Hi Ali (and the group),

I'm emailing everyone in case others have related questions or concerns.

The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC; www.dloc.comhttp://www.dloc.com) is working on building a Caribbean archive and has many materials already online. For dLOC, partner institutions all digitize materials from their holdings and contribute them to the shared portal where all materials are available as Open Access, and so fully and freely available. Additionally, scholars, librarians, curators, and many other folks frequently partner and collaborate with dLOC to make historical and new works available through dLOC.

When working with different collections and host institutions across the world, the rules on and for photography and digitization can be complex, and so it's always good to work with the institutions to ensure that the digitization supports local institutional needs and shared needs for preservation and access. Different scholars have partnered with different local institutions, including the National Library of Jamaica, for specific projects with the resulting digital materials being available in dLOC.

I'm the technical director for dLOC and am always available to help with anyone interested in working in or on the Caribbean. Brooke Wooldridge, the dLOC Program Director, is also available and I've copied her on this message for ease of communication.

Best wishes, Laurie N. Taylor, Ph.D. Digital Humanities Librarian 533 Library West 352.273.2902 http://ufdc.ufl.edu

From: globaloutlookdh-l-bounces@uleth.ca [mailto:globaloutlookdh-l-bounces@uleth.ca] On Behalf Of Ali McGhee Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2013 12:09 PM To: globaloutlookdh-l@uleth.ca Subject: [globaloutlookDH-l] Digitizing the Caribbean Archive--thoughts?

Hi everyone,

I'm a PhD candidate and Romanticist at the University of Rochester. My concentration is the colonial Caribbean in the long (very long) 19th century, and I've been doing work mostly on Jamaica and Surinam/Guyana, though I'll be expanding into other parts of the Greater Caribbean in the future. A long-term goal of mine is to start digitizing more of the Caribbean archive, and I'm hoping others might be interested in a project like this. I spent a month working in the National Library in Kingston, Jamaica, and I would love to go back and begin photographing and digitizing some of their resources. Their strict rules prohibit photography, but I'm sure that a few interested scholars could help them see the value in getting their works online. I would of course love to do this with other collections, as well!

I feel that pooling our experiences and resources could help kickstart a project like this. If anyone is interested in beginning such a collaboration, send me an e-mail off-list at alimcghee@gmail.commailto:alimcghee@gmail.com.

All best,

J. Alexandra (Ali) McGhee