(Carson, CA) A digital residency and training program co-developed by the California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) Gerth Archives and Special Collections for the L.A. as Subject research alliance has received a $680,395 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
One of 44 grants awarded through IMLS’s Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program (LB21), the L.A. as Subject Digital Residency and Training Program will train recent Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) graduates from across the nation and 150 staff and volunteers at 30 Los Angeles-based community and neighborhood archives in digital collections management. The goal of the project is to give smaller, less-resourced archives the skills necessary to make their primary historical collections accessible to a broader audience via digital platforms.
The Gerth Archives developed the digital residency training program in partnership with L.A. as Subject member institutions USC Libraries and the Oviatt Library at CSU Northridge. Each partner institution will host a recent MLIS graduate in a two-year residency. Residents will receive mentoring and training from experienced digital library and archival professionals and work closely with 10 other L.A. as Subject members within their host institution’s neighborhoods or artifact collection areas. The residency program will begin in May 2019 following an application process.
“We are very pleased to participate in this IMLS grant,” said Greg Williams, director of CSUDH’s Gerth Archives, which has hired three archivists trained in the previous IMLS-supported residencies. “This type of project allows us to assist both the archival professionals and smaller community archives while helping to expand the Gerth Archives’ digital footprint.”
