Beacon Street Diary

Digital Commonwealth offering free digitization to members

We've been members of Digital Commonwealth almost since the beginning, and we've been using the digitization services provided by the Boston Public Library (conveniently just down the street) for several years. Now, thanks to a fantastic grant, the BPL is able to offer free digitization to DigiComm members for the next year. Keep reading to find out how in their press release.

The Digital Commonwealth of Massachusetts is pleased to announce the application process by which current Digital Commonwealth members may apply for free digitization services from the Boston Public Library (BPL).

A recent grant awarded to the Boston Public Library by the MBLC (Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners) and funded by the LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) provides an excellent opportunity for organizations that either are currently individual members of Digital Commonwealth, or are interested in joining. Digital Commonwealth is a statewide collaboration focused on providing access to digital resources of cultural institutions in Massachusetts.

The online application form is now available at http://bit.ly/dcbplform. Starting in October 2011, during the year-long grant, requests will be reviewed each month and approved requests will be scheduled quarterly. Organizations interested in digitizing entire collections of photographs, or manuscripts, or a series of books or bound volumes are encouraged to apply. The BPL might limit the number of images digitized for one institution to approximately 50 bound volumes (1,500 pages) or 5,000 individual items (e.g., photographs, manuscript pages, posters) depending on the number of applications it receives. Although the BPL cannot currently digitize microforms, roll film, audio, or video, we encourage you to include these formats in your application so that we may evaluate which services to provide past the term of this grant.

The BPL is prepared to accommodate as many valid requests as possible. The BPL reserves the right to prioritize the sequence of scanning based on various factors including when the collection is ready for digitization, how long the organization has been a member of the Digital Commonwealth, and workflow-related issues (e.g., size, format, quantity).

This program is one highlight of a new partnership between the Digital Commonwealth and the BPL. Through this partnership, the Digital Commonwealth and the BPL will work together towards a shared goal of creating, maintaining, and expanding a successful and thriving statewide system to provide access to digital resources in Massachusetts.

Membership at either the smaller cultural institution level or larger cultural institution is a requirement to be considered for free digitization services. The Digital Commonwealth’s website includes a page with information about membership fees as well as the rights and responsibilities of members (http://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/doc/memberfees). Digital services to the third membership category, Group Sponsoring Organizations, will also occur during the grant, but the BPL will be working directly with one main representative from each group to target digitization services that will supplement and complement their existing digitization efforts. Organizations that currently are group members (within the Group Sponsoring Organizations) can apply for the free digitization services if they become individual members of Digital Commonwealth.

Digital Commonwealth members who receive free digitization services from the Boston Public Library during this grant project will need to complete tasks associated with the creation of metadata for the digital objects created during the grant and also need to commit to making the digitized items available online through the Digital Commonwealth system. The BPL is prepared to conduct customized site visits and consultations in order to assist in this process. Digital Commonwealth will also be conducting a series of general workshops to support member digitization issues.

This is a great opportunity for institutions who have been hesitant to spend a ton of money having their collections scanned. Even if you don't plan to make the resulting images available to the general public, they can be a great way to send non-circulating research materials to your patrons who can't come see them in person.

We hope you'll take advantage of this funding, and help expand the Digital Commonwealth catalog. Go look!

 

--Robin

Second Church of Newton, Newton, MA

Second Church in Newton, West Newton, Massachusetts was organized in 1781 as the West Parish church of Newton. The caption on the print reads, "Congregational Church, West Newton. / Organized October 21, 1781. / Present Church Edifice Erected 1848."

The building shown here was replaced in 1916 by a more Gothic structure across the street, which is still in use today.

New free ecumenical resources site -- GlobeTheoLib

The World Council of Churches and Globethics.net have just launched a new digital repository of theological resources. "The Global Digital Library on Theology and Ecumenism (GlobeTheoLib) is a multi-lingual global digital library on theology and ecumenism that offers access to more than 200,000 texts, documents and other academic resources." It combines a large number of research materials -- both free and subscription-based -- in one convenient place for the use of anyone studying religion or ethics.

GlobeTheoLib aims to:

• use new digital models of information exchange to create greater visibility for theological knowledge and insights from churches of the global South;
• make use of information and communication technologies to counter imbalances in global theological education systems;
• respond to the needs of theological colleges, faculties and institutes for quality resources for theological education and research;
• overcome barriers to accessing existing digital content;
• support and enable well-equipped participation in the teaching of Christian theology, the generation of ecumenical and intercultural perspectives, and the formation of a new generation of ecumenical leaders.

GlobeTheoLib has a special focus on intercultural theology and ecumenism, including contextual theologies, world mission and missiology, gender and theology, interreligious dialogue, theological education, and World Christianity.

For individual registered participants, such as theological researchers, educators and students, GlobeTheoLib offers free-of-charge access to:

• journals, magazines, books, training material, dissertations and news documents on theology and ecumenism, with a focus on full text documents
• licensed content such as journals, reference works, and e-books

Registered participants may also submit their own documents and publications to GlobeTheoLib.

Participants have access to other online libraries of Globethics.net, such as the Global Digital Library on Ethics, as well as the networking facilities and online workgroups of Globethics.net.

Though registration is required to access the GTL resources, the process is quick, free, and allows you to specify your fields of interest. It also allows you to create and join workgroups, through which you can collaborate with other researchers around the world.

