Library system helping to digitize greenville’s mill heritage

Library System Helping to Digitize Greenville’s Mill Heritage The Greenville Textile Heritage Society is partnering with the Greenville County Library System to digitally preserve Greenville’s textile heritage

Greenville County in the north western part of South Carolina is popular for its industries, especially its textile industry which dates back to the late 1800’s. This indicates the importance of understanding, studying, and preserving the history of this textile heritage. The Greenville Textile Heritage Society is partnering with the Greenville County Library System to digitally preserve Greenville’s textile heritage for present and future generations.

The Greenville Textile Heritage Society (GTHS), is a non­profit organization which aims at promoting cooperation and exchange of information among individuals and institutions interested in

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preserving the history of textiles in Greenville

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collecting artifacts, documents, photographs, memorabilia, machinery, equipment, and other materials related to the history of Greenville area textiles

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preserving and teaching the history of Greenville area textiles to include history of mill founders, mill villages, education emphasis, and the nature of life on the old mill villages

The Greenville County Library System has an extensive collection of materials that can help researchers interested in historical and genealogical research. It is reported that the library has won a grant from The Humanities Council of South Carolina for the special project called ‘Weaving Our History’ designed to create a lasting record of the economic and cultural impact of the textile industry.

The ‘Weaving Our History’ Project

The prime objective of the project is to educate the public on the role of textiles in Greenville’s growth and development. The main steps in digitization include:

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Collection of data (data capture) in forms such as books, manuscripts, microform, periodicals, databases, photographs, maps, and newspapers

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Scanning and Imaging

the data and documents to make them available for public access through the Greenville Library’s website, the South Carolina Digital Library, and the Digital Public Library of America.

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Photos and other materials received from different sources are scanned and indexed by mill name.

Presently, each mill group stores its own collection of documents in the form of newsletters, displays and presentations. By partnering with the library, they intend to collect and preserve the material for simultaneous sharing among a larger audience. www.managedoutsource.com

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The project is helping the Greenville Textile Heritage Society in two ways: It will expand the digital collection of Greenville’s textile heritage by bringing items (especially photos and documents) to the Hughes Main Library. Images selected for electronic document imaging includes the social and professional life of mill workers as well as technical details regarding plant construction and operation.

Digitization of historic documents and archival materials has advanced rapidly over the last few years. It is now possible to digitize materials available in almost every format and medium, with advanced tools and techniques.

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