Digital Library Center - University of Florida Smathers Libraries

Digital Library Center Projects: Harn

Many of the projects at the Digital Library Center are collaborative in nature. While many such as the Baldwin Children's Literature project and Maps project are done with other library departments many are done with external parties across campus, the state, and the world. These include the Digital Library of the Caribbean, which is a multi-national & multi-institutional project, the herbarium specimens which were digitized in conjunction with the Florida Museum of Natural History, the Elmer Harvey Bone Collection which was done with the Alachua County Historic Trust: Matheson Museum and the African Beadwork objects which are a part of the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art. In selecting items for the Between the Beads exhibit of African Beadwork in 2008, the Harn Museum partnered with the University of Florida Digital Library Center. The Digital Library Center provided imaging support by photographing each object in high resolution and creating a digital package which would simulate museum viewing by allowing each object to be seen in the round (360 degrees). Each object can also be enlarged to show detail giving scholars, researchers and the public an experience not available in the museum setting; the ability to inspect even the smallest stitch or tiniest bead. These images are now freely available online to anyone with an Internet connection.

The Digital Library Center also scanned images from the UF Libraries Collections that were related to the Between the Beads exhibit, notably photographs from Z.J.S. Ndimande & Son which were donated by researcher Frank Jolles. In order to best support the fusion of museum and library materials for exploration, innovation, and research, the Digital Library Center is also pursuing permissions to digitize scholarly research on African Beadwork. Both institutions benefited greatly from this collaboration. The project allowed the Harn to move one step closer to their goal of providing greater public access to their collections online. At the same time the DLC added to their holdings and provided a more complete research portal by adding visual objects which directly related to their existing collection of African print materials. The result is illustrated in the UF Digital Collections when searching for the term "Yoruba." The search term returns 86 items including books on Yoruba names and their meanings, the origins of Santeria, and cultural traditions in the Benin Kingdom as well as a Yoruba Beaded Coronet and Female Ibeji Figure (both from the Harn collection). The Harn also received technical consultation from the DLC in preparation of future digital projects. Together, the Digital Library Center and the Harn Museum hope to bring materials to life online and in conversation with each other.