Building a Digital Collection: Annual Reports at SAM
Seattle Art Museum’s Dorothy Stimson Bullitt Library has a collection of print annual reports dating from 1932 to the present. To digitize the collection, we scanned each report, assigned metadata, and uploaded the documents to a Shared Shelf webpage. We then built an online exhibit to showcase the collection using the web platform Omeka. Finally, we worked with marketing and communications to promote the new digital collection. By digitizing the entire set of reports, we empower users to access these materials independent of library staff, and we free valuable physical space in the library. This collection is also unique because while other museums nationwide do make some reports available online, their collections only include the prior 10-15 years. We believe through the promotion of these reports and the stories they tell, we share an important part of Seattle history, and help further SAM’s mission to Connect Art to Life.
Kate Hanske
MLIS
Michael Besozzi
MLIS