The Rossville Collection

Purpose of “The Rossville Collection”

The Rossville Community Library recognizes the importance of preserving and making available our local history. We consider the library the most logical repository of local history archives and are working to better enable and enhance our role to provide better service toour patrons. We want to allow our “hidden collections” to become discoverable. We will also make an attempt to add current events to our archives according to these guidelines.

Scope of Collection(portions from the RCL Policy Manual)

The Rossville Collection contains books, maps, and audiovisual materials written, illustrated, produced or published by Rossville citizens or about Rossville. The Rossville Collection strives to contain important documents and information about the history of Rossville and its inhabitants. A concerted effort shall be made to obtain primary and secondary materials on Rossville from all periods. The Rossville Collection is intended primarily to preserve and record important information regarding our community; secondly, it is intended for those needing to research local history topics.

Each item shall be evaluated by library staff to determine the item’s historical value and whether the item is appropriate for our repository. We may refer some items to other organizations, including but not limited to the Kansas State Historical Society. Our collection shall be continually evaluated to determine what has been collected in the past, what is currently being collected, and what we envision for its development in the coming years.

It may contain:

  • Materials relating to Rossville and other local communities’ history, businesses, buildings, institutions, arts, and individuals
  • Books (including family histories)
  • Prints
  • Manuscripts
  • Directories
  • Clippings and photographs
  • Periodicals and neighborhood newspapers
  • Postcards
  • Maps
  • Audiovisual materials

Responsibility for Selection (from the RCL Policy Manual)

The ultimate responsibility for selection of library materials rests with the library director who operates within the framework of the policies determined by the board. This responsibility may be shared with other members of the library staff; however, because the director must be available to answer to the library board and the general public for actual selections made, the director has the authority to reject or select any item contrary to the recommendations of the staff.

Gifts and Donations (from the RCL Policy Manual)

The library accepts gifts of books and other materials with the understanding that they will be added to the collection only if appropriate and needed. If they are not needed because of duplication, condition, or outdated information, the director can dispose of them as he/she sees fit, which may include being offered for sale or recycled. The same criteria of selection which are applied to purchased materials are applied to gifts. See the RCL Policy Manual for more information on the eventuality of potential removal/weeding of gifted and donated items.

Restricted Use or Loaned Items

Overview of Ongoing Projects

  1. Findagrave.com ongoing management of burials in the Rossville Cemetery, Delia Cemetery, Adrian Cemetery, Olive Branch Cemetery, and Czech-Moravian Cemetery.
  2. Ongoing management of an obituaries directory and physical organization of obituary cards.
  3. Considering potential project for Rossville sesquicentennial in 2021.
  4. Podcasts project for oral histories.
  5. Archiving of Rossville-related items from local newspapers.

Tools We Will Use

  • Microsoft Excel—for a Digitized (Not Online) Index, Kete Index, People Index, and Obituaries Index
  • Kete—an online open-source software hosted by NEKLS to digitize documents, photographs, audio/visual materials, and other artifacts
  • Library Website—a Wordpress site to contain important documents and topics such as cemeteries and obituaries indices
  • AbbyyFineReader—OCR and scanning software
  • Physical folders in filing cabinets—to hold undigitized, but indexed artifacts
    (We recognize there are items that have not been indexed yet. Staff is currently working on indexing and finding organizational ways to handle items to be indexed.)
  • Archival-appropriate boxes and sleeves—to hold digitized (and indexed) artifacts
  • Non-archival boxes and containers—to hold obituaries that are pasted on index cards
  • Some items will be recycled after digitization. See our procedures for our selection criteria on what is saved and what is discarded after review.

Phases of the Project

To better organize and begin work on our archives we have broken down the project into three phases.

Phase 1 Priorities:

  • Rossville-relateditems (not Delia, Willard, etc.).
  • Collections already maintained by the library.
  • Building our kete collection and organization.
  • Up to and including 1923 artifacts. Once these are identified, we will index the item in the kete spreadsheet and digitize it by scanning and adding to kete.
  • St. Marys Star and Rossville Reporter articles up to and including current year. Once these are identified, index in the kete spreadsheet and digitize the item by scanning and adding to kete.
  • High-interest items for which we have copyright license. Only add in low-numbered amounts so we can focus on other Phase 1 Priorities.
  • High-priority topics include:
  • Schools
  • Indian background
  • Beginnings of Rossville City & Township
  • Family histories (because of demand and popularity)

Phase 2 Priorities:

  • May expand to Delia, Willard, and other surrounding communities.
  • Low-risk copyrighted items, which may have lost their copyright or are otherwise low-risk for copyright issues.
  • 1924…
  • When we reach this point, we will create a Copyright Research form to document our research and determination of copyright status. This may include a checklist or set of questions for different types of items. (Example: Are there people in the picture?)
  • Re-typing longer items for easier search functionality (if no effective OCR solution is available).
  • Converting microfilm to a digitized image.

Phase 3 Priorities:

  • Higher-risk copyrighted items—researching and locating copyright holders to secure license.
  • Local manuscripts and books.
  • Borrowed collections (whether offered or sought out).
  • Working on Rossville 150thplans for 2021.

Branding & Marketing

Branding for our local history endeavors shall fall under the “Rossville Remembers” phrase. Sub-projects such as podcasts and genealogy shall have their own font and image for a sub-brand. But there is no overall font for the Rossville Remembers brand. All flyers, logos, sub-branding, and marketing shall be approved by the director prior to first use.

General Process for Archiving/Indexing/Digitizing

Item is considered for indexing.

