Constance Hill Marteena | Photo Opt: Courtesy of Bennett College/ The Holgate Digital Library

At this time, I’m currently working on a Graduate Certificate in Digital Content Management. There are numerous opportunities and genres to study about as it pertains to art libraries in the course that I’m enrolled in this summer: Digital Libraries.

The class has been assigned to write a concept brief about an aspect of digital libraries. I decided to focus on an African American Digital Library with an emphasis on Digital Curation and Digital Preservation. The digital library that I will be studying this summer is completely free to  access online: The Holgate Digital Library at Bennett College. The collection that they have features a librarian, a musician, and the history of the institution. I discovered Constance Hill Marteena, the librarian housed in the library’s collection  via the blog Little Known Librarian Facts.

After researching the Thomas F. Holgate Library (located at Bennett College) and its digital collection of work on African American history, I immediately emailed my professor to see if I could study this library for the summer with regard to assignments, resources for papers, and modules in class. He emailed me back and stated, “Approved!”

What is digital preservation?

Digital preservation is a series of managed activities necessary to ensure continued access to digital materials for as long as they are needed. Source: Digital Preservation Education

What is digital curation?

Digital curation involves maintaining, preserving and adding value to digital research data throughout its lifecycle.

Source: Digital Curation Centre (DCC)

This web source provides access to a growing collection of digitized historical collections, images and materials that showcases the history of Bennett College. It serves as a research resource for the academic community and the general public, used to organize and collaborate with other efforts to preserve and provide access to archival materials, and helps promote discussion on the history of the college and its future.