This project contributes to the Seattle Art Museum (SAM)’s Historical Media Collection, preserving materials stored in outdated formats. Due to limited resources, the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) lacks a digital preservation plan. A donation of 1,000+ slides, taken to document John Grimes’ cultural tour around Japan from 1987-88 and offering a rare glimpse at the ceremonies, architecture, and exhibits he observed, has remained unprocessed and inaccessible. To preserve and provide access to them, this project involved arranging and describing all 1,000+ slides, digitizing 200+ slides from over 20 geographical locations, and creating an Omeka exhibit for SAM’s Digital Collections.

The John Wott Slide Collection was originally intended to support academic reference and research, and it is now combined with 35mm slides created by Joy Spurr. Through this project, we intend to set up an organized foundation for the Elisabeth C. Miller Library to digitize these materials on a manageable budget and make them available to support teaching and research in a more modern era of technology. Deliverables include a weeded, organized, and cataloged slide collection, an online exhibit established in Omeka, and a research paper discussing digitization, preservation, funding, and budget options for the collection materials.

The Hoosier Dome, an all ages DIY music venue in Indianapolis, Indiana, has hosted several generations of local musical talent since its inception in 2012, and has had a significant impact on the development of the Indianapolis music scene. Photos taken at the Hoosier Dome have been spread across various social media accounts, and as time has passed these photos are in danger of disappearing or becoming inaccessible. The Hoosier Dome archive is creating a space to store and create community access to these photos and to preserve Hoosier Dome history.

UW Special Collections received a collection from deceased Seattle-area photojournalist Grant Haller in 2018. The collection has high anticipated research value because it documents many instances of activism lead by a variety of underrepresented groups, and fills in coverage gaps of modern photographers at Special Collections. However, very little was known about the condition, specific contents, and preservation needs of the material until this project began, and there was low institutional and public knowledge of the collection’s existence. This project combines several archival competencies—including processing, researching, arranging, preserving, and outreach—to help increase knowledge and future use of the photographs.

Aurora Picture Show is a media arts center in Houston, TX. Since its founding in 1998, they’ve presented a variety of noncommercial film and performance art, as well as various educational initiatives. Their documentation have been a mess for years, making it difficult for staff to find information about past presentations. After determining what would best meet Aurora’s needs while staying within budget, we created an updated database. Not only does this database make it easier for staff to do their jobs, the use of subject keywords provides a broad overview of the many topics that appear in Aurora’s presentations.

The Long Shadows of Seattle podcast, also called the Seattle Civil Rights Podcast Project, was an endeavor to take some lesser known figures in the history of Seattle that have collections at the University of Washington and give them a platform. There are a great many historical figures that lived in Seattle that simply do not get the attention that they should, with many of the figures I covered having very little if anything written about them at all. Through this podcast I hope to allow a wider audience to explore some of the undiscovered Black historical figures of Seattle.

Items representing lowbrow art are underutilized within the Special Collections library at University of Washington. By creating an exhibit showcasing the unique and varied items that represent this art style, we strive to promote these valuable and timely materials to be better recognized by patrons of Special Collections as well as to highlight underrepresented artistic communities. Along with the traditional viewing of held materials, patron participation is encouraged through a Spotify playlist, DIY workshops, animation slideshow, and online catalogue. Additionally, a specialized Lowbrow Collection Development Policy allows for the possibility to acquire contemporary materials for collections in the future.

Providing digital access to government documents requires a collaborative effort from both Federal Depository Libraries and digital repositories. This project prepares for the digitization of government publications held within the University of Washington Libraries while promoting access to documents already held within certified digital repositories. First, I created an index of World War II and post-war items held by the UW Libraries that have not yet been digitized and subsequently compiled a workflow process to aid in future digitization projects. Additionally, I developed research guides to facilitate access to previously-digitized collections on repository sites such as HathiTrust and govinfo.

The KRAB FM Lesbian-Feminist Radio Program was originally broadcast through the 1970s and 1980s in Seattle and was one of the earliest American gay and lesbian radio shows in the United States. This capstone creates an opportunity to engage with and explore local historical archival material in a different and more accessible way while also highlighting materials in special collections. The project aids in exploration and discovery opportunities while utilizing a format that is easily accessible in the current technological age. This project allows the discoverability of, and for, the Seattle Queer Community.

Memories of Japanese American incarceration have been plagued with incorrect and euphemistic terms that downplay and erase the racism, cruelty, and trauma of incarceration. This language has also made its way into archival descriptions. This capstone aimed to better understand the terminology and language used by the Japanese American community and scholars and to develop archival guidelines for writing more accurate descriptions. A set of recommendations was developed with metadata and technical suggestions. These recommendations will help archivists (re)describe their Japanese American incarceration collections with more appropriate terminology and context.