Brown Bag/Local Lore
One of the main goals of the Joiner History Room, home to the DeKalb County archives, is to make the wealth of materials in the collection available and accessible to as many people as possible. While visiting an archives in person and handling the historical materials is still the way most research happens, the Joiner History Room’s new website will provide a wide variety of materials for those who are out of town as well as help researchers prepare for their visit – making the most of their time. The public is invited to a sneak preview of the website during the February 3 Brown Bag/Local Lore program at 12:00.
During this virtual program, Rob Glover, archival and collection specialist and Joiner History Room Director, will lead this discussion and walk through the website. He explained, “The most important thing that an archives’ website can do is to serve researchers is by preparing them for a visit and helping them to access the historical resources. The best way to do that is with a great design.” The new website will include the major elements and essential components identified by the archival profession.
The talk will provide examples of nine elements outlined in best practices for archival websites. He will also discuss how people interested in researching family genealogy, property searches, and other historical study will find resources they need. For example, genealogists want to see names, places, certain document types, and details of events, while researchers are looking for significant sources like minutes, reports, and correspondence.
The program is free and open to the public. The lecture series is generously sponsored by the Mary E. Stevens Concert and Lecture fund.