RootsWeb: APG-L [APG] UNT Libraries receive grant from IMLS to study digitallibrary use by genealogists

This is forwarded with permission from a posting on the tex-dig mail list - 

a forum for discussion and sharing of ideas relating to the Texas Heritage 

Digitization Initiative.

Several of our Texas universities have librarians who are working to get 

useful original documents digitized and online. The importance of some of 

the manuscript collections archived at universities cannot be overstated.

One of those universities cares enough to study how genealogists use the 

internet for research! The University of North Texas study will involve 

focus groups as well as an online survey. UNT wants to spread the news so 

they can gather more input once they start the study. Keep an eye out for 

future announcements so you can shape the future of digitization projects 

useful to genealogists.

The UNT Portal to Texas History project is at

     http://texashistory.unt.edu/

The East Texas Research Center (ETRC) at Stephen F. Austin State University 

in Nacogdoches, Texas has also solicited genealogist's input for their 

Texas Tides Project located at

     http://tides.sfasu.edu/

The ETRC home page is at

     http://www.sfasu.edu/libweb/etrc/

There are other university projects in Texas but the two named above are 

very useful and their librarians are very friendly to genealogists. Please 

give them your support.

-- 

Regards, Debbie

Debbie Parker Wayne

Wayne Research          http://etxquest.com/

Webmaster, Lone Star Chapter APG  http://lonestarapg.com/

-------- Original Message --------

Oct. 5, 2007

Contact: Nancy Kolsti

University of North Texas News Service

(940) 565-3509

or metro (817) 267-0651

UNT Libraries receive grant from federal agency

to study digital library use by genealogists

DENTON (UNT), Texas - Recent research from the Pew Internet and American 

Life Project indicates that more than 50 million Americans use the Internet 

for genealogy research, with genealogists comprising nearly a third of all 

users of digital libraries - libraries in which collections are stored in 

digital formats instead of print, microform or other media, and are 

accessible by computers.

However, almost no research has explored how those interested in genealogy 

- whether through an organization or just as a hobby - use digital 

libraries and what information they seek from the collections.

The University of North Texas Libraries have received a $448,548, two-year 

National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services 

to develop a user-centered design process that digital libraries with 

humanities collections can implement to improve the usability and 

effectiveness of the collections for targeted user groups, such as 

genealogists.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of 

federal grant support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 

museums. With a mission of creating strong libraries and museums that 

connect people to information and ideas, the Institute works at the 

national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to 

sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; 

and support professional development.

The National Leadership Grants support projects that have the potential to 

elevate practices in museums and libraries. UNT was one of six Texas 

libraries and museums, and the only university library in the Dallas-Fort 

Worth area, to receive a grant, which provides libraries and museums with 

funding for projects for up to three years.

Cathy Hartman, the UNT Libraries' assistant dean for digital and 

information technologies, said she and Dreanna Belden, the libraries' 

coordinator for grants and development, decided to apply for the grant to 

research the information needs of genealogists as they interact with the 

Portal to Texas History, which provides users with a digital gateway to 

collections in Texas libraries, museums, archives, historical societies and 

private collections. The Portal contains primary source materials, 

including maps, books, manuscripts, diaries, photographs and letters.

"Genealogists use the Portal to help them understand more about family 

history. They can go to the site and find information about the Texas town 

where their grandparents lived or what life was like for the time that 

their ancestors lived," Hartman said.

Belden said one woman found a funeral card on the Portal for her 

great-uncle, who was a reverend in Marshall, Texas. The image was provided 

to the Portal by the Marshall Public Library. Another user of the Portal, 

Belden said, found a photo of mourners at a mass burial service for victims 

of the 1947 industrial explosion in Texas City, Texas, and identified two 

of the mourners as a relative and the relative's neighbor.

She pointed out that although the Portal to Texas History is used by all 

age groups, genealogists who use the Portal tend to be older and female. 

One survey from the University of Michigan found that the average age of 

genealogists responding was 62, and the respondents had been engaged in 

genealogical research for an average of 18 years.

"The view of genealogy as an avocation for those in middle to later life 

generally proves out in research on these demographics," Belden said. "But 

most of the information on users of digital libraries focuses on college 

students and faculty researchers, who may use the libraries for only one 

subject by trying the searching functions. Genealogists, however, are 

lifelong learners who seek browsing pathways."

Belden and Hartman said members of the Texas State Genealogical Society and 

the Dallas Genealogical Society will be interviewed in focus groups to 

determine their information needs from digital libraries. The project, they 

said, will provide a road map for future studies of other targeted user groups.

"It will build a model for digital library interface development that 

includes a user-centered design approach," Hartman said.

**UNT**

The University of North Texas is a student-centered public research 

university and the flagship of the UNT System. One of Texas' largest 

universities, UNT offers 96 bachelor's, 111 master's and 50 doctoral degree 

programs, many nationally and internationally recognized. UNT's more than 

34,000 students Discover the Power of Ideas.

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