and Joel Minor, Curator of Modern Literature Collection and Manuscripts, this presentation will be delivered by project contributors who can speak to both the digital and archival aspects of the collection.
Learning Outcomes
Attendees will learn about cross campus collaboration among the libraries, University departments, students, and faculty. The presentation will also focus on building a digital exhibit in Omeka and how to customize the digital exhibit software.