  1. If item falls under a Phase 1 category, do the following:
  2. Confirm there are no copyright issues to prevent it from digitization.
  3. If there are copyright issues, this is a Phase 2 or Phase 3 item, not Phase 1. Follow the Phase 2 indexing procedures.
  4. Item should be added to the kete spreadsheet. (See Kete Procedures)
  5. Item should be scanned on the director computer.
  6. Place the item to be scanned on the scanner’s glass in the corner by the flashing power button ¼” away from the edges. Using the “Windows Fax and Scan” software, click “new scan” and then “preview.” The default settings should be fine for our purposes: Photo, color, JPG, 200 DPI. Scan in color even if the item is black and white. Crop the scanning area keeping a ¼” margin around the item and click scan. (If the item looks crooked, straighten it then preview again.) Scan the back side of the image if there is information to archive. Save the front side as RCL XXXXa and the back side and RCL XXXXb.
  7. Scanned image should be saved in the “Digitized Items” sub-folder of the “Rossville Historical Documents” folder. The item should be labeled by its RCL # that is assigned during the kete spreadsheet indexing process.
  8. After saving the scanned items, delete them from the Windows Fax and Scan list.
  9. Item should be uploaded to kete. (See Kete Procedures)
  10. Item should be physically archived in proper archival sleeves and boxes unless an exception is approved by the director. Item should receive a label on the sleeve (not on the item itself) indicating its assigned RCL archival number. Item shall be stored in the appropriate categorical box.
  11. If items falls under a Phase 2 or Phase 3 category, do the following:
  12. Add item to the Historical Archives Index. Try to input as much information as is possible when indexing the item. Also use the Copyright Chart to help determine its copyright status.
  13. Determine which general category the item falls under and archive it within its most significant category. Phase 2 and 3 items are not assigned an RCL number at this point in time since they are not digitized yet.
  14. Store item in the proper-category folder and indicate the file location on the Historical Archive index.
  15. Only consider early digitization of such items if the item is at a high-risk for deterioration or illegibility in the next five years.
  16. Once we reach Phase 2 of our project, we will come back to these items to consider digitization and proper archival.

Kete Procedures

If the item you are going to digitize is not already scanned, you need to do that prior to the beginning of these procedures.

  • Log-in to kete. (history.nekls.org) User: adrienne ; password: london7
  • Browse Rossville basket.
  • Add item—make sure you’re adding to Rossville basket.
  • Choose item type (topic, image, audio, video, web link, document)
  • Give it a title. If known, always type out full location at end of title. Example: Rossville Community Library, Rossville, Kansas. (Spell out Kansas, not KS)
  • Unless vital to picture, do not put date in the title field—this information will go in the body.
  • Body: First list the date, then as much description as is feasible and time-prudent. It may be appropriate to provide a transcription of the item if applicable. Consider the who, what, when, where, and why of an item when writing its description.
  • Then at bottom write “Copyright Information: (Choose what is appropriate)”
  • It may be public domain if pre-1923 or it is later and has lost its copyright. Or if may be “Used by permission per (copyright owner)” or “Used by permission” (no recognition is necessary per copyright owner).
  • List the RCL number for the item on a line after the copyright information. (You will need to have the kete spreadsheet open so you know which RCL number you are assigning to this item.)
  • Choosing the type of attribution: Choose share-alike if it is public domain, choose the 2nd option, no derivatives for all other copyright situations.
  • Tags: Choose from one of our standardized tags. Multiple tags are allowed.
  • If a major element is not known, please add the tag “History Mystery.”
  • Browse and attach the item if anything except a topic.
  • There are more complex processes for kete such as adding links within the body—these are more advanced, and procedures to this effect will be added later.
  • The item may need to be linked with a topic in kete. If this is the case, please do so.
  • Add the item to the kete spreadsheet (and determine its RCL number). Note its tags (if multiple, select the predominant tag for its physical filing location.) Note: If you are adding a Topic, please index it on the second sheet of the workbook to the Topic Inventory.
  • Prepare the item for physical archiving.

Obituaries

Library staff and volunteers regularly review local newspapers (Topeka Capital-Journal, St. Marys Star, and Topeka Metro News) for obituaries to clip, index, and file.

Criteria for saving an obituary:

  • If Rossville, Delia, or Willard are noted anywhere in the obituary
  • This includes people who pass away at the Rossville Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center but have no other ties to Rossville.
  • This includes people who are buried in the Rossville Cemetery but have no other ties to Rossville.
  • If Rossville, Delia, or Willard are not noted anywhere, we only save the obituary if:
  • We know the person has had ties to Rossville in the past even if its not mentioned.
  • We know the person is related to someone in Rossville (but its not listed).

Obituaries are either clipped directly from the newspaper or copied in good form and saved. The obituaries are indexed on our Obituaries Directory spreadsheet, and a physical file card is made. These file cards are physically indexed by last name. The obituary(ies) is pasted to the card with rubber cement. If we receive a funeral card, these are not pasted on but attached to the back with one paper clip.

Physical Filing & Archiving

All digitized items that are housed at the library will be archived in proper Melinex (or comparable product) sleeves with a label attached to the sleeve (not the item itself) that indicates its filing category and RCL number. Then the sleeve will be placed in order by RCL number in the appropriate categorical archival box. Oversized objects will go in the general oversized archival box.

Items that are indexed but not yet digitized will go into hanging file folders in the filing cabinet within its proper categorical folder. No RCL number has been assigned yet, but the item has been indexed. When/If the item needs to be found later on, this structure will help find it more expeditiously. During Phase 2 or Phase 3 of our project, more time will be spent on the item to determine its prospects for digitization.

Loaning and Use of Our Materials to Third-Parties

Research by Staff for Patrons and Third-Parties

How much research will we do before charging? How much will we charge? How much can we do at the front desk—fees and services outlined. When is an appointment necessary? While considering---a pleasant and useful experience for the user—have them leave the library feeling they got the best help we could give at that moment.