In this project we partnered with local, state, and federal actors to digitize and exhibit special collections from the Macon Middle Georgia archives; and we deliver an open source digitization workflow management software solution (ADA) and a case study of the Macon experience.In order to fully explore the public record of the history of a city, it is essential that citizens both understand the nature of the public record and lend their support to its preservation and access. If we do not collectively work to provide basic maintenance and access, and do not find resources to place as much of the inventory and index access on line as possible, along with images of major printed and manuscript sources such as the proceedings from the Mayor and City Council, and selected series and opinions of the Law Department, the future is bleak for the study of the Public History of America's cities. Years of neglect have already taken their toll on the historical record. The public records of America's cities are dying.We aim to enable citizen activism in a complex analysis of community history and its living meaning in contemporary lives with an open source solution for digital library and archival production. We want to empower citizens with the knowledge that public history is a public good, and that interpretation of history is and should be a participatory act of the community itself.A significant challenge to a community archive digitization effort is the diverse array of actors necessary to assure a sustainable solution. One institution will have the archival holdings, another will have infrastructure for imaging and storage, yet another will have access to low cost or volunteer labor. Yet, involving this diverse set of actors can threaten the carefully shielded order and authenticity of an archive. To assure central control and authenticity along with dispersed production roles, we delivered an open source solution for archive digitization workflow management.
Biljana Presnall, "Archive Digitization Application (ADA)" in Proc. IS&T Archiving 2014, 2014, pp 115 - 117, https://doi.org/10.2352/issn.2168-3204.2014.11.1.art00025