LSTADigitizationGrant,20152016Application

TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensboro
1

1.LIBRARYUSERSANDNEED

ThecurrentincarnationoftheNorthCarolinaSlaveActisalreadydigitallyavailableto
thegeneralpublicviaTheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensboroslibraryservices.Thisis
locatedat
libcdm1.uncg.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/RAS
.Currentusersincluderesearchers
interestedinAfricanAmericanhistory,genealogy,NorthCarolinahistory,andthoseseeking
eventypographyexamplesfromthecoveredtimeperiod.Someofthealreadyproposedresearch
topicsforthiscollectioninclude,butareobviouslynotlimitedto:
slaveclothingandterminology
theoutlawingofrunawayslaves
femaleslaveowners
reasonablerewardsandhowmuchpowertheslavecatcherhadover
compensation
whetheradvertisementsoffoundslavesmatchupwiththerunawayslave
advertisements
theoutbreakofsmallpoxandthementionofsmallpoxmarksonfugitiveslaves
inconsistenciesandgapsbetweentheescapeoftheslaveandtheslaveowners
runawayslaveadvertisement
rewardamountvs.theactualvalueoftheslave
kidnappingofslaves
authorizationtokillrunawayslaveswhowerecommittingfelonies
theGreatDismalSwamp(ShingleSwamp),agatheringplaceforrunawayslaves
thelevelofliteracyamongslaves
Thecurrentdigitalcollectionisincomplete.ThecurrentNorthCarolinaSlaveadsproject
onlycoverstheyearsofAmericanslaveryupto1840.Inordertocompletethisproject,weneed
toidentify,digitize,andcreatethemetadataforalladvertisementsbetween1850and1865.This
gapincludessomeofthemostcriticalyearsfordocumentationandUnitedStateshistory.
Thecurrentresourcehasalreadybeenindexedbymultipleeducationresources,including
MiddleTennesseeStateUniversitysarchiveonAmericanWomensHistoryat
http://digital.mtsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/women/id/703
andLearnNC,aK12educational
initiativefoundat
http://www.learnnc.org/
aswellastheDigitalPublicLibrary,discoverableby
keywordsearchesquiteeasily.

2.INTENDEDOUTCOMES

Improveusers'abilitytoparticipateincommunityconversationsaroundtopicsofconcern.
Accesstoinformationregardingtherealexperience,existence,andextentofslaverycan
onlyassistinthegeneralsocialconversationonthetopic.Thisiscurrentandrelevantnow,and
hasnotreallybeenatanypointbeenanonrelevantone.Havingasearchabledatabaseisa
perfectresourceforcommunitydiscussions.Thiswillbeanacademicresourceaswellasa
generalresource.

Improveusers'abilitytodiscoverinformation.
Thisprojectwillprovideuserswithasearchable,fulltextresourceofinformation
relatingtorunawayslavesinthecriticalyearsof18401865.Thisisuniqueinthatimageswill

LSTADigitizationGrant,20152016Application
TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensboro
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bepairedwithalloftheirpotentialinformation,andbeinfinitelydiscoverable.Thesewillalso
becollectedandindexedbydecadeforbrowsingease.

Improveusersformaleducation.
Initsroleasaneducationalresource,theNorthCarolinaSlaveAdsprojectcollects
recordofvaluableprimaryresourcesforreferenceandeducation.Thecollectionisalready
linkedtoseveralK12educationalresources,andusedbyhighereducation.Theexpanded
collectionwillprovidegreaterdepthtotheseeducationaluses.CivilWarhistory,and
particularlytheantebellumperiodleadinguptotheCivilWar,isamajortopicineducation.
HavingacompletedatabaseofallNorthCarolinaslaveadswillhelpteachersplanlessonsthat
coverspecificstandardswillhelpstudentssupporttheirworkandwillhelpresearchersgaina
clearerpictureoftheirtopics.

