The Posterity Project

Onward Southern Soldiers interview on NPT...

2012-02-10T13:00:00.000-06:00

Traci and I are very excited to announce that we've been invited for an interview with John Seigenthaler for his program, "A Word on Words," airing locally on Nashville Public Television. Our taping is scheduled for Valentine's Day, February 14th. When we find out when the program will air, we'll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, I want to publicly thank John Seigenthaler, and the folks at NPT for offering us this air time to talk about our book, Onward Southern Soldiers: Religion and the Army of Tennessee in the Civil War. We're looking forward to our conversation.

Here's a word about "A Word on Words"...

Each Sunday morning, A Word on Words invites you into an in depth discussion between renowned journalist and First Amendment advocate John Seigenthaler and some of the today’s finest novelists, journalists, historians, memoirists and more.

Among the diverse list of notable guests who have appeared on the show over the years are John Updike, Erma Bombeck, Gay Talese, Kris Kristofferson, Robert Hicks, Ann Patchett, David Halberstam, David Maraniss, Kinky Friedman, Studs Terkel, Al Gore Jr., Gail Sheehy, Rick Bragg and Deepak Chopra.

When Seigenthaler closes each episode of A Word on Words with his signature signoff, “Keep Reading,” he means it. Seigenthaler has been hosting the show and celebrating reading and writing for over 35 years.

About Onward Southern Soldiers...

ONWARD SOUTHERN SOLDIERS: RELIGION AND THE ARMY OF TENNESSEE IN THE CIVIL WAR (The History Press, August 2011 - 128 pp. Over 45 images. $19.99 plus $5.00 shipping/handling)

The Civil War was trying, bloody and hard-fought combat for both sides. What was it, then, that sustained soldiers low on supplies and morale? For the Army of Tennessee, it was religion. Onward Southern Soldiers: Religion and the Army of Tennessee in the Civil War explores the significant impact of religion on every rank, from generals to chaplains to common soldiers. It took faith to endure overwhelming adversity. Religion unified troops, informing both why and how they fought and providing the rationale for enduring great hardship for the Confederate cause. Using primary source material such as diaries, letters, journals and sermons of the Army of Tennessee, Traci Nichols-Belt, along with Gordon T. Belt, presents the history of the vital role of the army’s religious practices.

Tennessee History Day needs volunteers...

2012-02-09T13:00:00.000-06:00

Tennessee History Day is right around the corner, and as President of the Society of Tennessee Archivists, I am very pleased to say that our organization has offered to help in its continuing relationship with this fun and educational annual event.

Each year, the STA provides a $50 cash award to the best History Day project in both the Junior Division and Senior Division that uses primary sources such as letters, diaries, personal papers, photographs, etc., for research on a historical topic. The sources must be from an institution located in Tennessee. Primary sources in Tennessee can be found in archival repositories such as city or county archives, church archives, history museums, local history departments in libraries, or the Tennessee State Library and Archives. Special consideration will be given to students who do on-site research at the repository rather than using online resources.

Jennifer Core, state coordinator for Tennessee History Day, has put out a call for volunteers to assist with a variety of duties. I've asked our STA membership to consider volunteering, and I hope readers of The Posterity Project will do so as well. If you'd like to help, here's Jennifer's e-mail which explains how you can assist...

Tennessee History Day is a state affiliate of National History Day and the Tennessee Historical Society is proud to be the sponsor of the state-level History Day competition. On Saturday, April 21, 2012, approximately 250 students from across the state of Tennessee will travel to Nashville to compete in the state-level competition to be held in downtown Nashville. Winners at the state competition will go on to College Park, Maryland, to represent Tennessee at the National History Day competition in June.

To host a successful competition for the students, their teachers and parents, the THS needs approximately 100 volunteers to serve as judges of student projects and approximately 30 additional volunteers to help with registration, room monitoring, and other duties.

I am writing to you today to ask you to please consider volunteering on April 21st. The students need your support! Below you'll find details on our specific needs and the required commitment.

Judges

The commitment to serve as a judge requires that you be in downtown Nashville at approximately 8:30 a.m. on April 21st for a one hour orientation. Judging will begin that day around 10 a.m. and will continue until around 1:30 p.m. Lunch and a light breakfast will be provided. Prior to April 21st, you will be provided with materials regarding the specific category in which you'll be judging. Students depend on the feedback provided by the judges to learn more about their topic and to improve their projects before competing at a higher level. The judging process is critical to the success of the competition and to the learning process for these students.

Judges will review projects in one of five categories: museum-style exhibit, multimedia documentary, website, research paper, or dramatic performance. You'll be judging in either the Junior Division (grades 6-8) or Senior Division (grades 9-12). If you have a preference for what category or division you'd like to judge in, please let us know and we'll do our best to honor your request.

Other Volunteers

The commitment to serve as a volunteer in other capacities varies depending on the post. While some volunteers will be needed as early as 8 a.m. on the day of competition, most will arrive by 9 a.m. and should be finished no later than 3 p.m. We need volunteers to help with set-up, student and teacher registration, room monitoring, and many other duties. Lunch will also be provided.

For more information, contact Jennifer Core at the Tennessee Historical Society by phone at: 615-741-8934 or by e-mail at: historyday@tennesseehistory.org. I hope you'll consider joining me and the Society of Tennessee Archivists in this rewarding experience.

Archives interest in Pinterest...

2012-02-09T07:30:00.000-06:00

A few days ago, fellow archives blogger, Melissa Mannon, drew my attention to a new social media tool that is currently making quite a visual statement.

