Tag Archives: Digitization

by | November 4, 2015 · 2:09 pm

Behind the Scenes

WKU Archives LogoWKU Archives is staffed by a full time archivist (Suellyn Lathrop) a full time archives assistant (April McCauley) and a 10-hour per week student worker (Jack).  We work Monday through Friday 8 to 4:30 and a couple Saturdays each semester.

Suellyn and April spend most of their time processing collections and doing reference work for patrons who come in or contact us by telephone or email.  Jack spends his ten hours a week digitizing the stuff that Suellyn and April pile up for him to do.

Processing refers to the act of arranging and describing records so researchers can find what they want and need quickly.  Processing can be very time consuming. Continue reading →

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by | October 26, 2015 · 3:42 pm

WKU Archives Video Digitization Project ~ Grand Finale!

At the end of September we received the last shipment of 2-inch quadruplex

2 Inch Quad Videotape

2 Inch Quad Videotape

videotapes back to WKU Archives and along with the originals came DVDs of the converted tapes. We have completed uploading the videos to YouTube and the following are now available:

Kentucky Constitution Revision Debate – a town hall meeting to discuss the pros and cons of revising the Kentucky constitution with Lt. Governor Thelma Stovall and Richard Lewis debating the issue.

Installation of WKU President Donald Zacharias Part I & Part II, 1979 Continue reading →

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by | November 22, 2014 · 12:00 pm

From Quad to DVD

filmThis is just one of the many 2-inch quadruplex videotapes housed in WKU Archives.  These tapes were first created for use in television production in 1956.  Quads were phased out in the early-1980s and replaced by smaller videotapes. WKU no longer owns playback equipment for these tapes.

WKYU-TV recorded many programs using quad tapes that are being digitized through a $7500.00 WKU Libraries grant.  In September 59 quad tapes were shipped to Transfer Media in Indianapolis for digitization to DVD.  The first shipment of DVDs arrived at the Kentucky Building this week.

Theses titles are now available to researchers, some are available on TopScholar and on the WKU Library Special Collections YouTube channel.

Continue reading →

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by | May 18, 2011 · 10:16 am

Kentucky Library is Well Guarded, Word

That was the headline of an article in the Students Weekly, October 31, 1935.  The reporter goes on to say:

“Shades of the two-headed dog, Cerebus guarding the gates of Hades an the dragon that guarded the golden fleece are recalled when one seeks to enter the treasure house of the Kentucky Library at Western.  Just above the door is an old muzzle-loader and swinging in the doorway is one of the largest hornets’ nest that has been one’s fortune to see.”

This and other articles about the WKU Libraries’ history are now available online in the first two library scrapbooks covering the period 1911 through 1959.  In addition to newspaper clippings, there are photographs of the library, faculty and staff members along with some biographical sketches of early librarians and staff. 

WKU Libraries Scrapbook 1 – http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/dlsc_ua_records/295/

WKU Libraries Scrapbook 2 – http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/dlsc_ua_records/296/

These and other records regarding the history of Western are available in the University Archives and online through KenCat.

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by | May 2, 2011 · 12:10 pm

Theses Digitization Phase I Completed

In 2010 a project was initiated to  digitize WKU theses and dissertations for the period 1994-2009. These theses were stored in University Archives awaiting microfilming, however with the changes in technology, the decision was made to secure funding for digitization instead.   In June 2010 the funding was secured.  The theses were checked against the microfilm and a few additional theses going back to 1935 were found that had not been microfilmed.  Each theses was checked for student permissions and a page count was compiled.  28 boxes containing 759 theses were shipped to North Carolina to be digitized.  A jpg file was created of each page and a pdf file was created of each theses.  The originals and a hard drive returned to WKU in late March 2011.  From April 5 – 26, 2011 the theses were uploaded onto TopScholar and links were created from the library catalog TopCat to assist researchers in accessing them.  They are available by department and also at Masters Theses & Specialists Projects.

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