3.PROJECTDESCRIPTION

TheNorthCarolinaSlaveAdsprojectbeganasadigitalprojectatTheUniversityof
NorthCarolinaatGreensboro.AsdescribedonitsHomePage,
The
NorthCarolinaRunawaySlaveAdvertisements
projectprovides
onlineaccesstoallknownrunawayslaveadvertisements(morethan2300items)
publishedinNorthCarolinanewspapersfrom1751to1840.Thesebriefads
provideaglimpseintothesocial,economic,andculturalworldoftheAmerican
slavesystemandthespecificexperiencewithinNorthCarolina.Workingfrom
microfilmedcopiesoftheserarepublications,theprojectteamscannedtheadsto
providedigitalimages,createfulltexttranscriptsanddescriptivemetadata,and
developasearchabledatabase.The
NCRSA
websiteincludesdigitalscansofthe
ads,contextualessaystoaddresstheirhistoricalresearchvalue,fulltext
transcripts,anannotatedbibliographytoaidresearchers,andasearchable
database.
Theprojectasitexistsisadigitallibraryofadvertisementsforrunawayslaveranging
from17511840.Theseeminglyarbitrarycutoffdateisnotarbitraryatall.Theoriginalslave
adsprojectderivedfromaprintresourcelistingallofthelocationsofrunawayslaveadsbetween
thosedaterangesinNorthCarolinanewspapers.Theoriginalprojecthadamapofthoseyears,
makingthedigitizationprocessoneofretrieval,scanning,andlistingforpatronviewing.That
printresourceonlylistedtheexistenceofrunawayslaveadvertisementsuptotheyear1840.
TheNCRSAprojectseekstoofferadocumentationoftheexperienceofslaveryinNorth
CarolinaintheAntebellumperiod.Ithasalreadyservedinwomenshistoryresearch,K12
NorthCarolinaHistory,andAfricanAmericanhistory.
Itisrecognizedthatthisresource,whilepowerfulforresearchofmanykinds,is
incomplete.Notonlyisitincomplete,theyearsmissing,post1840,areeasilythemostdesired
byresearchersasbeingimmediatelyantebellumandpartofthesocialandculturalclimate
leadingintotheCivilWar.Theyearsof18401865donothaveanalreadycompiledprintsource
listingtheexistenceofallrunawayslaveads.Theseadsmustbesoughtoutinorderforthe
NorthCarolinaSlaveAdsprojecttobecomplete,andtobethebestresourceitcanbefor
researchers,genealogists,andhistorians.