Pinterest is a social bookmarking site that lets you place web content into sticky-note sized blocks that you can organize onto pinboards that fill the entire browser screen. The majority of each block is filled by a photo, and the ability to “like,” “repin” or comment at the bottom make it look like its own mini web page.

Pinterest goes against the conventional ways of organizing information online based on reverse chronology, as favored by Twitter and Facebook, relying instead on visual organization. As Melissa has smartly pointed out, this visual organization technique makes Pinterest a very powerful tool for archives and cultural heritage organizations looking for new ways to share online content, collaborate with others, drive Internet traffic, and generate dialogue about digital collections.

In my preliminary search of Pinterest, I noticed several users have bookmarked and sourced images from the National Archives and the Library of Congress. The Smithsonian also has its own outpost on Pinterest.

The Smithsonian Institution's Pinterest site.

For an archivist's perspective on Pinterest, I'd encourage you to visit Melissa Mannon's blog, ArchivesInfo, for a thorough review, along with links to additional content, and a few ideas on how to use Pinterest as an outreach tool. You can also check out the following links for further information:

Pinterest listed among the "50 Best Websites of 2011" - Time magazine
Pinterest: Everything You Need To Know Is In This Massive Post - SocialMouths
Meet Pinterest: A Private Social Pinboard That Collects Your Online Memories - Mashable
Pinterest Joins Twitter And Facebook As The Newest Self-Expression Engine - Techcrunch
How to Get a Pinterest Invite - Mashable

Gordon Belt is an information professional, special collections librarian, archives advocate, public historian, research consultant, and founding editor of The Posterity Project. He is the current president of the Society of Tennessee Archivists, and serves as Treasurer of TSLAFriends, the friends organization of the Tennessee State Library and Archives. As an extension of The Posterity Project, Gordon also offers short-term, project-based historical research and social media consulting services to archives, museums, historical societies, cultural heritage organizations, small businesses, authors, and individuals. Contact Gordon to find out how he can help you "Document the links to your past."

Mapping Tennessee's Civil War history...

2012-02-07T06:00:00.001-06:00

The Civil War Sesquicentennial has inspired a number of projects and initiatives by archivists and digital historians looking for new ways to chronicle our nation's most bloody conflict. Today, I'd like to highlight two online projects using digital maps to document Civil War history in my home state of Tennessee.

Last summer, I shared news about the Tennessee State Library and Archives' new online interactive research tool called the Tennessee Civil War GIS Project.

TSLA's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology makes it possible to integrate data about the Civil War in a user-friendly geographical interface, bringing hundreds of engagements and battles to your screen with aerial photography and modern map layers. The Tennessee Civil War GIS Project also links to narrative information from the Official Records and the Tennessee Civil War Sourcebook. It includes 1860 county Census data and unit histories for every Tennessee regiment from Tennesseans in the Civil War. It also features many original maps, documents, diaries, and photographs from TSLA's historic collections.

There are several useful applications for the Tennessee Civil War GIS Project, including:

A powerful tool for battlefield preservationists.

The robust interface and sophisticated graphics application makes it ideal for research. Students, teachers, re-enactors, and anyone interested in Civil War history can use the map for a variety of research projects.

For anyone planning a Civil War themed vacation itinerary, the site displays Tennessee's rich array of Civil War sites, parks and memorials.

In a related story, the Baylor University Libraries Digital Collections blog recently published a story about efforts to put the War of the Rebellion Atlas online, and their collaboration with Zada Law, Director of the Fullerton Laboratory for Spatial Technology at Middle Tennessee State University. According to the article:

Defenses of Nashville, Tenn. from the War of the Rebellion Atlas.
Image credit: Baylor University Library Digital Collections

Law will be utilizing high-resolution copies of several Atlas maps of the Nashville area to see if defensive earthworks built around the city by Federal forces might still be discoverable today, almost 150 years after the war ended.

Law, a PhD candidate at MTSU, plans to overlay the Atlas images with “modern high resolution orthographic aerial images.” Using records from the Tennessee Division of Archaeology and enhanced elevation (LiDAR) datasets, she hopes to locate “previously unrecorded extant earthwork sections or identify where archaeological traces of entrenchments may still remain.”

Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm a bit of a map geek, and I have an appreciation for cartography that goes way back, so I was thrilled to learn about these exciting new projects involving my home state of Tennessee.

Visit the Tennessee Civil War GIS Project to explore TSLA's online map project, and read Baylor University's Digital Collections blog to learn more about Tennessee's connection to the War of Rebellion Atlas.

Product Review: Flip-Pal

2012-02-03T06:00:00.001-06:00

This past Christmas, Santa put the Flip-Pal in my stocking, and since then I've had a chance to put this little gizmo to the test with a personal genealogy project. Here are a few brief first impressions on this portable scanning tool...

The Flip-Pal is easy to use. Simply place your image on the scanner and with one touch of the button you have a digital scan of the photograph or document you need.

The Flip-Pal's small size makes it easy to transport, and handy for small digital archiving projects. It also operates on batteries, so you're not encumbered by power cords or wires.

The Flip-Pal's "easy-stitch" feature allows you to scan larger photographs or documents with several passes.

On this last point, I do have one criticism. With images up to 11x17, the Flip-Pal's "easy-stitch" feature works quite well, but for extremely large images I found it to be problematic. I attempted to scan and stitch a photograph of my father's high school trip to Washington, D.C. It's large size -- 10x36 inches -- forced me to make 24 passes with the Flip-Pal, and the "easy-stitch" software produced some rather strange results...

