Elizabeth Russell's project is helping Special Collections make historic photos available to the public.

The University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, has been awarded a $34,926 Digitizing Historical Records grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. These grants allow institutions to promote the preservation and use of America's documentary heritage. The award to the UW Libraries is to digitize and make available the more than 24,000 historic photographs in the J. Willis Sayre Photograph Collection (Sayre pictured above), a collection that documents the performing arts in the United States from the late 1800s to the 1950s. The collection is especially rich in photographs of vaudeville performers and their acts. The 1-year project was submitted by Nicolette Bromberg, Special Collections Visual Materials Curator. The project was initiated through the iSchool Capstone work of UW graduate student Elizabeth Russell. Work on the project began May 1st in Digital Initiatives. The project's methodology allows the efficient re-purposing of CONTENTdm metadata already created by Special Collections during a 1980s project to put the Sayre photographs on laser disc.

J. Willis Sayre donated the collection to the UW Libraries in the 1940s. Sayre amassed a significant collection of photographs beginning in the 1890s through his work as a drama critic and show business promoter. This notable figure in Seattle history actively promoted and documented almost every aspect of the performing arts in the city as a critic, historian, and participant. Publicity work, newspaper reviews, play writing, and management of the Seattle Symphony were just a few of his activities in Seattle. Sayre collected publicity photographs and theater programs throughout his career. His collection of programs and index to Seattle theatres are also available in Special Collections. The photograph collection includes photographs of theater stars such as Ethel Barrymore and Ellen Terry, but also documents the thousands of small-time vaudeville circuit performers who were an integral part of the entertainment experience of so many Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections is a major resource for rare and unique materials. Research strengths include the history of the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Western Canada; architectural drawings; book arts; photography, and the University of Washington Archives. The photograph collections include over 1,000,000 documentary images covering an extensive geographical area, in particular western Washington, Alaska, and western Canada. Examples from the photograph collections can be seen at: content.lib.washington.edu/cdm-ayp/search.php

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) announced in January that $400,000 in grants were awarded for six Digitizing Historical Records projects. The other awardees are the University of California, San Diego, the Minnesota Historical Society, Texas Tech University, the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the Atlanta Historical Society. The projects will make materials more available to the public and will promote the understanding of America's democracy, history and culture through our documentary heritage. The NHPRC press release is available here: www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2012/nr12-49.html

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), a statutory body affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), supports a wide range of activities to preserve, publish, and encourage the use of documentary sources, created in every medium ranging from quill pen to computer, relating to the history of the United States. Additional information about the National Historical Publications and Records Commission and its grant programs is available at: www.archives.gov/nhprc.