|
|
|
|
SSDN News
A newsletter of the Sunshine State Digital Network
Welcome to the bi-monthly newsletter of the Sunshine State Digital Network (SSDN). The SSDN connects Florida’s cultural
heritage organizations to build supportive digital collection partnerships. The vision of the Sunshine State Digital Network is to create a collaborative statewide digital collections network of cultural heritage organizations to share the rich human experience
evidenced through Florida digital collections on a worldwide stage.
|
|
|
Remembering Katrina Harkness
We are deeply saddened to share that our colleague and friend, Katrina Harkness passed away early Saturday morning, April 4, 2026. Katrina contributed so much to the growth of SSDN and was a member of the outreach group since its inception in 2018. Her work
at the state library had a very positive impact on the preservation, access, and reuse of cultural heritage resources in Florida. More importantly, she was such a kind, thoughtful, and generous person. She will be greatly missed.
Our thoughts go out to her family, friends, and colleagues during this time of grief.
Katrina's colleagues at the Division of Library and Information Services will host an online session to share reflections, memories, and honor her legacy.
Friday, May 22, 2026 1 - 2 p.m. Eastern
Register now
For those who would like to share cards, condolences or personal reflections in honor of Katrina Harkness, you may use the online condolences button included in this announcement or send items to their office for delivery to her family.
Mailing Address
Division of Library and Information Services
Bureau of Library Development
R.A. Gray Building
500 South Bronough Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399 0250
They will gather all cards and written reflections and ensure they are shared with her family.
Online Condolences
You may add a message, memory or tribute on Katrina’s obituary page.
|
|
|
SSDN Update on the DPLA Administrative Transition
The Sunshine State Digital Network (SSDN) is committed to sharing Florida’s cultural heritage with a worldwide audience and building supportive partnerships to increase access to our partner’s collections. In this spirit, we would like to share some updates regarding the
administrative transition happening at the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). Effective July 1, 2026 the administration of the cultural heritage aggregation project at the DPLA will be assumed by the Cleveland Public Library (CPL). You can view DPLA’s
announcement about this on their website here https://dp.la/news/new-partnership-for-national-digital-archive.
Due to this transition, SSDN's harvest schedule will be on pause, and we will not be aggregating new content to DPLA after May 2026. The exact duration of this pause is not known at this time.
DPLA & CPL are in the process of forming a steering committee to direct the transition, and we hope more information will be released soon. We will share updates as we receive them.
We wanted to share what we know at this time with you and give you an opportunity to ask questions, including questions that we can pass along to DPLA, CPL, and the transition steering committee. Please do not hesitate to contact Keila Zayas Ruiz at kzayasruiz
AT fsu.edu with your questions or concerns.
|
|
|
Hidden Gems
Highlights from our DPLA Partners
Albert
Hafner Letters
This collection at the University of South Florida is comprised of 96 letters dated between 1891 and 1893. Topics of discussion include: business affairs
and life in Tarpon Springs, establishing a cigar factory in West Tampa, a local boating club for women, rum smuggling by Cuban fishing boats, a near-lynching, and social life with prominent citizens of Tarpon Springs.
By revisiting our past, we can evaluate the present. Imagine what other hidden stories can be learned from diving deeper. Satisfy your curiosity about Florida and its history by exploring SSDN partner collections in the DPLA. Check out
https://ssdn.dp.la/.
SSDN Newsletter Readers: Submit your Hidden Gem story for the next issue! Email your submission to Keila, kzayasruiz AT fsu.edu
|
|
|
Training Opportunities
A roundup of digital library related training from Florida and beyond.
Upcoming Live Training
|
SSDN Webinar: Introduction to Digital Preservation
Thursday, April 23, 2026, 2-3pm ET
This session will work to answer four basic topics: what is not digital preservation, what is digital preservation, why should you care about digital preservation, and what should I do about it
at my organization? Digital preservation is a complex and ever-evolving topic, this webinar will focus on the top-level issues facing organizations as they start to think about and plan for the preservation of born-digital and digitized digital objects in
their collections. Whether you are dealing with a handful of digital
https://fsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/eCv3T4ksT4SNLQaP2eWl7w#/registrationor thousands, this webinar will provide you with ideas for how to start being better stewards of your digital objects.
Register here: https://fsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/Lufcw02nTG-ntuJt8J5Low
SSDN Webinar: ADA Title II Part 2
Tuesday, May 05, 2026, 3-4pm ET
The deadline to implement accessibility requirements for ADA Title II has passed. Don't panic! There is still time to make changes to improve your website and social media accessibility. This webinar will expand on the topics covered in our March 2026 webinar.
Learn how to make accessible social media posts, forms, and webpages for your community.
Register here: https://fsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/eCv3T4ksT4SNLQaP2eWl7w
|
ICYMI: Recorded Webinars
SSDN Webinar: An Introduction to Using Artificial Intelligence in Cultural Heritage Work
Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 2-3pm ET
Artificial intelligence is opening up new possibilities for how cultural heritage organizations approach digital workflows, description, and access. This session is designed for practitioners at every level of AI familiarity (whether enthusiastic, cautious,
or undecided) providing practical guidance on where these tools might meaningfully support cultural heritage work. We'll explore concrete, hands-on applications while also addressing real concerns around ethical use, environmental impact, and job security,
including:
-
What AI is (and isn't): A brief introduction to key concepts and terminology relevant to cultural heritage work
-
Workflow automation: Using AI to write scripts for repetitive tasks and automated processing workflows, even if you've never coded before
-
AI-assisted transcription and OCR: Scaling audio and video transcription for oral histories and media collections, and extracting text from printed and handwritten materials
-
AI-generated metadata: Using AI tools to create descriptive metadata for digital records, with emphasis on quality control and methods for assessing accuracy to determine when these tools are appropriate for
your collections
The session focuses on approachable, scalable tools that can be integrated into existing workflows without specialized technical expertise or vendor
platforms. You'll leave with specific tools to experiment with, realistic expectations about costs and capabilities, and a framework for evaluating whether these approaches make sense for your collections and workflows.
