Hi Liz, Yes, that is a good question, especially from the perspective of a small, low budget collecting institution. We have been working on an arrangement with the State Library here in Maine to host space on their repository for our digitized collections. They, in turn, provide a link through the Digital Public Library of America, DPLA, which makes these items searchable on the world wide web. Perhaps your State Library, or similar institution, might have a similar program. This still leaves the digitized items in your care, and you can record the metadata, key words, etc., yet makes them available to a much larger audience than might just visit your website.
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Colin Windhorst PhD
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-08-2017 05:04 PM
From: Elizabeth Schultz
Subject: Digitally Sharing Documents
Hello friends,
I was wondering if anyone can point me toward options for sharing collections items online, from the perspective of a small museum. The project I imagine is digitally scanning pages of a journal and posting them on a site that would allow viewers to look at both the original document and additional information, such as source information, notes, transcriptions, and comment. I know there are well-established programs that do exactly this, but from what I've seen so far the recurring subscription fees or the costs associated with hosting it on our own website server are prohibitive.
I am hoping for suggestions for open source / low-cost / online hosted / do-it-yourself ideas, but welcome recommendations for anything if you think it is worth the cost.
Thank you in advance for your thoughts and advice!
Sincerely,
Liz Schultz
Elizabeth Schultz
Executive Director
Oberlin Heritage Center
73 1/2 South Professor Street
P.O. Box 0455
Oberlin, OH 44074-0455
(440) 774-1700
liz.schultz@oberlinheritage.org
www.oberlinheritagecenter.org