Lyrasis st augprojects2013_jn-rh

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Digital Collection Road TripMarch 2013

Host:   Regan Harper

Director of Member Programs

Preserving and Digitizing the Architectural History of

St. Augustine, Florida

John Nemmers, University of FloridaLyrasis Digital Collections Road Trip – March 20, 2013

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Architecture Archives @ UF

• George A. Smathers Libraries' Dept. of Special & Area Studies Collections (http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/)

• Established in 2004

• Archival drawings & other materials related to architecture & design in Florida & the Caribbean

• Areas of focus: 1) Modern architecture of the mid-20th Century, 2) St. Augustine architecture

UF and St. Augustine

St. Augustine

Gainesville (UF)

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UF and St. Augustine

• Long history of UF working with city (archaeology, architecture/historic preservation, etc.)

• Management of state-ownedproperties (38 buildings and 23parcels managed by UF)

Digitization of St. Augustine Holdings

• Given importance of city and research demand, UF has been scanning items over the last 15+ years (mostly internal funding)

• UF Digital Collections (UFDC, http://ufdc.ufl.edu)

• UFDC uses the UF-developed open-source SobekCM software (http://ufdc.ufl.edu/sobekcm)

• 2009 Historic St. Augustine project (http://ufdc.ufl.edu/hsa1) –scanned Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board block/lot files

• Two Grant-Funded Projects:• Saving St. Augustine’s Architectural Treasures (2010-2012)• Unearthing St. Augustine’s Colonial Heritage (2012-2014)

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Saving St. Augustine's Architectural Treasures

Two-year project (2010-2012) to preserve and digitize architectural drawings for the National Historic Landmark Hotel Ponce de Leon and

the Flagler Memorial Presbyterian Church

Funded by a federal Save America’s Treasures grant awarded to Flagler College.

Gilded Age Architecture

• Millionaire industrialist Henry Flagler

• Hotel Ponce de Leon (1885-1887) was the first and the flagship of Flagler’s resort empire

• First major commission for the Carrère & Hastings firm

• Memorial Presbyterian Church (1889)

Henry Morrison Flagler

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Lost Treasures

• Many of the Hotel drawings had been “lost” for decades.

• After discovery, Flagler College deposited Hotel Ponce drawings at UF in 2005

• Church deposited drawings at same time

• Over 260 drawings preserved and reproduced digitally by the UF Smathers Libraries.

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A varietyof conservation issues

Before:

The drawing had been stored rolled for several decades

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The drawing was unrolledin the Conservation lab at the UF Libraries

After initial conservation treatment…

Ready for imaging by the UF Digital Library Center

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Large format imaging in the UF Digital Library Center

After digitization each drawing was encapsulated

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• Blog:http://flaglerdrawings.wordpress.com/

• Finding aids:http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/manuscript/guides/hotelponce.htmhttp://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/manuscript/guides/memorial.htm

• Digital collection:http://ufdc.ufl.edu/caha

Saving St. Augustine's Architectural Treasures

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Unearthing St. Augustine’s Colonial Heritage

An Interactive Digital Collection for the Nation’s Oldest City

Funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant.

Architecture, Archaeology & History

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Project Partners

• University of Florida (UF) George A. Smathers Libraries

• City of St. Augustine Heritage Tourism

• City of St. Augustine Archaeology program

• St. Augustine Historical Society

Collections

• Government House – maps and overlays of the city, architectural drawings of historic structures, etc.

• St. Augustine Historical Society – Spanish Colonial documents, transcriptions and English language translations

• St. Augustine Archaeology Program – records, photographs and site summaries for 100 excavations

• Herschel Shepard Collection (UF Libraries - Architecture Archives) - drawings, photos and documents related to Shepard’s preservation, restoration and reconstruction of colonial buildings

• P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History (UF Libraries) - maps and historical documents.

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Supports Diverse Research

• Architecture/historic preservation• archaeology• Florida and U.S. history• Spanish & British colonies• Native Americans• slavery• exploration• social and economic development• urban planning• missionary work• military defenses and warfare• etc.

History

Architecture/Historic

Preservation

Archaeology

Identifying Structures/Sites

• Structure/site name(s)• Street address(es)• Florida Master Site File number, City Archaeology number, Plat

book number, etc.• Lat/Long coordinates• Township/Range• Block-Lot number

Example: Segui‐Kirby Smith Houseaka Segui‐Smith Houseaka Old Public Library

6 Artillery Lane or 12 Aviles Street

Aviles Street = Hospital Street

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Search Elements/Facets

• Archaeological sites (well, building foundation, trash pit, defensive wall, etc.)

• Building’s architectural style• Building structural system (wood, stone, etc.)• Dates of construction• Principal historic period (1st Spanish Colonial, British Colonial,

2nd Spanish, Territorial, etc.)• Significant renovation/reconstruction dates• Historical use (residence, worship, government, business)• Street address• National Register?

+ PLUS +

• Object-specific metadata (e.g., creator, subject, date, etc.)

Google Map-based searching/browsing

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Ability to create/save maps

Overlay Maps/Images

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Source: http://www.davidrumsey.com

Source: http://www.philaplace.org

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• http://ufdc.ufl.edu/usach

Unearthing St. Augustine's Colonial Heritage

Preserving and Digitizing the Architectural History of

St. Augustine, Florida

John Nemmers, University of Florida Smathers [email protected], 352-273-2766

Questions/Comments?

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Next Digital Collection Road Trip

Building a Theological Commons

Guest Presenter: Gregory MurrayDigital Initiatives Librarian

Princeton Theological Seminary

Tuesday, April 30, 20131:00pm‐2:00pm ET

Thank You!

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