Library System

In our ongoing effort to improve the searching and browsing of the Virtual Motor City collection, we’ve just reloaded the collection’s metadata, updated with the latest additional information: descriptions of photographs, Library of Congress subject headings, and our brand new field, titles.

With the new title field, you’ll notice that some records contain two titles: Historical Title and Title.  You may ask, well, what’s the difference? Here’s our explanation.

There are two title fields, Historical Title and Title.  Historical Title is the name given to the photograph by the Detroit News Photographer who took the photo(s).  This field, while historically significant and interesting, is riddled with problems when it comes to searching because a lack of consistency.  The photographers did not use an authority list, so photographs that are similar, such as three pictures of cars, might be labeled totally different.  One might be simply “Autos” while another might be the model and brand, while another might be “Street Scenes.”  The NEW title field is original metadata added by a metadata librarian, that looks to give some consistency back to the titles and also add titles to records that never had one.  Once we’ve reached a significant number or records with this new field, users will have the ability to browse by title.

If you’re a regular user of our Digital Collections–like Virtual Motor City–you’ll be happy to learn in the next couple weeks we’ll be upgrading to the most current version of DLXS.  While you wait, here’s a few improvements the DLXS folks have made that you can look forward to:

• Improved relevancy ranking for searches
• Bookmarking, commenting, and downloading tools for every record
• Improved image navigation tools (zooming, panning, image sizes)

About DLXS:

The Digital Library eXtension Service (DLXS) is a digital library system designed to help educational and non-profit institutions mount a variety of types of digital library collections. Since 1996, the University of Michigan Library has worked to serve a growing need for institutions like Michigan to put digital library collections online. more @ http://dlxs.org

Copyists from the Detroit Music Project, taken on 8/4/1938. Photo courtesy Walter P. Reuther Archives

Interested in graphic design, fonts and typography? Unique Michigan histories? We’ve just added a new collection, WPA Music Manuscripts, a digitization and access project that digitized and cataloged detailed and ornate hand-copied music manuscripts produced by Michigan men and women under the WPA during the Great Depression.  The collection and accompanying resources highlight the people and work that were a part of the Music Copying Project, supported by the Federal Music Project and WPA.  The Federal Music Project employed men and women to copy music for WPA orchestras, bands, and choruses to perform.  The collection is currently housed at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s archives.

WPA Music Manuscripts is a collaboration between WSU Music Department, Art and Art History Department, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the Library System.