"Preserving our precious b".... uh.... no, that line was from Stanley Kubrick's 1964 classic, Dr. Strangelove :))

Preserving our heritage digitally.  Based on the announcement a month or so ago on VA-HIST of grants to "Preserve our Digital Heritage", I have been hard at work trying to find what it takes to digitize about 2000 items which have found their way into Cabell Foundation scrapbooks over the past 50 years.  I have received one quote, and a rep from another firm will come out here to the boonies to meet with me next week.  But neither are based in Virginia, and neither are an Academic Institution.  I had hoped that some learned institution in Virginia would be interested in (1) doing the work as a business and (2) ensuring that the resultant digital files can be brought together and presented logically to the edification of all, and (3) do it for the greater glory of VIRGINIA.  I guess I had just assumed that given the headlong dash into bits and bytes and .PDFs, an enterpeneur or two has sprung up on campus here and there to do just that.

Alas, one arm of The academic fountainhead of Cabell lore has just told me they are not interested in the project.  Is there an agency in any of our Academic Institutions or perhaps in the Virginia Historical Society or Library of Virginia who ARE set up to do this, WELCOME it as a business, and like to MAKE A BUCK or two along the way?  I can EMail a one-page summary, and 12 photographs of the scrapbooks to any who are interested in submitting a proposal.

Randy Cabell
The Trumpeter of Jamestowne today.... The preserver of our precious.... digital heritage tomorrow :))