VSU Partners With South Georgia Communities for Historic Preservation Project

Through a five-year Community Archives Digitization, Access, and Preservation Partnership project, Valdosta State University Archives and Special Collections plans to document and preserve some of the more important holdings of small historical societies and community archives across South Georgia. Pictured, from left to right, are Dallas Suttles, certified archivist and computer technology expert overseeing the project’s digitization and digital preservation workflow; Dawn Renner, graduate assistant; Douglas Carlson, certified archivist and technical assistant in charge of leading the project; and Deborah Davis, certified archivist and soon-to-be retired director of VSU Archives and Special Collections who plans to continue this work next year as a volunteer. VSU Archives and Special Collections is located on the fourth floor of Odum Library.

VALDOSTA — Valdosta State University Archives and Special Collections has received a $22,205 grant from the Lyrasis Catalyst Fund to kickstart an effort to make South Georgia history more accessible to everyone.  

Through a five-year Community Archives Digitization, Access, and Preservation Partnership project, VSU plans to document and preserve some of the more important holdings of small historical societies and community archives across the university’s 41-county service region. This project involves digitization; metadata creation; making items accessible across multiple platforms locally, regionally, statewide, and nationally; and digitally preserving the materials within VSU’s state-of-the-art digital preservation system.

Deborah Davis, certified archivist and director of Archives and Special Collections at VSU, said the Community Archives Digitization, Access, and Preservation Partnership project is essential because community archives in rural South Georgia lack the resources to make their holdings available to researchers outside their local areas. They also need guidance on best practices for sustainably preserving their historical materials.

“When you do searches for South Georgia history and culture, there’s not a whole lot that comes up,” she shared. “This project will allow community leaders and historians across our region to partner with VSU and use digitization as a method of historic preservation to collect and record the stories, images, and documents of their cities and towns — and expand access to information that was previously restricted to a physical location.

“There is a demand for digitized historical content, and there are a lot of interesting things to discover about South Georgia. We want to do our part to encourage an appreciation for and understanding of local Southern history and make learning about that history more accessible.”

Work on the Community Archives Digitization, Access, and Preservation Partnership project started over the summer. VSU is currently partnering with the Lowndes County Historical Society, Thomas County Historical Society, Brooks County Historical Society, Grady County Historical Society, Pinevale Alumni Association, Snake Nation Press, and local independent researchers to select important and imperiled collections for scanning, access, and preservation and to share archival best practices.

VSU is also collaborating with the Digital Library of Georgia.  

Because Archives and Special Collections provides an exploratory environment designed to promote active learning, Davis said this project will provide internship opportunities for VSU students from various fields of study. This type of hands-on, inquiry-based experiential learning can help students learn to think critically and with purpose, while also allowing them to engage with the public and transform historical research for future generations.

Davis will retire from VSU after three decades of service in December. She plans to return to the Community Archives Digitization, Access, and Preservation Partnership project as a volunteer and looks forward to having more time to build and nurture relationships with community leaders and historians across South Georgia. 

“I’m excited about my changing role with the university and the impact that will allow me to have on our region,” she added. “I look forward to becoming more of a consultant, matching the expertise and resources of VSU Archives and Special Collections to possible projects with community-based archives across rural South Georgia.”

Douglas Carlson, a certified archivist who currently serves as technical assistant for Archives and Special Collections, is projected to succeed Davis. As principal investigator for the Lyrasis Catalyst Fund grant, he will be supported by Davis and Dallas Suttles, a certified archivist and computer technology expert who will oversee the project’s digitization and digital preservation workflow. VSU’s Information Technology team will maintain the server space needed for the project.

VSU Archives and Special Collections is located on the fourth floor of Odum Library.

The Catalyst Fund provides support for new ideas and innovative projects, particularly projects with community impact.

VSU was one of five institutions of higher education across the United States selected by Lyrasis for a Catalyst Fund award.

While VSU’s project focuses primarily on South Georgia, Davis said that it has the potential to serve as a model for similar historical preservation initiatives across the United States, especially in rural areas served by regional university archives.

Lyrasis is a community-supported nonprofit committed to ensuring a lifetime of access to shared academic, scientific, and cultural heritage archives, libraries, museums, and research communities.