To remedy this, I enlisted the help of a friend who suggested that I try the Microsoft Image Composite Editor, which took my 24 scans and easily stitched them together...

The stitching feature can be both a blessing and a curse, depending on the size of your image, but with a little patience and a careful eye to make sure you're overlapping scans for a complete image, this can be a great way to duplicate large-format images in a digital format.

Here is a brief video explaining how the Flip-Pal can be used for your own personal scanning project. If you're looking for an economical and convenient way to scan photo albums, letters, documents, and even three-dimensional objects for family history projects, the Flip-Pal is a great little gadget to add to your wish list.

For a more thorough review of the Flip-Pal and its many features, head over to Marian's Roots and Rambles blog where you'll find a very extensive series on the Flip-Pal, and some handy advice on how to best utilize this scanning device.

Bottom line: I think the Flip-Pal was well worth the purchase price for use in small scanning projects -- especially if you plan to travel to see relatives, and you don't want to lug around a large computer and scanner to document family photos. My only complaint is the functionality of the pre-installed "easy-stitch" software on large-format images like the one I tried in this review. Anything larger than 11x17, and you might have to use another software tool to do the stitching. I used Microsoft Image Composite Editor, which is free to download online, but you could also use Adobe Photoshop. If you have small photographs and mementos, then the Flip-Pal works as advertised. I like it. My parents have a lot of photos back home that I want to digitize when I make a return trip for a visit, so this little gizmo does the trick, and it's easy to use. I'd recommend it.

Happy scanning!

Vanderbilt launches new digital archive and website for study of slave records

2012-02-02T07:30:00.000-06:00

Vanderbilt University recently issued a press release announcing the launch of the university’s new Ecclesiastical and Secular Sources for Slave Societies digital archive and website. According to the university's website, "The ESSSS project is dedicated to identifying, cataloguing, and digitally preserving endangered archival materials documenting the history of Africans and Afro-descended peoples in the Iberian colonies."

Vanderbilt is also hosting a three-day conference in connection with the launch of this website. Renowned experts on preservation of African and Afro-descended slave records will gather at Vanderbilt on Feb. 2-4. A variety of scholars will be on hand to present their research on preserving slave society records in Africa, Cuba, Colombia and Brazil.

The conference is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Center for Latin American Studies at 615-322-2527 or email clas@vanderbilt.edu.

Visit the new Ecclesiastical and Secular Sources for Slave Societies website to learn more about this important digital archiving project.

RELATED LINKS:

Celebrate African-American History Month at the Nashville Metro Archives...

2012-02-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

My friend, Ken Fieth, over at the Metro Archives of Nashville and Davidson County, has a great lineup of public events scheduled during the month of February. If you're in the neighborhood, I'd suggest taking some time to visit...

Tuesday, February 7th 2:30-3:30 pm

Fletch Coke & Clyde Thompson, Board members of the Nashville City Cemetery Association, will present a program about African Americans at City Cemetery. What do the burial records reveal? Learn about the history of some remarkable African Americans who lived in Nashville.

Tuesday, February 14th 2:30-3:30 pm

William Ratcliff, a USCT re-enactor for almost 25 years, will talk about the role of the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War especially their efforts during second day of the Battle of Nashville, December 16, 1864.

Saturday, February 18th 9:30-11:30 am

African American Genealogy Workshop. Gail Randolph Harlan will discuss how she traced her African American Randolph family back to Virginia and how her techniques can benefit other researchers. Debie Cox, archivist, will speak about the holdings of original wills, marriage bonds and chancery court loose papers, helpful in African American research, that are only available at Metro Archives. Limited Seating. Call 615-862-5880 to reserve a place.

REMEMBER THESE EVENTS TAKE PLACE AT THE METRO NASHVILLE ARCHIVES: 3801 GREEN HILLS VILLAGE DRIVE, NASHVILLE, TN 37215. PHONE 615-862-5880 for more information.

Reciprocity: The Value of Twitter for Archivists...

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-06:00

rec·i·proc·i·ty. Noun. The practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit.

I've blogged several times in the past about my own use of Twitter and it's value to me as an information professional, but today I wanted to write a brief blog post about the value of Twitter for archives and archivists in an effort to get Tennessee's archival community thinking about how Twitter can be used to promote collections and communicate with the professional community of archivists who use this unique social media site.

To the uninitiated, Twitter is a microblogging social media platform that allows you to "tweet," or broadcast, a message in 140 characters or less. This forced brevity can be a challenge to those among us who like to expand on thoughts beyond the 140 character limit, but it can also be a great way to make your message clear and direct. I do not like to use texting language or abbreviation when I compose a tweet, so this really forces me to be clear with my language, and economize my words in order to get to the heart of a particular subject.

Initially, I was a skeptic of Twitter, but I overcame my reluctance with the realization that Twitter is an indispensable tool for connecting and networking with professional colleagues, sharing information and links to interesting stories found online, and promoting my work on The Posterity Project to a larger audience. On that later point, it is quite clear in viewing the analytics for my blog that my audience has increased dramatically since I opened my Twitter account. Twitter has provided me with more connections to interesting people and content than I could ever imagine by relying on blogging alone.

But for me, the key value of Twitter is "reciprocity." I've learned so much from my professional colleagues on Twitter through their willingness to share information, and connect with me in a mutual exchange of knowledge and ideas. Here is a brief primer on Twitter, along with a few ideas and suggestions on how you can get started using Twitter to promote your archive and your own professional social media profile...