LSTADigitizationGrant,20152016Application
TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensboro
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TheprojecttocompletetheNorthCarolinaSlaveAdscollectionhasalreadystarted
planning.Overthecourseofthe20152016schoolyear,agraduatestudentwentthroughan
initialprocesstocreateaviableestimateofthescopeoftheproject.Duringthisyear,the
graduatestudentcompiledalistofallnewspaperspublishedinNorthCarolinaduringthetarget
timeperiod,includingallof1865.
Thestudentthenbeganseekingthelocationsofthenewspapers.Almostallhadbeen
microfilmedinpartorintotal,andmanywerealreadyavailableintheUNCGJacksonLibrary.It
waswiththismaterialsthatthestudentbegantheprojectinordertoprovideatimeestimatefor
futureplanningfortheproject.Thattimeinvestmentestimationisverylooseandvarieswildly
fromnewspapertonewspaper.Somepaperswithamoreconservativebentwillasaconsequence
featurefarmoreofthesoughtmaterial(runawayslaveads).Naturally,abolitionistpaperscarry
farfewer(thoughnotnecessarily
zero
ads).
Thereare243individualnewspapersinthegeographicandchronologicspanofthis
project.Whileitisimpossibletoevaluatethefullaccessandscopeofthenewspapersthatexist
indigitizableformat,wecanestimatebasedonwhatwehavefoundthusfar.Inpreliminary
activitiesforthisproject,oneworkerwasabletodigitizeabout
200ads
overthecourseofabout
120hours
.Thisincludeslocatingthemicrofilmrolls,scanningthroughthepapers,and
digitizingtheads.Itdoesnotincludetranscribing,creatingmetadata,orqualitycheckingthem.
Thesame120hourscoveredtheavailablerunsofabout
25newspapers
,thoughthoserunswere
ofvariedlengths.Somecontainedonlyasingleissue.Otherscoveredmanyyearsatdailyissue
withonlyselectissuesmissing.However,wemightbeabletoextractsomethingofanestimated
averagefromthis:
Thateachadmaytakeabout
.6hours
tofindanddigitize
and
Thateachnewspapertitlerepresentsabout
4.8hours
ofinvestment
Itmightthereforebeestimatedthattheremainingnewspapertitlesshouldtakeabout
1046.4hours
ofmanpowertocompletelyinvestigate.
Afterthisprocessistranscription,metadatapreparation,andqualitychecking.These
processestakesignificantlylesstime.Thetranscriptionofthe200preliminaryadshastakena
totalof
32hours
.Thatmeanseachadrepresents
.16hours
ofworkfortranscription,andeach
newspapertitlemaycontainanaverageof
8adspernewspapertitle
.Someobviouslyhave
moreorless,butthisisanaveragefortheitemsstudiedsofar.Thislownumbermaysimplybe
becausesomanyofthenewspaperslistedhaveveryshortruns,ormaynothavesupportedthe
issueofslavery.Wemightestimate
1744adsremaining
tobediscovered,thoughtheprevious
portionoftheprojectfoundwellover
2300ads
.Thatmeansanestimated
279.04hours
maybe
usedfortranscriptionandmetadataassignment.
Thetotalestimateforhoursforthedigitizationandtranscriptionofadswillthereforebe
1325.44hours
workestimatedforthisproject.
Iftwoworkersareworkingparttimeonthisproject,at15hours/week,oroneworkeris
workingat29hours/week,thisprocesswilltake
fortyfourorfortyfiveweeks
.Thisis
thereforeeffectivelyayearlongproject.
Theprocessofsearchingfortheadsinvolvesviewingthenewspapersthatarepreserved
onmicrofilm.Whenanadisdiscovered,theworkerwillmakenotesinasharedGoogle
documenttrackingitslocation.Thentheworkerwillusethecapturingsoftwaretodigitizethead
atstandards.ThesefileswillbetransferredtoERITforeventualqualitycheckingandupload.

LSTADigitizationGrant,20152016Application
TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensboro
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Oncethematerialsareuploadedtothecollectionanditiscompleteatlast,theresource
willberepublicizedtotheUniversityofNorthCarolinasystem,thelibrariesofTheUniversity
ofNorthCarolinaatGreensboro,anddigitaleducationalresourceslikeLearnNC.

4.PROJECTPARTNERS,ifapplicable
(othersrespondwithN/A)

N/A

5.RIGHTSANDPERMISSIONS

Thematerialsusedinthisprojectwereallpublishedpriorto1866,andthusaredefinitely
inthepublicdomain.Mostofthematerialsaretobesourcedfrommicrofilmrecordsalreadyin
possessionoftheUniversity.Therearenofurthercopyrightconcernsforthisproject.

6.PROJECTACTIVITIES

planningmeetings,projectdevelopment,testing,evaluationandoutreach,andanyother
significantactivities.Thetimelineshouldbepreparedinconsultationwithanypartner(s)and
shouldincludethelocalinstitutionalapprovalprocess,grantprogramdeadlines,

Date
Activity
Tobecompletedby
Beginhiringstudentworkerorworkers.Thiswillbe
6/1/2016 advertisedasastudentjob

ProjectLeader

Begintrainingprocess,usingthepreviousworkonthe
projectasastandard.Workerswilllearnhowtousethe
microfilmviewer,thedigitizingprogram,andthe
conventionsforcapturingdigitalimages.Inthefirst
fewweeks,thestudentswillhavefarmoresupervision,
untiltheyhaveverylowincidenceofquestionsor
6/15/2016 difficulty.
ProjectLeader
7/1/2016 Beginactivesearchforitemsindependently.

Studentworkers

Firstmonthlymeetingwithreviewofmaterials
collectedsofar.Thismeetingwillincludeacheckup
onstandardstoensuredigitalstandardsarebeing
followed,andincludeadiscussionontrendsinads
discoveredsofar.Thesemonthlymeetingscanalsobe
opportunitiestodiscusstroublesencounteredalongthe
way.Monthlymeetingswillhappenatthebeginningof Studentworkersand
8/1/2016 eachmonth.
ProjectLeader
12/15/2016 TrainingforpostingadsinContentDMbegins.

