Behind the Scenes of the Future, Part 1

Last week we embarked on a mission to upload over two decades of research to the internet in a dynamic and interactive form.

For several months we have been discussing a way to feasibly make this project happen and at a price point that a little non-profit on a hillside in Kentucky can afford.  The solution feels much like scaling a mountain, but we know that the view at the top will be worth the ascent.

The process we are considering involves using open source software which will greatly reduce cost.  The structure of our online archive will be similar in appearance and function to Wikipedia.  Processing of our documents includes scanning the documents and converting them to PDFs, adding up to 10 descriptive keywords to every document and placing the documents into one of three main categories: RSVPAmerica, The American History Restoration Project and Exemplary Conduct in the U.S. Military.  We are weighing the use of QR codes for sorting vs. sorting files into digital folders by hand.  With keywording documents and adding pertinent metadata, we hope to create not only an archive website, but documents that will be easily retrieved via popular search engines, thus creating a worldwide, everyday audience.  At the end of this project our goal is to have created an archiving software and system that institutions can use to place their paper research online, thus preserving it for future technologically saturated generations to learn from and actively use.