What are Twitter's practical applications?

You can use Twitter to promote your archives' website or blog.
You can get feedback from others.
You can also build and maintain a personal, professional or institutional profile on Twitter.

What are Hashtags?

Hashtags are keywords preceded by a '#' symbol. It is an easy way to locate information on a particular topic, or get your message out to a wider audience.
For example, I use #archives quite frequently to share stories about archives and archival institutions.
People often use Twitter's Search page to locate information. Hashtags are a great way to get your tweets included in the conversation.

What is a Retweet?

You can use "RT" to repeat information sent out by one of your followers, or use Twitter's "retweet" link to republish someone's original tweet on your own profile page.
Retweeting gives tweets composed by others a second life, by rebroadcasting that information across to your own list of followers.
Retweeting also gives credit where credit is due. If you see a link from someone else that you follow and rebroadcast it on your own Twitter feed, be sure to cite the source.

How can I communicate directly with someone on Twitter?

If your profile is legitimate, and you're not sending a barrage of spammy tweets, a Direct Message (DM) to someone on Twitter will almost always get a response.
You can also reply in public by including a person's Twitter handle in your response. Typing @gordonbelt will always get my attention.

How to get started?

Go to Twitter and create a personal or institutional account.
Consider using your real name, rather than a pseudonym, which gives you your own unique voice and lends credibility to your tweets.
Choose a profile image that accurately reflects your own personality or professional image. Don't be afraid to be yourself.
Start by listening. Follow others with similar interests. You can even follow me and see who I'm following for information and ideas.

If you're not yet on Twitter, I hope that this brief introduction inspires you to give microblogging a try. In my estimation, the outreach possibilities for archives on Twitter are endless.

Tennessee Archivist newsletter has arrived!

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

The Society of Tennessee Archivists Winter 2012 newsletter, Tennessee Archivist, is published and now available on the STA website. Our editors, Chapel Cowden and Sarah Shippy Copeland, have done a great job bringing together new content for the newsletter, and highlighting our most recent annual meeting back in October. I encourage you to head over to the Society of Tennessee Archivists website and take a look at this latest edition of Tennessee Archivist, and if you're not yet a member of STA, I hope you'll take this opportunity to join us.

Too square for Foursquare...

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

While I'm a big advocate for social media in archives, I have to admit that until recently, I have not been too impressed with one particular social media tool: Foursquare.

Foursquare is a location-based social networking service that encourages users to earn points and badges by "checking in" at locations through their smartphone with the Foursquare app. I'm most familiar with Foursquare through my Twitter followers who post updates on their current locations.

To be honest, my first impression of Foursquare was that it seemed to be a rather trivial use of social media. I really didn't think much of Foursquare as an outreach tool for archivists until I read an article entitled, "Archives on the Go" by Aimee Morgan, which was recently published in the Nov./Dec. 2011 issue of the Society of American Archivists Archival Outlook newsletter.

In the article (SAA member access only), Morgan highlights Stanford University Special Collections' outreach efforts on Foursquare. As Mattie Taormina, head of Special Collections at Stanford University, notes in the article:

"I worked with Foursquare staff to advertise limited-time 'specials' through their app." The 'specials' were one-on-one sessions with an archivist, who provided information about and opportunities to view some of the hidden gems of Stanford's collections."

It was an eye-opening article that is definitely worth a read. Inside this issue there is also an article entitled, "Facebook Me, Then Follow Me on Twitter: Documentation Strategies in a Social Media World," which offers strategies for archivists who want to capture and document social media activity in organizations, and utilize social media tools like Facebook and Twitter to make connections. If you're not a SAA member, beg or borrow a copy from a member and check it out.

But I digress... As computing becomes more mobile, I can see social media tools like Foursquare becoming more useful to archivists looking to expand their outreach beyond the box. Thinking more broadly, as smartphones become commonplace, archivists should consider the possibilities. Creating mobile apps for digital collections, and utilizing iTunes to share oral histories are just two mobile media applications that come to my mind as effective and informative outreach ideas.

So what do you think? Is Foursquare worth a try or just a passing fad? I'm curious to know what you think about this location-based social media tool and its potential for archival institutions.

Looking Back: The Civil War in Tullahoma...

2012-01-23T10:00:00.000-06:00

This photo of a confederate soldier
and many other Civil War artifacts
were digitally archived by TSLA
in Tullahoma on Friday.
Image credit: Tullahoma News

The Tullahoma News and The Shelbyville Times-Gazette both recently published stories covering the Tennessee State Library and Archives' recent visit to Tullahoma in support of their ongoing mission to digitally chronicle Tennessee's Civil War history.

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the Tennessee State Library and Archives has been sending teams of professional archivists and conservators to communities across Tennessee. During these visits, digital copies of Civil War era manuscripts, artifacts, and photographs are created. These copies, representing the rich Civil War heritage of Tennessee families, will become a part of a virtual exhibit on TSLA's website.

Click here to see what they've "collected" so far and to learn how your institution can become involved in this exciting project.

RELATED LINKS:

Read more from "Display highlights local connection to Civil War," published in The Tullahoma News
Read more from "Project gives Civil War items new life," published in The Shelbyville Times-Gazette
Looking Back: The Civil War in Tennessee - Tennessee State Library and Archives

A Flickr of hope for Tennessee's archives...

