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Zach Colick
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Posted: Tue Jun 16th, 2009 09:23 pm |
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Editor's note: The following story appears in the June 17 Scottsdale Independent. Post comments by hitting reply in the upper right-hand corner. Comments will be posted in an upcoming issue of the Scottsdale Independent.
Cave Creek Museum seeks
volunteers to digitize documents
Submitted story
Preserving history sometimes requires thinking to the future — and the Cave Creek Museum this summer is doing just that.
Museum officials are seeking volunteers of all ages to help digitize nearly 25,000 documents dating back to 1870. Help is also needed to compile past and current photos from both Cave Creek and Carefree to create a comprehensive photo disk.
Thanks to a grant from APS, the Cave Creek Museum will also create and post teacher lesson plans on its Web site.
“We recognize the need to embrace technology, and we need help,” said Evelyn Johnson, Cave Creek Museum’s executive director. “The museum is not what it holds, but what it shares.”
The digital photo exhibit, for example, will showcase heartwarming, historic memories of significant people, places and happenings on a continuous loop aired on a 24-inch monitor in the museum. While the majority of documents will be scanned, help is also needed in digitizing the immediate area’s oral history.
“We have recorded oral histories to cassette tapes, and now they need to be converted from analog to digital,” Ms. Johnson explained. “We’re also seeking volunteers who are experienced with recording video and converting VCR tapes.”
The Cave Creek Museum, 6140 E. Skyline Drive, Cave Creek, first delved into the digital world by joining the Arizona Memory Project, a comprehensive online platform for museums, historical societies, libraries, schools and other nonprofits for mounting digital exhibits of material.
The Arizona Memory Project began 3 1/2 years ago, with a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. The Web site — azmemory.lib.az.us — showcases more than 60 collections of its more than 30 partners.
Richard Prouty, manager of the Arizona Memory Project, said Cave Creek Museum and other project partners each have their own Web page where they can post historic photographs, government documents, oral history, maps, plats, video and other items of interest.
“Cave Creek Museum should be commended for utilizing the power of the Internet to promote its collections,” Mr. Prouty said. “By doing so, it means the museum is no longer a small repository on a hill. The museum is now accessible to people all over the world.”
The Cave Creek Museum features an extensive collection of prehistoric and historic artifacts that describe the lives of Native Americans, miners, ranchers and pioneers.
Students and adults interested in volunteering to help digitize the museum’s collections can call 480-488-2764 or visit http://www.cavecreekmuseum.org.
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