ProjectLeader

LSTADigitizationGrant,20152016Application
TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensboro
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Bythispoint,abouthalfoftheprojectshouldbe
complete.Thereshouldbeinthismonthalargeupdate
totheNorthCarolinaSlaveAdsresourcewithafeature Studentworkersunder
onthelibrary.uncg.eduandnotesentouttoeducational thesupervisionofthe
1/15/2016 resourcesthatalreadyindextheproject.
ProjectLeader
Bythismonthlymeeting,theprojectshouldbenearing
completion.Thismeetingwillevaluatethepathtothe
completion,andplanforuniversityandcommunity
Studentworkersand
3/1/2016 engagement.
ProjectLeader
Finalplanningforcompletionofproject,includingthe Studentworkersand
5/1/2016 beginningofsecondlargeuploadingpush.
ProjectLeader
7/1/2016 Targetprojectcompletiondate.

Studentworkersand
ProjectLeader

7.EVALUATION

Thisprojecthasseveraldimensionsfromwhichtoconsidersuccess.Thefirstissimply
findinganddigitizationofallremainingNorthCarolinarunawayslaveadvertisements.The
NCRSAhasalreadyshownitselftobevaluabletoresearchers,genealogists,andeducators.By
virtueofhavingacompleteresource,wecancallthataspectoftheprojectasuccess.
Wewillalsobeabletotellhowmanydigitalresources,indexes,andeducationalweb
siteslinkbacktotheNCRSAshome.TheNorthCarolinaDigitalHeritageCenteralsokeeps
trackofhowoftenNorthCarolinacollectionsareaccessedthroughtheDigitalPublicLibraryof
America.Wewillbeabletoseethroughthiswhetherthereisanincreaseinusageinotheryears,
atleastviaaccessfromtheDPLA.
Anotherpath,thoughpotentiallylessquantitativeinnature,forjudginggooduseofthe
collectionisusebyK12andundergraduateinstruction.Outreachprojectscansuggestthe
collectionasaresourceforinstructionandstudentuse.Wecanconsiderthisaspectasuccess
whenwecanshowcurriculumincludingthecollectionasaresource.

8.GOALS

TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensboroslibraryhasthefollowingmission:
Throughexpertiseininformationservices,theUniversityLibrariesfoster
thesuccessandimpactoftheUNCGreensborocommunitybypromoting
learning,inspiringcreativityandenhancingresearchandcollaborationina
diverseandinnovativeenvironment.
Furthermore,theUniversityLibrarieshaveamongtheirvaluesCultureofdiversityand
inclusionandCommunicationthatempowersandfostersopenness.Withtheseinmind,the
NorthCarolinaRunawaySlaveAdsprojectisapowerfultoolforshowcasingsomeoftheorigins
ofourcurrentlivesinthestate,andauniqueviewoftheshapingofournecessarydiversity.
AsaresourceforNorthCarolinahistory,and,indeed,thegeneralregionshistory,the
NorthCarolinaRunawaySlaveAdsdigitaldatabaseisagreatinformationresourcefortheentire

LSTADigitizationGrant,20152016Application
TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensboro
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state,surroundingstates,andAmericanhistoryingeneral.Thisdatabasedoesnothavelimitson
use,andnopaywalls.Theaveragepersonhastotalaccesstoalloftheitemsinit.This
collectionstrengthenspubliccontrol,access,andretrievalofcriticalinformation.