2012-01-20T06:00:00.004-06:00

In recent weeks, I have highlighted some social media and digital archiving innovations by the Smithsonian, the National Archives, and the Library of Congress to illustrate a point: Connectivity and interactivity are critical components of any online outreach effort. These nationally-known cultural heritage institutions have been unafraid to experiment, allowing the end user to interact with content. Social media gives archivists an opportunity to step outside the box and into a new world, making their collections relevant to a whole new audience.

Today, I'd like to bring the focus back to my home state of Tennessee, where in my estimation social media use by archives is vastly underutilized. The image sharing site, Flickr, for example, shows great promise and potential, particularly for archival institutions with a limited budget. Yet, based on my own unscientific survey of Tennessee's cultural heritage organizations, Flickr is not widely used by Tennessee archivists. There is really no reason at all for archives not to have some social media presence on Flickr. It's free, it's easy to use, and for smaller institutions, Flickr is a great way to share your archives' collections with the public with very little expense.

Here are a couple of examples where my fellow Tennessee archivists have taken advantage of what Flickr has to offer...

Friends of the Nashville Metro Archives

Images from Nashville's past come to life on the Friends of the Metro Archives Flickr photostream. There are 152 images in this online collection -- both black-and-white and color photographs of buildings, public places and even maps -- taken at various times in Nashville's history.

The images appear to have been uploaded from 2003-2005, yet despite the lack of recent activity the Friends of the Nashville Metro Archives have left a unique online record of Nashville's past.

Some of the images offer detailed descriptions while others have only an image number and location. Here is a wonderful opportunity for someone with a keen interest and expertise in Nashville history to contribute to the online narrative. Flickr offers users the opportunity to comment, share, or add images to your own list of favorites. A picture is worth a thousand words, but descriptions are priceless to historians and archivists looking to solve a mystery or identify an unknown location, building or person in a photograph.

The Nashville Flood Digital History Project (Nashville Public Library)

The Nashville Public Library's 2010 Flood Digital History Project was announced in October following the devastating floods in May of that year.

The project utilizes videos, photographs and personal accounts to record the May flood's aftermath. The Nashville Public Library and 11 other community agencies began interviewing first responders, business owners and residents who experienced the flood. Additionally, the NPL established a presence on Flickr where individuals could share their own personal photos from the flood.

History does not have to be in the distant past to be worth saving and sharing with others. The 2010 floods impacted thousands of lives in Middle Tennessee, and the effects are still lingering for many others to this very day. This outreach effort by the NPL illustrates how Flickr can connect a user with an institution in a very meaningful way, not just focusing on the history of our past, but also chronicling the history we are living today.

Where to go for more inspiration?

So Tennessee archivists, here's your call to action. If you're looking for more inspiration to get started using Flickr, I would encourage you to check out the Flickr Commons where you can access the hidden treasures of some of the world's greatest photography archives, including The Library of Congress, The Smithsonian, The New York Public Library and The U.S. National Archives.

You can easily connect to Flickr through other social media outposts such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogs, and you can give your images context by adding descriptions such as titles, tags, location, and names of people, making searches useful and dynamic. Through comments, favorites, tagging, and notes, Flickr also allows end users the ability to interact and participate with your collections, providing your archive with a powerful descriptive tool.

Be aware, however, that Flickr does have its weaknesses, as was recently pointed out in a very informative comment by Tom Wood on my previous blog post about NARA's "Citizen Archivist" initiative. Nevertheless, archivists should not be afraid to think outside the box and take a step or two outside our physical institutions to reach the public. Social media tools like Flickr are just one way to accomplish this.

King Center Imaging Project launched...

2012-01-17T12:00:00.000-06:00

Rev. Martin Luther King's papers — 200,000 documents in all — will be available online for the first time today, as the nation marks Martin Luther King Day.

The King Center Imaging Project, financed and overseen by JPMorgan Chase, offers free public access to the papers at www.TheKingCenter.org/archive...

About the Archive

The King Center Imaging Project brings the works and papers of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to a digital generation. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began the project in April of 2011 with the intent to preserve, digitize and make publically available some of the extensive holdings of The King Center Archive collection.

Through the JPMorgan Chase's Technology for Social Good program, a team of highly skilled individuals has been organized to help digitize more than 1 million documents. The team consists of imaging and archival experts, as well as students from Morehouse and Spelman Colleges, the King family's alma maters and US Veterans from the US Veterans Curation Program.

The digital archive is a dynamic collection. Visitors are encouraged to check back regularly, as new content is always being added to the site.

Click here to browse the King Center's Digital Archive.

RELATED LINK:

The King Center Digital Archive & Website Promo Video...

Experience your digital collections with Viewshare...

2012-01-17T06:00:00.001-06:00

Trevor Owens (@tjowens), a digital archivist with the Library of Congress National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (@ndiipp), recently brought to my attention a very interesting digital history project called Viewshare.

Viewshare is a free platform for generating and customizing views, including interactive maps (I'm a sucker for maps), timelines, facets, and tag clouds that allows users to experience digital collections in a highly interactive way. Using data from a simple spreadsheet or MODS records, Viewshare's open source software offers cultural heritage institutions the opportunity to create dynamic interfaces to digital collections. Data containing information about a digital collection can be turned into an interactive map, timeline, table, graph, or list, and it easily interfaces with your existing website. Viewshare is also compatible with Dublin Core data accessible via Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting. This means that hundreds if not thousands of digital cultural heritage collections can now be directly imported into the software.

