collaborative digitization programHeritage West |
|
|
|
About Heritage WestWelcome to Heritage West Heritage West is a database that offers digital access to the special collections and unique resources of archives, historical societies, libraries and museums in the Western United States. You can access photos, textual materials, artifacts, costumes, diaries, oral history transcripts, manuscripts, and a host of other materials on cultural, scientific and historical heritage. The Heritage West database is a unique collaboration of archives, historical societies, libraries and museums. Through generous support from LSTA, IMLS, and NEH grants, Heritage West combines digital collections from Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. What is Heritage West?Heritage West is a search interface that allows you to simultaneously search digital collections from cultural heritage institutions in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. To find out what institutions have contributed collections to Heritage West see the Participants page. Who created Heritage West?Heritage West was created through the collaborative efforts of the Colorado Digitization Program, the Colorado State Library, the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, and museums, libraries, historical societies and archives in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. What does it cost to use Heritage West?The use of Heritage West is free for educational use, research, and personal enjoyment. Please note that the images found through Heritage West may have restrictions on reproduction or re-use. See "Who owns these images?" and the Copyright Statement for more information. Who owns these images?The images available through Heritage West are housed in different cultural heritage institutions across the Western United States. Ownership and rights to these images are determined by each local institution. To inquire about the purchase or use of one of these items, look for the “Contributing Institution” that is responsible for the item. Frequently owning institutions have included a copyright statement in the Full Record display. Contact the individual institution for information to purchase a reproduction or to use the item for commercial purposes. See also the Copyright Statement on the CDP web site. How do I search Heritage West?To search all available collections choose how you would like to search (ex: author search), type your search terms into the search box, and click the "search" button. Or browse a limited portion of the collections by clicking on the images or subjects in the center of the screen. Search by Author, Title, or KeywordHeritage West lets you search databases in familiar ways. Do you want to search for individual titles, an author, or by keyword? For example, to select an author search, click on the word "Advanced" on the left side of the screen. Now enter the appropriate information in the matching box and click the search button. How do I use the toolbar that displays across the top of the screen?It is best to navigate through Heritage using this internal toolbar, rather than using your browser's toolbar. Explanation of Search ResultsAfter the search has been executed, a list of results will be shown on the screen. This may look complicated at first, but the results are easy to read. Center frameThe largest frame on the screen, the center frame, is where you'll find the list of individual items matching your search, or your search results. From this first screen you can see basic information about the item. You can also see which organization owns the item. If you want to see the complete item information, click on the more information link below the Contributing Institution. This gives you the full description available for the item. Some of the words on the page, such as the title and the subject, are hotlinks. If you click on any of these, you will initiate another search. If a thumbnail image of the item appears you may click on the thumbnail to see a larger version of the item. If no thumbnail appears, click on the Title to view the item. Right-hand frameHeritage West is made up of databases that reside on servers across the Western United States. CDP in partnership with the Colorado State Library uses Z39.50 connections that allow you to simultaneously search these multiple databases. The frame down the left-hand side of the screen lists which databases you chose to search, and how many items were found in each database or library catalog. Next to the name of each database you'll find a number or the message "database unavailable." The number indicates the number of items matching your search that were found in that particular library. "Database unavailable" indicates that the remote database cannot be searched at this time. You can click on any of the databases in the left-hand frame to jump ahead in the list of results to the items owned by that library. From the left-hand frame you can also select the "refine" button to add another search term to your original search. About the Databases within Heritage WestHeritage WestLaunched in 1998 as Heritage Colorado: Digital Treasures of the West; this database combines all of the digital content created from primary source material for each CDP grant funded project into a single search interface for users. Denver Public Library Western History and Genealogy Photography CollectionThis database contains selections of historic photographs from the collections of the Denver Public Library Western History/Genealogy Department and the Colorado Historical Society including over 100,000 images and catalog records of North American Indians, pioneers, railroads, mining, Denver and Colorado towns, city, farm, and ranch life, recreation, scenery, news events, and numerous other subjects and states. Western Trails DatabasesDigital content related to all aspects of western trails in the United States, including Native American trails, settlement trails, military trails, and freight trails. Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Utah, and the University of Wyoming Western Trails databases make up the bulk of the digital content created during an IMLS funded National Leadership grant, Western Trails, that expanded the CDP infrastructure to three additional neighboring states. These databases are maintained by CDP partners in their respective states and represent the collaboration of 38 archives, historical societies, libraries, and museums. Sometimes the image doesn't display when I select the URL link. Why not?Heritage West connects to many different databases, but these databases are maintained by individual organizations. If the image does not display, make note of the title of the image and its Link (URL), and which institution owns the image. Please contact the owning institution with your questions and concerns. How can I learn More About Heritage West?To learn more about Heritage West and digitization projects in Colorado please visit the Collaborative Digitization Program web site at: www.cdpheritage.org. Return to Heritage West |
| Funders & Sponsors |
|
|
copyright © BCR | 14394 E. Evans Ave., Aurora, CO 80014 |
|