No prior AI experience needed. Bring your questions, concerns, and curiosity!
Recording available here
SSDN Webinar: ADA Title II for Cultural Heritage Websites
Tuesday, March 24, 2026, 2-3pm ET
Join us for a one-hour webinar to help you prepare for implementing accessibility protocols for your library websites and repositories. The webinar will go over what the requirements are for state and local government website accessibility and strategies for
creating reasonable accommodations in your digital spaces.
Recording available here
View SSDN's full catalog of recorded training sessions on our
YouTube channel.
|
|
|
|
Copyright Corner
On March 25, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in
Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment. The court ruled Cox was not liable for contributory copyright infringement, which is a type of secondary infringement. To be found liable for contributory
infringement, a defendant would need to have knowledge of the infringement and materially contribute to or induce the infringement. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that Cox neither induced Internet users to infringe on Sony’s copyright nor provided a service
meant to encourage infringement.
Librarians were watching the Cox v. Sony
case because of the potentially disastrous implications for libraries. If Cox had been found liable, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) would have terminated customer accounts to avoid billions of dollars in damages. Although the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (DMCA) provides some protection, librarians worried that if Cox was found liable, a precedent would be set that could lead to libraries having their accounts terminated by their ISPs if even one user infringed on someone’s copyright while using
the library’s Internet.
The Association of Research Libraries reported that with the Supreme Court ruling focusing
on intent to encourage infringement rather than mere knowledge of infringement, it is highly unlikely that a library would be found liable for contributory infringement.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Metadata Minute
Incorporating Crowd-Sourced Community Feedback Into Descriptive Metadata of Digitized Photographs
By Andrew Lippert, Special Collections Processing Archivist, UC Riverside
Jay Kay Klein (1931-2012) was a science fiction fan from Syracuse, NY and the unofficial photographer of SF fandom from the 1950s through early 1990s. In that time,
he documented many conventions, gatherings, and other events across the United States. Klein’s estate gifted his collection to the Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) library in 2012. The donation
included approximately 60,000 photographic negatives, 18 linear feet of other photographic materials, and 42 linear feet of papers. The immense scope of this collection makes it a valuable resource for the fan community, as well as researchers interested in
American culture of the mid- to late-20th century and the history of speculative fiction. Given the sheer volume of photographic materials, making the photographs as widely available as possible has presented significant challenges for the library in terms
of staff time, workloads, and resources.
Continue
reading on the Descriptive Notes Blog
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Teachers’ Corner
Featured Primary Source Set of the Month
Pop Art in the U.S.
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop critical thinking skills by exploring topics in history, literature, and culture through primary sources. Drawing on materials from libraries, archives, and museums
across the United States, the sets use letters, photographs, posters, oral histories, and video clips. Created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee, each set includes:
-
A topic overview
-
10-15 primary sources
-
Links to related resources
-
A teaching guide
This month’s primary source set is
Pop Art in the U.S. This collection helps students learn about this defining North American art movement while exercising critical thinking skills. Discussions are sparked by examining what ideas are reinforced by the
artist’s choice of technique or debating whether pop art offers a critique of popular culture in the wake of mass media and advertising influence.
This DPLA primary source set features 15 records that includes correspondence, photographs, visual and audio records, including photos, works of art and other documents connecting this art revolution that bridged the gap between "high" and "low" culture era.
Examining these works of art connects learners connect to new perspectives and fosters logical inquiry.
For more information on using DPLA’s primary source sets, check out their
tutorials.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tom Wesselmann’s 1962 collage Still Life (#12)
|
|
Teaching With and Using Primary Sources
TPS Collective Call for Contributions to
Notes from the Field: Spring 2026
Do you teach younger students or run community programs? Do you teach in a museum? Do you teach with fine press or artists’ books? Do you teach with primary sources in the general sense?
The
TPS Collective runs the series,
Notes from the Field, a blog publication of practical, thematic, short, open, peer-reviewed articles on teaching with primary sources, branched into two series: Practical How-To
and Reflective Practice.
These articles explore the theory and practice of teaching with primary sources, broadly relating topics to educators and practitioners from all types of institutions, teaching all levels of students.
For
Spring 2026, the Collective’s Notes from the Field invites submissions about teaching and working with primary sources for three series of peer-reviewed
blog posts: TPS in K-12 and Museum Contexts, Teaching with Fine Press and Artist’s Books, and an Open Call.
Topics are drawn from subjects discussed at recent TPS Fests and conversations on the TPS Listserv. Grounded in issues colleagues in the field are exploring, this call is intended to highlight a broad range of voices from across the TPS community.
Contributions should be 1000-1200 words and are subject to Notes from the Field’s peer review process.
Posts will be published on a rolling basis beginning in April 2026. Full submission information is available in the Notes
from the Field author and peer review guidelines.
Any questions, expressions of interest, or submissions may be sent to the Notes from the Field Lead Editor, Joe Lueck at
lue...@union.edu.
Meanwhile, register for
TPS Fest 2026! It’s free!
|
|
|
|
Have digital library questions? Want to stay updated? Join our
listserv or subscribe to our
newsletter.
|
|
|
Getting Started as an SSDN Content Contributor
|
|
|
|
Are you interested in sharing your organization's digital collections with the Digital Public Library of America? We have a document that will walk
you through the steps and requirements for becoming an SSDN partner. It is not as intimidating or difficult as you might think!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
