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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.
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Archival Terminology of the Month
digital access
n. ~ the consultation of an archival resource by means of a desktop computer or mobile device
This column contributor enjoyed, and agreed with, the caveat included with this term by the Society of American Archivists in its
Archives Terminology Word of the Week newsletter:
"As of 2025, digital access is a near-synonym for, and is often used interchangeably with,
online access. However, the language archivists use regarding access to digital archival resources is particularly unsettled. Due to intellectual property constraints, access to digital archival
resources may not be possible on the open web, but instead subject to mediation. In this sense, “digital access” may not always have the immediacy implied by the term “online access.””
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Teaching With and Using Primary Sources
Science in the Archives
One of the contributors to this newsletter hosted, recently, a one-hour marine graduate taxonomy class in the university archives. The visit was arranged
by the liaison librarian to that disciplinary area. Some of us would tend to agree that it can be a challenge to woo classes to the archives. Fortunately, this rare visit was not a hard sell in view of the colleague presenting “one of our leading coral researchers”
with an interest in diving for “old and obscure information, usually species records in other languages” and “one of the biggest supporters of our library”.
The professor’s confirmation of his need for an archival research segment for his class, indeed, bears out his long-standing breath of engagement with historical and primary sources, herein worth noting in full:
“The Archive items that have been useful to me in the past include documents such as correspondence between museum curators and researchers that establish times & dates of visits or requests for specimens,
reservations for museum resources that establish times & dates of visits, museum activity reports that verify specimen label information and the presence of researchers on collection vessels, archived museum collection catalogs after a switch to a different
cataloging system, employment records, and so on. The hunt for missing taxonomically important type specimen material requires the reconstruction of biographies, employment histories, academic genealogies, and more. All of which is embedded in the course of
human history. All of this helps us to target potential museum and university specimen collections that a researcher may have submitted specimens to, even if they never revealed it in print. I have relied on archivists to help complete these stories and find
the missing types and I think adding an archive visit to the library portion of this activity is excellent.”
The curiosity that sparked the class visit laid in an unprocessed paper-based and book collection that came to the archives from the office of the late
Professor Charles G. Messing (1948-2023) whose research focused primarily on the taxonomy, ecology and evolution of living crinoids. The artifacts in the collection comprise drawings and photographs that supported the
researcher’s master's and doctoral degrees, along with site maps, some rare books and post-doctoral material, with which the taxonomy class of 12 had a noticeably engaging experience.
 An
example of one of the drawings in the Messing collection depicting (left to right) a yellow-bellied snake, a sea skater, a by-the-wind-sailor and a violet sea snail.
During the visit, the librarian, after rehearsing the protocols governing archival research and its iterative nature, turned the class’s attention to the critical area of good metadata for online collections modelled upon students comparing two online species
records (example:
BDT 21-1 and
Epizoanthus aff. Tsukaharai) in the institutional repository for their completeness.
Happily, a useful outcome of the session was the professor identifying the metadata exercise as a practical class project on improving and enriching the taxonomic metadata on his collection of marine invertebrate species listed in the institutional repository.
This potential class assignment is grounded in project-based learning, an avenue for socially active learning.
Archives are unique information landscapes teeming with opportunities for curriculum mapping and research support and, sometimes, we ought to remind ourselves of how much these interdisciplinary experiential learning spaces and the extent to which archival
staff, in spite of some lacking the desirous disciplinary expertise, working in collaboration with subject liaisons and specialists—critical to determining expectations and outcomes—can reveal a (renewed) depth and range of hidden or yet-to-be-processed collections
for a greater appreciation of the expansive nature of information literacy that we are expected to foster in our learners. In fact, it was refreshing hearing, during the session, the professor's own recognition of archives as being at the intersection of libraries
and museums for meeting research needs beyond superficial bounds.
While an assessment of the session was not conducted, to the satisfaction of the archives team, the liaison colleague reported that “Everyone was talking about how they had so much fun in archives! They LOVED it!”
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Hidden Gems
Highlights from our DPLA Partners
This month’s hidden gem features
the lodge at Royal Palm State Park taken October 22, 1920. Royal Palm State Park was the first state park established in Florida. Dedicated in 1916 the park was located in Miami-Dade County just southwest of Homestead,
Florida and encompassed Paradise Key. It is a hammock in the Everglades surrounded by a slough that was first noted by a federal surveyor in 1847. The island included the largest stand of royal palms (Roystonea regia) in the state, as well as orchids, ferns
and other rare tropical plants. Royal Palm State Park was created to protect Paradise Key.