Click here to watch a screencast for an overview of Viewshare's capabilities and potential for your own digital collections, and click here to learn how to start using Viewshare. You can also click here to see how other cultural heritage organizations are using Viewshare to enhance, interpret, and enable access to their digital collections.

In my estimation, Viewshare is just one more outstanding way that archivists are "thinking outside the box in the digital age." Kudos to Trevor Owens and the Library of Congress for making this amazing and interactive user interface available to a larger audience.

Onward Southern Soldiers January Book Tour...

2012-01-13T06:00:00.002-06:00

There are three opportunities in January to meet the authors (That's us!) of Onward Southern Soldiers: Religion and the Army of Tennessee in the Civil War. During these appearances, Traci and I talk about the book, and the importance of religion in the lives of those who fought and died in the field of battle. We also briefly explore how archives played an important role in the making of our book. Author-signed copies of our book will be available for purchase at each event.

Here is our event schedule for the month. I hope you'll pick a date and come out to see us!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 @ 7:00 pm - Greenbrier Historical Society at the First Baptist Church – Fellowship Hall, Hwy 41-N., Greenbrier, TN
Saturday, January 21, 2012 @ 1:00 pm - Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society at the FiftyForward Knowles Center, 174 Rains Ave., Nashville, TN
Saturday, January 28, 2012 @ 2:00 pm - Williamson County Public Library, 1314 Columbia Avenue, Franklin, TN

Also, I'm pleased to share some exciting news about our book... The History Press recently notified us of their plans to release Onward Southern Soldiers in a series of e-books, which will be distributed through the most prominent e-book sales channels in the coming weeks. Look for an announcement on The Posterity Project when these plans are finalized and a release date is announced. In the meantime, be sure to get your hands on the real thing in bookstores, at most online book retailers, and here on The Posterity Project!

History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme...

2012-01-12T06:00:00.000-06:00

I recently penned a brief blog post for my employer's website, reflecting on Time magazine's choice of "The Protester" as it's "Person of the Year" for 2011. As I point out in the piece:

"While social media and the 24-hour cable news cycle have launched today’s “Occupy” protest movement into our immediate collective consciousness, we would do well to take a step back in time and “occupy” a history book, remembering those times when Americans tested the legal limits and sociopolitical boundaries imposed on the First Amendment. "

I've often found it amusing how the news media chooses to frame current events, as if the breaking news of the moment was the first time anything like this has ever happened, without any regard for historical context. Journalists and commentators tend to look back on the previous year's events with awe and wonder, but thankfully, most historians take the longer view.

I am fond of quoting a line from a poem often attributed to Mark Twain, but not found in his works which reads, "History never repeats itself but it rhymes." The "Occupy" protest movement is not a new phenomenon, in my opinion. We have seen many times in our nation's history when occupation was used as a form of protest, and when economic conditions fueled an organized movement.

Click here to read more from my article, "Time to 'Occupy' our history books." A disclaimer: I am not making any political statement in favor of or in opposition to the Occupy Protest Movement with this article. As I said when I created this blog in 2008, I do not engage in any divisive, partisan commentary on The Posterity Project. I simply saw an opportunity to draw attention to historical precedent.

The rhythmic pulse of history can be felt all around us. You just have to take the time to listen to its drum beat.

NARA launches Citizen Archivist Dashboard...

2012-01-10T06:00:00.002-06:00

Following up on my previous post about the Smithsonian Institution Archives, I'd like to direct your attention to another exciting social media initiative.

On December 23rd, the National Archives announced the launch of a new online project called the Citizen Archivist Dashboard. This forward-thinking initiative captures the "wisdom of the crowd" by making you -- the citizen -- an active participant in the digital archiving revolution. Through tagging, transcribing, editing, uploading, and sharing, you have the power to contribute to our nation's collective memory and history. While the Citizen Archivist Dashboard is fairly new, the National Archives has been encouraging user participation for some time. Here's a video which does a good job in describing their ongoing efforts...

Archivist of the United States, David Ferriero, deserves a lot of credit for delivering a fresh, new way of thinking to the National Archives. Think of it... through this new initiative, the National Archives is publicly stating that "All of our records will be online" and "You can help make it happen." This is a very bold and ambitious statement. By embracing social media and tapping into the dedicated passion of its users, Ferriero has successfully elevated the visibility of the National Archives, and has changed the image and culture of the nation's record keeping institution. By giving its audience a stake in its future, the National Archives is now in a much better position to preserve its past.

Click here to learn more about the Citizen Archivist Dashboard and start contributing to their effort to "document the links to our past."

Follow Friday: Documenting the links to our past in 140 characters or less...

2012-01-06T06:00:00.003-06:00

As I indicated in my "holiday hiatus" blog post, I'm planning to devote more time and attention on The Posterity Project to exploring the ways in which digital history and social media are driving archives to produce a rich online narrative of our cultural heritage. However, that does not mean that I have totally abandoned my mission to "document the links to our past."

For me, Twitter has become a great way to share links to interesting stories about archives and local history while also giving me more time to develop the blog and focus on writing more original stories and reviews. Twitter is also a great venue to connect with fellow archivists, public historians, authors, and other like-minded folks.

