The two of us (Catherine Homsey and myself) are from the Delaware Humanities Forum, the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Delaware affiliate, and we have turned increasingly to web-based resources and digital media to help serve our constituents better.

Recently, we’ve joined forces with the Delaware Division of Libraries on a particular project. DDL recently was awarded a grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to supply the state’s various repositories, archives, and libraries with software and training so they can digitally index their collections, which can then be searched from a single search engine. What is missing is a user interface or portal that will allow these repositories to take some of their digital resources, create online exhibits as they wish, and also support this activity with social media, etc. That’s where we come in.

We also have created a digital history project, the Delaware Industrial History Initiative, which supports the documentation and preservation of Delawareans’ experience with industry and its decline.

We’re proposing a conversation on what experience campers have had in devising new ways to digitally support the work of institutions and the publics they serve. Most have us have all experimented with social media and made it work (or not) for our organizations; we’re more interested in discussing strategies and more integrated approaches to preservation, presentation, communication, and publication (e.g., including training, setting or adopting standards, potentially creating opportunities for web publishing).

Catherine Homsey

Erik Rau