The 3-story Royal Palm Lodge was completed in 1919 as housing for the caretaker, visitors and scientists. The state donated an additional 2,080 acres (840 ha) to the park by 1921 for a total of 4,000 acres (1,600 ha). During the Great Depression, a camp for
Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) operated in the park from a nearby base in Homestead, Florida, where the camp was located from October 1933 to June 1934. The ECW, later known as the Civilian Conservation Corps, contributed a massive labor force that the
park had previously lacked; up to 200 workers could contribute to park maintenance, public relations (e.g. as tour guides) and construction. Trail improvements and the laying of a telephone line into the park were important accomplishments of the ECW camp.
The Florida Federation of Women's Clubs administered the park's operation for more than 30 years until President Harry Truman dedicated the Everglades National Park on December 6, 1947, after which the state park ceased to exist. The former state park was the
site of the first Everglades National Park visitor center and later became the Royal Palm Visitor Center within the park.
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
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Training Opportunities
A roundup of digital library related training from Florida and beyond.
Upcoming Live Training
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DLIS Discussion: Florida Digital Initiatives
Tuesday, August 12, 2025, 2-3pm ET
Join the Florida Electronic Library Administrator, Florida Statewide Digital Initiative Consultant, and Sunshine State Digital Network Program Director and the new Society of Florida Archivists President.Learn about their roles, current digital projects in
Florida, and how librarians can become involved with the Society of Florida Archivists. Take advantage of this opportunity to hear how experts in the field can assist your library with digital initiatives and professional development.
Register Here
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Discussion: AI Bots and Repositories
Wednesday, August 20, 2025, 3-4pm ET
Increasing demand for training AI models has led to an increase in bot traffic to many repositories hosting open access resources. Join us for a discussion on the challenges posed by this increased demand to professionals supporting the technical infrastructure
for these repositories. Commiserate and share solutions with colleagues.
Register Here
Webinar: Developing and Managing Archives and Digital Initiatives Internships
Thursday, August 28, 2025, 2-3pm ET
Internships allow students to gain new insights into the nature of professional practice by engaging in meaningful work under the mentorship of experienced and knowledgeable professionals. They provide students with a unique opportunity to connect the skills
and knowledge gained in their education with practical experience supervised by a professional archivist or librarian. Hear from three panelists about designing, managing, and participating in internship programs in archives and digital initiatives and how
you can implement a program at your institution.
Register Here
NEDCC: Celebrating with Collections!
Tuesday, September 9, 2025, 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM EDT
Before you bring out your most precious items, though, you'll want to attend this introductory webinar to learn the basics about how to protect them during handling, scanning, and exhibition.
Register Here
TBLC Workshop: Copyright for Digitization and Introduction to Scanning
Tuesday, September 9, 2025, 9am-5pm ET
Copyright for Digitization
Copyright in libraries can be confusing, especially when it comes to knowing your rights concerning the digitization of archival and special collections. This workshop will address basic copyright considerations and fair use cases that can be made when assessing
the copyright status and access of digitized collections online.
Introduction to Scanning
This workshop will provide an introduction to:
Digitization equipment and software options
Digitization standards and best practices
Materials selection and handling
Common and less common digitization scenarios
The second half of the digitization portion will include a hands-on component where participants will have the opportunity to utilize scanning and photography equipment.
Participants are welcome to bring a few objects from their own collections to use during the hands-on portion of the workshop.
Register Here
Webinar: Introduction to Project Management
Thursday, September 25, 2025, 2-3pm ET
This session will address all stages of digital project management, with a focus on the planning stages. A majority of the work when it comes to a digitization project is in the planning stages, answering these questions:
-What are you going to digitize?
-How are you going to digitize it?
-Who is going to do all the work?
This session will look at how to define and map out your project, exploring tools that will help in all stages of a project as well as ways to continually evaluate your plan once a project gets up and running.
Register Here
Workshop: Accidental Archivist, Fort Lauderdale
Thursday, November 13, 2025, 9am-4:30pm
Join us for a free, day-long, interactive workshop to understand the basics of physical and digital archives. This workshop will cover best practices relating to collection development, processing, description, access, and preservation of both physical and
digital collections. Presenters will provide different approaches that will take into account varying resources and organization sizes. Come learn the basics of archives management with the Sunshine State Digital Network.
