Digital Repository Launched

The David Crockett Graham Historical Fund has just launched its digital repository of publications and primary source materials. The repository, located at our executive office, is synchronized with our Google Drive which is available for anyone to read, providing access to digitized diaries, letters, miscellaneous items, publications, and photographs.

Initially, there are 25 diaries, 37 letters, 2 guest books, and 152 publications. However, we have a large backlog of already digitized letters that are being sorted, renamed, and transferred to the repository. Our work-study scholar at Mount Holyoke College is also working on digitizing more letters. We expect the number of letters in the repository to reach into the hundreds by the end of this month.

This also marks the launch of a project to crowd source transcription. We don’t have the resources to implement a database and web application to replicate the transcription projects that the Smithsonian and the National Archives have, but we have an approach that we think will work for a few dozen volunteers. At this time we are limiting transcription access to the descendants of the Morey and Graham families to keep it manageable. Others may be considered on a case by case basis. Use our contact form for inquiries.

Much of the material in our repository is in handwritten cursive, making it essentially inaccessible to many people. Transcription is therefore an important part of making the materials in our repository available to a much wider audience. Details on the transcription project are in a text file under letters in the repository.

There are a handful of transcripts among the letters already.