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Edmon Low Library
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Early Oklahoma Serials

About the Early Oklahoma Serials Project

In spring 2009, the OSU Library's Helen Clements and Robin Leech received an Amigos Fellowship Grant. In their work with Oklahoma history and digital services, they became aware of the many available resources that lacked easy accessiblity. They had a special interest in serial publications, specifically magazines published in the state during the territorial and early statehood periods(1890-1910). Although some of these publications had been microfilmed, they were held by only a few libraries and were therefore relatively unknown, especially to the general public. As Internet access expanded, the expectation had grown that quality research materials will be readily available online. 

Clements and Leech's hoped to create an online presence for these publications in order to promote research at all levels on Oklahoma's history and highlight the rich and diverse collections all over our state. They planned to digitize at least one of the magazines, making it available to as many researchers and interested citizens as possible. They also aimed to increase the exchange of information among academic and public libraries about research resources.

They digitized one of the major magazines and publicized the project using e-mail, face-to-face meetings, professional publications and presentations at professional meetings. 

Project Objectives:

  • Identify early Oklahoma magazines and their holding libraries within the state; create an online collaborative spreadsheet so that all participating libraries can contribute their holdings data.
  • Plan and conduct meetings with libraries holding partial or complete runs; identify libraries wishing to allow their holdings to be digitized for inclusion in this pilot and further digitization efforts in the future.
  • Outsource the digitization of one title, and prepare it for loading into the OSU e-Archive.
  • Create a web page, detailing the efforts of the pilot project and its future plans, giving credit to participating libraries; upload and OCR the digitized full text content.  Create finding aid from shared spreadsheet.
  • Use this pilot to project costs and personnel time and effort as we continue to build the Early Oklahoma Serials Collections.
  • Publicize the project at library and archival meetings and in publications at the local, state, regional and national levels.