Lunch will be provided. Space is limited!
Presenters: Krystal Thomas, Florida State University and David Benjamin, University of Central Florida
When: Thursday, November 13, 2025, 9am-4:30pm
Where: African American Research Library & Cultural Center, 2650 Sistrunk Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
Register Here
Webinar: Copyright For Digital Libraries
Thursday, December 11, 2025, 2-3:30pm ET
Copyright in libraries can be confusing, especially when it comes to knowing your rights concerning the digitization of archival and special collections. This 90-minute webinar will address basic copyright considerations and fair use cases that can be made
when assessing the copyright status and access of digitized collections online.
Register Here
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ICYMI: Recorded Webinars
View SSDN's full catalog of recorded training sessions on our
YouTube channel.
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Copyright Corner
When it comes to copyright, recent headlines have focused on the unfolding battle between creators and Artificial Intelligence (AI) firms as they attempt to map out if and how AI fits into the landscape of human creativity. While the conversation on AI and
copyright is important for librarians to keep their eyes on, earlier this year the
Library Copyright Alliance (LCA) drew attention to another copyright issue with the potential to alter library services:
Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment.
You can find complete
facts of the case on Oyez, but the essential question at the heart of
Cox v. Sony is whether internet service providers (ISPs) can be held liable for copyright infringement if they knew their users engaged in infringement and did not terminate their access.
Title II of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) protects ISPs from liability for certain infringements provided they meet certain conditions, including the termination of access for repeat copyright infringers. In
Cox v. Sony, a district court denied Cox these protections (called safe harbor) under the DMCA, and a jury found Cox liable for the infringement. On appeal, the Fourth Circuit affirmed Cox’s contributory
liability.
The
DMCA affects libraries in a variety of ways, including the liability limitations outlined in Title II. However, LCA argues that if courts allow ISPs to be held liable for the copyright infringement of their users outside
of the DMCA’s framework, then ISPs may become more aggressive in terminating user access. This is particularly worrisome because a single ISP account often serves more than one user.
LCA warns that when millions of people rely on libraries for internet access, particularly in rural communities, such a sweeping potential punishment could be devastating.
In June, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Cox
case during their 2025-26 term.
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Metadata Minute
Metadata Minute: Types of Metadata
How many kinds of metadata are there? That depends on who you ask! Here are some ways of thinking about metadata.
Administrative metadata
provides information about the resource for management and administration. This can include information about the creation or acquisition of the data, rights management and preservation.
Descriptive metadata
is information that describes the intellectual content of a resource and aids in discovery. This might include the title, author or subject.
Structural metadata is information about the relationship between the parts of a compound object. For example, it could describe the order of pages and chapters in a book.
See the
Society of American Archivists’ Dictionary of Archives Terminology and “Digital
archiving: the seven pillars of metadata,’ by the National Archives in London for more discussion of ways to think about metadata.
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Teachers’ Corner
Featured Primary Source Set of the Month
Truth, Justice, and the Birth of
the Superhero Comic Book
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. Each set includes a topic overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed
by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.
This month’s primary source set is
Truth, Justice, and the Birth of the Superhero Comic Book. August 28th is International Read Comics in Public Day, and what better way to celebrate than exploring and sharing a relevant primary source set!
Sometimes referred to as the “golden age of comic books,” the years from the late 1930s through the early 1950s marked a period of creativity and innovation in the medium. Superman debuted in 1938, followed by Batman (1939), Wonder Woman (1941), and several
others; these superheroes brought hope to millions suffering privation and loss during the Great Depression and the Second World War. Through characters with dual identities, one ordinary and one extraordinary, comic books showed how a super-powered citizen
could save an entire city or world from disaster. The history and political ideologies of their times affected the stories and characters of comic books, in which superheroes fought for ideals like “truth, justice, and the American way” (Superman’s catchphrase).
This
primary source set features 11 items, the majority comic book covers, associated with the golden age of comics. The sources are accompanied by additional resources and a teaching guide.
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Have digital library questions? Want to stay updated? Join our
listserv or subscribe to our
newsletter.
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Getting Started as an SSDN Content Contributor
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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!
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