I spotted a number of interesting stories over my winter break, so I want to use this opportunity to share a few of them here and encourage you to follow me on Twitter for more updates. Here's a sampling of the stories that you'll find there:

MT @SecTreHargett Tennessee State Library & #Archives to Visit Tullahoma in Search of #CivilWar Memorabilia tnsos.org/Press/story.ph…
— (@gordonbelt) January 5, 2012

Sunday is the best day of the year to visit to The Hermitage @7thpresident tennessean.com/article/201201… h/t @Ms_Cheap
— (@gordonbelt) January 5, 2012

Some good coverage from @Tennessean about the Sumner County Archives: Historical treasures plentiful in local #archives tennessean.com/article/201201…
— (@gordonbelt) January 5, 2012

MT @Tennessean Preserving #archives a family affair; Volunteer work helps preserve documents and launch family business tennessean.com/article/201112…
— (@gordonbelt) December 31, 2011

Look for these stories in the January issue of The Nashville Retrospect: facebook.com/permalink.php?…
— (@gordonbelt) December 30, 2011

Thanks @JeffieLibrarian: Tennessee State #Library and #Archives recovers family's long lost WWII diary: bit.ly/tcKw8I
— (@gordonbelt) December 30, 2011

@AuntB shows the Tennessee State #Library and #Archives some love: tinycatpants.wordpress.com/2011/12/29/the…
— (@gordonbelt) December 30, 2011

My article about #BannedBooksWeek is a "must read" for 2011! Here's the best of the rest: firstamendmentcenter.org/must-reads-our…
— (@gordonbelt) December 28, 2011

"If you like #genealogy and old cemeteries, you’ll love this." MT @gailkerr Exhibit brings Tennessee's dead to life tnne.ws/uoMCui
— (@gordonbelt) December 28, 2011

States' #cw150 Sesquicentennial Efforts Uncover #CivilWar Antiques [TSLA efforts mentioned] fxn.ws/tbAhnj h/t @JeffieLibrarian
— (@gordonbelt) December 27, 2011

RT @knoxnews: Special 125th Anniversary of the News Sentinel - Invention, expansion, violence marked early years knoxnews.com/news/2011/dec/…
— (@gordonbelt) December 24, 2011

Fascinating: MT @frkwriter: #CivilWar soldier's teeth point to Native American ancestry tnne.ws/tnsktx h/t @JeffieLibrarian
— (@gordonbelt) December 23, 2011

Letter: Sevier residents should know truth about history bit.ly/sRs7qS For some, the truth hurts: posterityproject.blogspot.com/2011/07/john-s…
— (@gordonbelt) December 22, 2011

@archivesinfo Thanks for the mention! MT The top ten stories that influenced #archives profession this year bit.ly/rKkl57
— (@gordonbelt) December 21, 2011

Wonderful story @WPLN about TN State #Library & #Archives Veterans History Project: wpln.org/?p=31963 Updates: posterityproject.blogspot.com/2011/11/tennes…
— (@gordonbelt) December 19, 2011

Smithsonian Archives' new website is "seriously amazing."

2012-01-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

Welcome back to The Posterity Project! I hope you've enjoyed your own holiday hiatus as much as I have.

The Smithsonian Institution Archives new website is "seriously amazing!"

I'd like to begin the new year by revisiting my previous blog post about the role of social media in archives. In "Thinking outside the box in the digital age," I noted that archivists need to recognize that more people expect to access our collections remotely, and we must not be afraid to step outside of the stacks and utilize social media and blogging to share our collections with the public.

In that same blog post I also briefly highlighted efforts by the National Archives to embrace social media to connect with their audience. Today, I'd like to show you another example of an institution that has made effective use of social media.

The National Council on Public History recently highlighted on their blog, Off the Wall, the work of the Smithsonian Institution Archives, which recently launched a new website, and has done a remarkable job of making the archives accessible and engaging to its online audience.

As Off the Wall points out, "the Smithsonian's new website is geared towards engaging a broad audience of online users with its content..."

On the homepage are links to a blog, discussion forum, featured exhibits, and a section called "Today in Smithsonian History." Perhaps most interesting is the extent to which the institution has embraced the interactive web in creating this site. For example, the current front page features a link to the Smithsonian's photostream on Flickr, which displays rare photographs from the Scopes trial. (These photos were discovered by a volunteer researcher at the archives in the records of the Science Service and published in Reframing Scopes: Journalists, Scientists, and Lost Photographs from the Trial of the Century.)

And from a social media perspective, the website is a gold mine, with lots of fascinating things to tweet and post to Facebook. Given the prominent social media logos on the homepage, this was clearly a major topic of discussion in the development process.

The Smithsonian has also launched a new branding campaign, shedding its image as the "Nation's Attic" and embracing a new emphasis on the visitor with customized experiences and a more direct delivery of information through social media. For those of you who are looking for a template for how to utilize social media in your own archives, I'd encourage you to read more from the NCPH Off the Wall blog, and visit the Smithsonian Institution Archives website for ideas and inspiration. It's "Seriously Amazing."

Look what Santa put in my stocking!

2011-12-26T07:00:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I know... I was hoping for the Steampunk Laptop, but I have to say that this gift is far more useful to me than a computer that you have to hand crank. I'm looking forward to getting this little gizmo out of the box. A review of the Flip-Pal on The Posterity Project is forthcoming...

TSLAFriends Winter Newsletter...

2011-12-23T08:30:00.000-06:00

I'm taking a brief break from my holiday hiatus to share with you the latest edition of the TSLAFriends Newsletter. This Winter Edition highlights several stories, including updates on two major projects that TSLAFriends funds -- Tennessee Supreme Court Records and Union Burial Sheets -- as well as a Q&A with yours truly!

If you have not yet done so, please consider a year-end donation to TSLAFriends, and become a member today! Your contribution helps the Tennessee State Library and Archives protect and preserve the documentary heritage of our great state.

