PASCAL (Partnership for South Carolina Academic Libraries) has received its fourth Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the South Carolina State Library. The $37,000 grant, combined with matching funding from PASCAL, will provide financial support for efforts underway to fully establish a South Carolina Digital Library (SCDL). LSTA funds will provide scanning equipment, a server, part-time staff and training to library and other professionals.
The SCDL will be a freely available, searchable, online collection of rare documents and artifacts from cultural heritage institutions around the state. Future use of SCDL collections by the state’s K-12 classroom teachers is a goal. LSTA funds will provide a small stipend for a group of teachers to develop pilot SCDL digital collections lesson plans.
Clemson University, the University of South Carolina, and the College of Charleston are establishing “Scanning Centers” and will donate staff time and space to help libraries and cultural institutions digitize rare materials for inclusion in the SCDL. USC Beaufort’s Library is contributing to the project by scanning a collection of newspaper articles and letters of Lieutenant Colonel B.F. Eshleman (commander of Louisiana’s famous Washington Artillery battalion) that include references to South Carolina Civil War artillery units.
To expand the project’s reach beyond academia, partnerships have been established with Beaufort and Greenville County Public Libraries. The Greenville County Library is scanning a collection of early photographs of Greenville County sites and modern photographs of historically significant locations. Beaufort County Public Library is scanning the 1885 –1912 Donner Collection, which consists of photographs of miners, farm produce and artistic images from South Carolina’s Low Country.
PASCAL and the South Carolina State Library are excited about the long-term possibilities of this important project. SCDL has the potential to become a major learning and economic tool for the state.
For more SCDL information see http://www.digilibsc.org/ or contact Kate Foster Boyd(boydkf@gwm.sc.edu), Digital Collections Librarian, Thomas Cooper Library, University of SC. For information about LSTA in SC see http://www.statelibrary.sc.gov/federal-aid.html. LSTA is made possible thanks to a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The IMLS is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. For more information see http://www.imls.gov/.
### The Mission of the SC State Library: We optimize South Carolina’s investment in library and information services. The Vision of the SC State Library: The South Carolina State Library is a national model for innovation, collaboration, leadership and effectiveness. It is the keystone in South Carolina’s intellectual landscape.