 

--Robin

JSTOR Early Journal Content update

Doing research online just got a little easier.

We mentioned a while ago that the JSTOR digital archive was planning to make some of their out-of-copyright materials available to non-subscribers for free. They have now released a number of titles, including many that will be useful to some of our researchers.

We have added links in our catalog to the JSTOR archives for 18 journals we own, such as the The Journal of Religion and its predecessors, and are considering a number of others to be cataloged as electronic resources. We hope that you find these articles useful.

 

--Robin

Samuel Harris (1814-1899) portrait

Born in Machias, Maine, Samuel Harris attended Bowdoin College and Andover Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1841, after which he held pastorates at Conway, Mass. (1841-1851), and Pittsfield, Mass. (1851-1855). Harris was a professor of Theology at Bangor Theological Seminary from 1855 to 1867, then became the fifth president of Bowdoin College, where he served until 1871. After resigning from Bowdoin, he returned to teaching for 25 more years as the Dwight Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale Divinity School.

During his later years, Harris also wrote extensively, publishing his four best known works: The Kingdom of Christ on Earth, The Philosophical Basis of Theism, The Self-Revelation of God, and God the Creator and Lord of All.

For more information about Samuel Harris and his writings, search for "Harris, Samuel" in our online catalog.

 

--Robin

Religious Congregations Membership Study 2010

Statistics may not be a glamorous field of study, but it sure is useful to researchers in pretty much every discipline. If you're interested in modern American religions, you'll probably want to take a look at the Religous Congregations Membership Study for 2010.

Just as the U.S. government takes a census of its citizens every 10 years, the National Council of Churches and the Glenmary Research Center have conducted surveys of American religious bodies for the past several decades. Their latest data from the 2010 study can be found on The Association of Religious Data Archives (ARDA), and preliminary maps are available on the RCMS site for more visual learners.

Go take a look!

--Robin

Event reminder -- Women of Smoke and Fire -- tomorrow

Don't forget, the next installment in our Brown Bag Lunch series is tomorrow at noon.

"Women of Smoke and Fire"

During and after the Civil War, many women volunteered as teachers to former slaves through the American Missionary Association. Join longtime Christian educator Faith Johnson as she highlights a few of their stories, the dangers and prejudices they faced, and why so many more women than men answered the AMA's call.

Bring your lunch and a curious mind.

12:00 - 1:00 pm

Free.
No registration is required, but we appreciate an RSVP so we know how many people to expect.

Seeking a Director of Development

The American Congregational Association seeks a highly qualified half-time Director of Development to:

1. Establish a development office that will support the operation of the Congregational Library and nonprofit tenant mission.
2. Assist in a capital campaign and long-term support for the ACA's historic building at 14 Beacon Street in Boston.

Until now, the American Congregational Association's income has come primarily from rents and investments. The ACA seeks to expand this base by hiring its first Director of Development in order to seek greater income from foundations, individuals, and churches.

The successful candidate will have the skills to establish a highly successful development office, be comfortable working in a small, collegial environment, and be sensitive to the culture of religious organizations.

The Director of Development will be responsible for the development and implementation of a comprehensive fundraising plan that will increase the organization's support from individuals, corporations, and foundations. S/he will work closely with the Executive Director, Chair of the Board's Development Committee, and Board of Directors.

Qualifications:

• At least five years of relevant fundraising experience.
• Demonstrated effectiveness in raising funds from individuals and foundations.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail; ability to manage multiple responsibilities simultaneously.
• Ability to initiate and manage projects independently.
• Exceptional writing skills, including the ability to create compelling documents to engage a wide range of stakeholders.
• Experience with fundraising databases (ACA uses eTapestry), web and social media management experience required.
• Interest in the mission of the American Congregational Association.
• BA/BS required. Masters preferred.

Please send cover letter and resume to Jeff Katz at jkatz@14beacon.org. No phone calls, please.

First Congregational Church, Sandisfield, MA

This image of First Congregational Church, Sandisfield, Massachusetts, shows a crowd gathering on the steps of the church. The church was organized in 1756. The caption reads, "5445 Photograph. Congregational Church, Sandisfield, Mass. 150th. Anniversary, Aug. 27, 1906." A note on the back reads, "Burned ca. 1909."

According to a descendant of The Art Store founder, this was part of a series by a local photographer named George Taylor. The information on another image of the church indicates that it was Sandisfield Congregational's third meetinghouse, built in 1852 and destroyed by a fire in May 1908.

After the loss of their meetinghouse, the congregation was listed as "inactive" in denominational yearbooks for several decades, but never managed to reassemble or construct a new church building. Sandisfield is a small enough town that the congregants of First Church probably just joined the nearby New Boston Congregational Church or scattered to the churches in surrounding towns.

 

--Robin

New Archives Assistant - Sari Mauro

Some of you may remember Sari from her summer volunteering here in 2010. Sari was instrumental in the publication of our walking tour booklet, "Exploring Boston's Religious History". It was during this period that she made the decision to pursue a master's degree and become an archivist. This fall Sari began her course work at Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS). Sari is a graduate of Elizabethtown College in English Literature, Political Science and Religious Studies. This past summer she assisted in the organization of the archives of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC). Sari is the daughter of Board member, Rev. Betsey Mauro.

We are pleased to have Sari on our staff.

-Claudette