{"id":181345,"date":"2022-02-15T07:30:18","date_gmt":"2022-02-15T12:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=181345"},"modified":"2022-02-15T10:40:45","modified_gmt":"2022-02-15T15:40:45","slug":"app-supporting-archival-research-continue-development-with-community-partnerships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2022\/02\/app-supporting-archival-research-continue-development-with-community-partnerships\/","title":{"rendered":"App Supporting Archival Research Continues Development with Community Partnerships"},"content":{"rendered":"

Archivists hold in trust centuries of documents and artifacts that historians, anthropologists, literary scholars and more use to uncover new knowledge and understand our collective past.<\/span><\/p>\n

But all too often, archivists and researchers are navigating workflows, processes, and institutional needs that make it challenging to\u00a0 communicate effectively. This makes it difficult for archivists to manage document requests and for researchers to get a hold of the materials they need.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded $805,000 to the UConn team behind Sourcery, a software designed to simplify archival document requests.<\/span><\/p>\n

This new funding will allow the team to develop Sourcery with input from partners at diverse collecting institutions. The team will work with the Hartford Public Library, Northeastern University, UConn Archives and Special Collections, and the Folger Shakespeare Library.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tom Scheinfeldt, associate professor of history, and Brian Daley assistant professor-in-residence in the Department of Digital Media and Design, <\/span>co-invented Sourcer<\/span><\/a>y in 2020 with the support of <\/span>Greenhouse Studios<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sourcery improves the workflow of archivists and librarians by providing a centralized platform for document requests.<\/span><\/p>\n

Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, accessing documents at other institutions is a challenge for researchers as they would either need to travel or navigate confusing online request systems. Existing document request systems often result in duplicate requests or multiple archivists working on the same task. Additionally, each institution has their own system for submitting requests, which can be difficult when researchers are trying to navigate multiple processes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSourcery is kind of a middle layer between these closely intertwined but not always very well-communicating groups,\u201d Scheinfeldt says.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"sourcery-chatbox\"<\/a>
sourcery-chatbox<\/div><\/div>\"sourcery-insdash\"<\/a>
sourcery-insdash<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>