Alice W. Campbell
Digital Outreach and Special Projects Librarian
Virginia Commonwealth University
Catherine A. Paul
Research Assistant
Virginia Commonwealth University
The Social Welfare History Image Portal, based at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), is an ongoing collaborative venture displaying a range of materials from an eclectic coalition of eight partner institutions to date: VCU Libraries, University of Mary Washington Libraries, Simmons College Library, University of Minnesota Libraries, The Valentine (Museum), Union Presbyterian Seminary Library, Beth Ahabah Museum & Archives, and Baylor University Libraries. The Image Portal is a freely available online discovery environment that organizes and promotes the use of intriguing historical materials related to social reform movements. In addition to single items, Discovery Sets—curated groups focused on a particular topic—are entryways to research with primary sources. This Image Portal, constructed in Omeka, sits at the intersection of innovative teaching and learning and infrastructure to support research. In many respects, the Image Portal resembles a networked version of the “vertical file,” a time-proven resource for both students and scholars at the beginning of their research journeys. This metaphor signals that the Image Portal is neither a repository nor an online exhibit with an interpretive layer. Instead, the site displays brief publications, excerpts from larger works, and interesting objects in sufficient resolution to be clearly legible and immediately useful. These individual items of interest also suggest areas of further research, as all item records are tagged and clearly identify and link to the contributing institution. This project briefing will discuss recruiting partner institutions, the use of innovative descriptive practices alongside finding aids and other cataloging information at home institutions, and the architecture of the platform.
http://images.socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/
http://images.socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/about