9.BUDGETTABLE

((omitted))

10.
BUDGET
NARRATIVE

Budgetconsiderationsforthisprojectarealmostexclusivelymanpowerbasedas
equipmentalreadyexistsforthisprojectattheprojectlocation(JacksonLibraryatThe
UniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensboro).Aspartofnormaloperations,thereisalreadya
ProjectCoordinatorintheElectronicResourcesandInformationTechnologies(ERIT)
departmentoftheUniversityLibrary.ThisProjectCoordinatorwillprovidetimeandtrainingfor
theparttimeworkers(potentiallystudentpositions).Thetotalestimateforhoursforthe
digitizationandtranscriptionofadswillthereforebe
1325.44hours
workestimatedforthis
project.Atanestimated$10/hourofwork,thisisaninvestmentof
$13,254.40
.Additionally,
personnelwillbeneededfortrainingtheworkers,andplayasupervisoryrole.TheUniversity
willalsoneedtoperformqualitycheckingtoensurethattheprojectmeetsthestandardsalready
setinthefirstportionoftheproject.
Theprojectalsodoesrequireequipment:
microfilm/fischescanningandimagingequipment
onecomputertousethescanningequipment
onecomputertouseintranscription,imageediting,metadata,anduploading

11.MATCHINGFUNDS/LOCALCOMMITMENT

TheUniversityofNorthCarolinawillbecommittingpersonnelhourstotraining.Initial
trainingonequipmentusageandthepurposeoftheprogramwillbeatleast
30hours
,with
metadata,imagepreparation,anduploadingtrainingbeinganother
30hours
.Thehourswillbe
providedaspartofthepersonnel'semploymentwiththeUniversity.
Additionally,theUniversitywillpayfor
280
hoursoftheparttimeworkersonthe
projectasthefirst280worked.
TheUniversityalsofurnishesandmaintainsallequipmentusedintheprocessofthis
digitizationproject.
Forthepaymentofpersonnel,hereisashortbreakdownofestimatedhours:

Item
UniversityPersonnelHours
ParttimeHoursPaidbyUniversity
ParttimeHoursPaidbyGrant

Hours

EstimatedCost
60

$1,200.00

280

$2,800.00

1046

$10,460.00

LSTADigitizationGrant,20152016Application
TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensboro
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$14,460.00

12.ABSTRACT

TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensborosUniversityLibrariesdepartmentof
ElectronicResourcesandInformationTechnologies(ERIT)hasalreadyhascreatedadigital
resourceentitledNorthCarolinaRunawaySlaveAdvertisements1751to1840.Thisresource,
whileexcellent,islackingadvertisementsfromtheyearsafter1840andbeforetheendofthe
AmericanCivilWar.Thisprojectseekstofind,digitize,createfullysearchablemetadatafor,and
postonlinealladvertisementsforrunawayslavepostedinnewspaperspublishedinNorth
Carolinabetween1840and1865.Thisprojectisestimatedtotakeaboutoneyeartocomplete,
andwillemployuptotwoparttimeworkersinadditiontothepersonnelalreadyemployedby
UNCGsUniversityLibraries.Theseworkerswillseektheadvertisementsinmicrofilmedcopies
ofnewspapersfromthestatedtimeperiodanddigitallycapturethemassingleimages.Theywill
fullytranscribetheseadssothattheyarecompletelysearchable.Thisprojectservesgoalsof
documentingAfricanAmericanhistory,genealogy,andNorthCarolinahistory.Oncecomplete,
theNorthCarolinaRunawaySlaveAdsprojectwillbeaninvaluableresourceforeducators,
researchers,andNorthCarolinians.

13.SAMPLEOFHOWMATERIALSAREARRANGED/DESCRIBED

Aspartofthisprojectalreadyexists,thenewdigitizationeffortswillemulatethatmethod.Also,
thealreadyexistentportionoftheprojectiseasilyviewableonlineattheURL
http://libcdm1.uncg.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/RAS
.

Theindividualadsareisolatedfromtheircontextualpagesforcollectionandreadingpurposes.
Eachadvertisementispresentedinsimilarsizeandstandard,thoughtheimagequalityofthead
dependsmostofallonthequalityofmaterialsatthetimeofmicrofilming.

LSTADigitizationGrant,20152016Application
TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensboro
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Thedigitizationofthesefilesisalsomostlyaboutthecontentoftheitems.Theimagesexistto
framethegenerallookandpresentationofthead,whiletheentiretextwillbecopyand
searchable:

LSTADigitizationGrant,20152016Application
TheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensboro
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