Help us digitize nearly 120 years of our school yearbook, the KAW, and create a keyword searchable online database that allows students, faculty, alumni, and their families to enjoy these treasures from the University Archives anywhere. Once scanned, the photos, stories, names, and activities in The Kaw will be searchable, allowing you to instantly find relatives, teams, or professors. This project also directly supports the relocation of the university Libraries and Archives to its new home at 1731 Plass this summer.
Need:
The impending move of the University Libraries and Archives to 1731 Plass presents new opportunities for the University Libraries to serve its community, but also logistical challenges. One of those involves relocating unique and fragile archival materials, such as The KAW yearbook collection, to their new home.
The KAW provides a window into student life at Washburn from the 1890s to the present. This collection is a treasure rove of photographs and stories about Washburn students, campus activities, and events, and provide amazing insight into the changing culture of Washburn and Topeka
Currently, many of the issues of the THE KAW are in fragile condition. Digitizing this rich history will preserve these documents and support the move to 1731 Plass. What is more, by compiling digitizing yearbooks into a keyword searchable database, this project will allow more people to enjoy these archival treasures and use them for both scholarly and genealogical research.
Rationale:
Digitizing The KAW is a massive and costly undertaking. The university Archives does not have the equipment or staff to scan such a high volume of sensitive archival materials in-house. Funds raised for this project will support the digitization of the entire collection of The KAW b a third-party vendor that specializes in handling fragile and unique materials. This method is cost-effective, and most of all, timely. Digitization is complete in just 2-3 months!
Give today! A gift to this fund is a gift to preserving and sharing your Washburn history.
