2018 Grant Program Increases Digital Participation in the Digital Library of Georgia

ATHENS, Ga — Berry College, Georgia State University, and the Oconee Regional Library are among three Competitive Digitization grants awarded through an ongoing subgranting program with the Digital Library of Georgia.

 

These institutions are recipients of the second set of grants awarded in a program intended to broaden partner participation in the Digital Library of Georgia (DLG). The DLG solicited proposals for historic digitization projects in a statewide call, and applicants submitted proposals for projects with a cost of up to $5,000. The projects will be administered by DLG staff who will perform digitization and descriptive services on textual (not including newspapers), graphic, and audio-visual materials.

 

Sheila McAlister, director of the Digital Library of Georgia notes: “Thanks to our review partners from Georgia Humanities, Georgia Public Library Service, Georgia Arts Council, Georgia Historic Records Advisory Council, and DLG partner volunteers, we’ve selected another strong slate of digital projects that reflect the diversity of Georgia. The collections document Berry College’s history from the 1940s to the 1960s, African American education in Laurens County during the 1930s, and finally, Atlanta LGBTQ entertainment and news during the last decade of the 20th century.”

 

Preference in the selection process was given to proposals from institutions that had not yet collaborated with the DLG. The Oconee Regional Library is a new partner for the DLG.

 

The three recipients and their projects include:

 

  • Berry College (Mount Berry, Ga.) – Digitization of the Southern Highlander (Spring/Summer 1943 – September 1966). The Southern Highlander, the official magazine published by the Berry Schools in Mount Berry, Georgia, documents the Berry Schools’ history. This publication, which was the primary publication used by the Berry Schools to communicate with potential donors and the public, is an invaluable primary source for anyone doing research on the history of Berry or education or philanthropy in Georgia in the first half of the twentieth century. The time frame of 1943-1966 includes the transitional period after Martha Berry’s passing, the impact of World War II on the school, the school’s fostering of liberal arts education and professional programs, earning accreditation by Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, and expanding recruitment to urban, non-traditional, and commuter students.

 

  • Georgia State University (Atlanta, Ga.) – Digitization of the Mike Maloney Out TV Collection (1999-2000). Out TV Atlanta, a half-hour weekly news and entertainment show focused on LGBTQ life, ran from 1999-2000. The brainchild of Michael B. Maloney, the show was supported financially by Maloney’s family and friends. Maloney used his funds to purchase air time, and Out TV aired in Atlanta and Savannah. Its reporters (most of whom were volunteers) included Rob Martin, Leane Reed and Terence Steele. As producer of the show, Maloney saw that most of the coverage of LGBTQ life involved night clubs and drag queens, and he wanted to focus on “ordinary” gay people who were firefighters, attorneys, and regular members of the community. Issues covered include Governor Roy Barnes’ address to an Atlanta gay professional organization (the first in the state), and the first Gay Pride Parade in Savannah.

 

  • Oconee Regional Library (Dublin, Ga.) – Digitization and description of teacher’s monthly reports from 37 of the African American rural and city schools in operation during the 1930s in Laurens County, Georgia. The reports were created by individual teachers for submission to the Laurens County Superintendent, and list student names, ages, grade levels, and attendance for the month. Many of these records also display teacher’s salaries, addresses, and other information. These resources are of significant value to family and local historians given that much African American educational history was not recorded or recounted elsewhere. Genealogists will appreciate the listing of children by name and age.
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New Collections Document Atlanta’s Interdenominational Theological Center and Morehouse, Morris Brown, and Spelman Colleges.

Dance Theater Students
Dance Theater Students, Spelman College Photographs Collection, Theatre and Dance Series 3, http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/scimgtnd/3

As part of the CLIR-funded, “Our Story” project, Atlanta University Center, Spelman College, and the DLG are happy to announce additional content documenting the largest consortium of African American private institutions of higher education.

Additional “Our Story” updates are available through the DLG blog.

Interdenominational Theological Center

  • The Center–Quarterly journal of the Interdenominational Center’s cooperating seminaries and the Stewart Missionary Foundation of Africa dating from 1960 to 1966 and containing articles of wide general interest as well as more detailed discussions or special subjects from the Divisions of Biblical, Historical, Theological, and practical.
  • The Foundation–Quarterly journal published between 1905 and 1980 for  the Gammon Theological Seminary, its alumni, and the Stewart Missionary Foundation for Africa.
  • The Journal of the Interdenominational Theological Center–Semi-annual scholarly journal dating from 1973 to 2007 and featuring the work of I.T.C. faculty.
  • The Lantern–Alumni news publication covering the period from 1984 to 2009 highlighting the work of I.T.C. alumni and important events and activities.
  • Yearbooks -Yearbooks of the Interdenominational Theological Center dating from 1945 and 1986 and chronicling the annual activities of Gammon Theological Seminary, The Morehouse School of Religion, Phillips School of Theology, and Turner Theological Seminary.

Morehouse College

  • Morehouse College Photographs–Photographs depicting the buildings and grounds, students, campus events and visitors, faculty, and individuals associated with Morehouse College, the only all-male historically Black college in the United States, dating from the 1880s through the 1970s.

Morris Brown College

  • Catalogs–Course catalogs dating from 1889 to 1998 of historically black, Atlanta-based, liberal arts college, Morris Brown College.

Spelman College

  • Buildings–Photographs tracing the development of the Spelman College campus from the 1880s to the present.
  • Commencement –Photographs depicting Spelman College commencement ceremonies from 1887 to 2005.
  • Presidents–Photographs documenting the leadership history of Spelman College from its founding in 1881 to present day.
  • Theatre–Photographs of productions and performances of the Spelman College Department of Drama and Dance from the 1930s to present.

This project is supported by a Digitizing Hidden Collections  grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The grant program is made possible by funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

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