Read more from the TSLAFriends Winter Newsletter at: http://myemail.constantcontact.com/TSLAFriends-Winter-Newsletter.html?soid=1105924771795&aid=yPBTiGG5Zw4

A look back, and the road ahead...

2011-12-16T10:00:00.000-06:00

As each new year approaches, I generally take a few moments to reflect on the previous year and plan for the next. As I reflect on 2011, I realize what an incredibly busy and productive year it has been here on The Posterity Project...

I planned and organized STA2011, the Society of Tennessee Archivists annual meeting, and was elected President of the Society of Tennessee Archivists for the 2011-2012 term.

I helped my wife publish and promote our first book-length work of scholarship, Onward Southern Soldiers: Religion and the Army of Tennessee in the Civil War.

I launched a research and social media consulting service.

As I focus on the road ahead, I plan to devote more of my time and attention on the ways in which digital history and social media are driving archives to produce a rich online narrative of our cultural heritage. I also want to write more broadly about the themes that drive this blog -- archives, memory, and local history here in Tennessee. The new year is full of promise, and I look forward to exploring these topics with you in 2012.

In the meantime, I'm taking a few days off from the blog over the holiday season to recharge my batteries and to spend more time with my family. While you can still catch me "documenting the links to our past" in 140 characters or less on Twitter, expect a return to regular blogging on The Posterity Project in January.

I want to thank you -- my readers -- for your continued loyalty and readership. I hope you have a Merry Chrismas, and a very Happy New Year!

Celebrating 220 years of freedom...

2011-12-14T15:00:00.000-06:00

My friends and colleagues at the First Amendment Center are getting ready to celebrate 220 years of freedom with a new online civic education initiative called "Free to Tweet." I hope you'll spread the word and #freetotweet your support of the First Amendment on December 15th...

It will be a daylong online celebration of First Amendment rights, and high school and college students nationwide can win one of 22 $5,000 scholarships through “Free to Tweet” on Dec. 15, the 220th anniversary of our right to free expression.

Beginning at midnight on Dec. 15, students ages 14 to 22 can tweet their support for the First Amendment with the hash tag #freetotweet, which will enter them in the “Free to Tweet” scholarship competition. Students are encouraged to freely express themselves in their entries, which can be posted on any publicly viewable social media platform, including blogs.

The Free to Tweet contest takes place throughout the day, Dec. 15, 2011, on National Bill of Rights Day.

The First Amendment was born in the 18th century but it’s your ticket to expressing yourself in 21st century ways. It guarantees your right to write, tweet, blog, read, sing and perform. It protects you at school and in church, allowing you to be you.

What’s the point? To help spread the word about the importance of the First Amendment. In a digital world, free speech is more important than ever.

Go to Twitter and use the hashtag #FreeToTweet. It’s really simple. So tweet away, and encourage others to do the same. Read more, and if you’d like a reminder to tweet on Dec. 15, sign up for an e-mail reminder here.

RELATED LINKS:

Onward Southern Soldiers marches to Bellevue...

2011-12-13T07:00:00.000-06:00

Speaking to the Middle Tennessee Civil War Round Table in November.

Here's one last opportunity before Christmas to hear Traci and I talk about Onward Southern Soldiers: Religion and the Army of Tennessee in the Civil War.

We'll be speaking to the Bellevue History and Genealogy Group on Friday, Dec. 16 at 9:00 am. This event is located at the Bellevue Y / FiftyForward Turner Center at 8101 Highway 100, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Using primary source material such as diaries, letters, journals and sermons from members of the Army of Tennessee, C.S.A., Onward Southern Soldiers is a scholarly work that examines how religion influenced the lives of those who served in the Civil War, from the political leaders in government, to the elite clergy, to the chaplains, and finally to the lives of the common soldiers.

We'll discuss the book, and we will have time for questions and a book signing at the end of our talk for those who wish to purchase a copy. I hope you'll make plans to join us!

Emancipation Proclamation on display at Tennessee State Museum

2011-12-12T16:30:00.000-06:00

Here's something that I'm looking forward to seeing here in Tennessee, even if for only 72 hours...

The Emancipation Proclamation - NARA

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced the Tennessee State Museum will be the only stop in the Southeast of an unprecedented tour and display of the Emancipation Proclamation, the document that altered the course of U.S. history and dramatically changed the lives of African-Americans by proclaiming freedom for millions of slaves.

The fragile manuscript signed by Pres. Abraham Lincoln in 1863 can only be exposed to light for 72 hours while in Tennessee. The document will be displayed at intervals during a to-be-determined six-day period in 2013 marking the 150th anniversary of its signing.

The tour of the historic decree, which rarely leaves the National Archives in Washington D.C., is taking place in conjunction with the acclaimed National Archives multimedia exhibit Discovering the Civil War, which will open at the state museum on Feb. 12, 2013 – Lincoln’s birthday – and continue through Sept. 2, 2013.

“It is an incredible honor for Tennessee to host the Emancipation Proclamation, a document whose significance to the history of this country, and this region in particular, cannot be overstated,” Haslam said. “This delicate manuscript represents America’s recognition that all are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and we invite people from across the Southeast and the nation to see and celebrate with us the moment our country officially became the land of the free.”

Click here to read more details from Gov. Haslam's press release.

RELATED LINKS:

TN to host rare, free viewing of Emancipation Proclamation for 6 days in 2013 - The Tennessean
State to Display Original Emancipation Proclamation in 2013 - WPLN.org