20B - AA - LIBRARY GRANT - Laserfiche WebLink

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IMLS Completed Review Report '•:p ®�. g�INSTITUTEof '• ":s IVmuseumandLibrar 1.0. SERVICES LG -07 -14 -0067 City of Santa Ana NIG- Statement of Need This proposal seeks to increase community engagement across multiple partners and users bases. As such, it is very ambitious in its scope. Integrating some pre- existing infrastructure through partnerships (e.g. HistoryPin) is a great way to take advantage of dynamic technology without recreating the wheel. NLG- Project Design The lack or choice not to utilize controlled vocabulary does limit the potential of this project (E1). User created folksonomies are fine in conjunction with some basic, shared framework. Not having an idea of how metadata will be employed prior to generating content is dangerous. There is no mention of IRB protocols involved in the interviewing of third parties. Some work should be put into that component before proceeding (Part III, 2). The main challenge with this grant is coordinating all the moving parts. Having broken it out the way the authors did, however, points to that awareness on their part. What would make this a stronger proposal is a basic articulation of what would happen if there were any major breakdown with one of the partners. How would that impact the overall goal of the project? Would it? Final point - there should be a shared MOU /IRB type document for all of the oral history participants that is documented as part of the effort. Having a clear rights landscape for participants is essential for future sustainability. There should be more specificity as to the nature of the geographic metadata that is created and will be managed. How will that be handled? It is a vital part of the use value of HistoryPin and as such, should be clearly set out in advance. NLG- Impact As a multi -part process, this proposal will reach a wide audience and help develop some mutually - beneficial relationships of training and user community. NLG - Project Resources: Personnel, Time, Budget As mentioned before, there are many moving parts to this grant. The coordination among them will be key. Mr Voss is very capable and setting up point - person leaders in each of the partners helps distribute and inculcate a solid methodology among them. This project could have far - reaching ramifications - especially if it is well documented. There is also a 100% staff member who is dedicated to the project which is a sign that the complexity is not lost upon the authors. NLG - Communications Plan Engaging the UGC and students in the social media that they are most comfortable with is key. Then having a solid brand that they can link to and reference would make this a solid strategy. NLG - Sustainability Some of the preservation concerns are address through backup strategies but given the amount of materials that are going to be addressed, there needs to be a greater attention placed on preservation. Will the digital files be in a preservation environment where they are audited for fixity, bit rot, etc? One cannot assume that each partner has the same level of expertise in this regard. Simply having multiple backups is a good start but given that unique oral histories will be captured, the loss of any of these is permanent. Total Score: 4 Additional Comments: This is a strong grant with a compelling story to tell. This reviewer is thrilled to see partnerships with external agencies such as HistoryPin and AmeriCorps. The danger, of course, is that this is a highly complex partnership with many individuals and moving parts. It will take a very steady hand at the wheel but if success is achieved, it could have a broad impact on library engagement with diverse communities and how we can help tell their stories. 20B -13