DPLAfest 2017

Hacking Hemingway Cracking the Code to the Vault is a digital history project that delivers unprecedented public engagement and access to rare archives from both the Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park and the Oak Park Public Library.

During the project, the LYRASIS consultant facilitated a cooperative agreement between the Foundation and the Library. The agreement includes the renegotiation of access to collections and outlines the implications of use when something is digitized.

Based on the success of the digital program and the collaboration in the community Special Collections has been able to fund a full-time Archivist and Curator for the first time.

Participants will leave this session with practical tips about community collaboration, training and digital planning and infrastructure. We will discuss lessons learned with a focus on life-cycle development and how a small staff managed the preservation of physical objects and re-gained intellectual control before starting digitization.