The Ashes of Waco

Digitization has begun

Kurt and I have finished the descriptive database containing all the AOW materials in the collection. This included rating every folder, tape, etc. so we could prioritize the digitization work. I mentioned this system in an earlier post. For the audio and video records we had to get a little more creative with prioritizing so we created slightly different systems for those. Yesterday we ran reports based on types of record (e.g., correspondence, subject file, negotiation recording, siege footage) and on priority assigned, and then we sat down and analyzed what we have and what we want to focus on first.

I should back up a bit to earlier in the week, when Kurt started digitizing some negotiation transcripts. We discovered that these files were going to be much bigger than anticipated because we're creating PDFs, which is the only feasible option for these records. When we run the PDFs through OCR, the sizes get quite larger. We soon figured out that we'd be taking up our whole allotted storage space at OCLC with transcripts alone! While they are the backbone of the materials and thus the exhibit, there are way too many other important documents to digitize, many of which are audio and video, which of course take up a lot of space themselves.

So I decided we will digitize a cross sampling of the materials, rather than trying to get all the higher priority items up. We will still focus on the priority 1 & 2 items, and we will create a descriptive record in CONTENTdm for every item, regardless of assigned priority. This way a researcher can see at least a description of everything we have, and if not also a digital surrogate of what they are looking for, then one of a similar item. Also, as we get more OCLC (or local) storage space, we could digitize and post new items on an as-requested basis.

Kurt has said he will start posting to the blog soon. I'm encouraging him to do so, especially now that he has started digitizing and he can post a sample or two each time. That should liven things up around the blog a bit. 

Copyright

Although much if not most of the materials we plan to digitize and make available will be in the public domain, we do have copyright and privacy concerns for the primary materials in the collection. I'm thinking mainly of correspondence between Reavis and survivors of Mt. Carmel, which are unique and highly valuable for anyone interested in life at Mt. Carmel and the beliefs of the Branch Davidians there. 

The tricky part will be locating the individuals, most of whom have been released from prison (and in the case of two of them, deported to their home countries) but are still on parole. Part of the conditions of their parole is not being allowed to be in contact with one another, including those survivors who were acquitted! This perplexes me, but I digress. The point is, if I ask the acquitted person I want to ask for the parolee's contact information, he might be opening them (and/or himself) up to parole violations. I don't want to put him in that spot. 

Luckily I have recently gotten to know Matthew Wittmer. You can find out a little about him and his connection to the Branch Davidians via the first link listed on the left--"Memorializing Mount Carmel Center in Waco, Texas." He has not only provided me with tons of information on the subject and resources about it, he might be able to get me in touch with people who can provide me with contact information.

We got a letter of support from Dick Reavis to include with all our requests for permission. He also provided support for us during the grant application process. Having him behind it has been of vital importance. He stays in touch with some people, but not so much the survivors anymore. 

If we make a "good faith effort" to locate the survivors but can't, we might go ahead and digitize their materials and use the website to invite them to contact us. There's a chance word-of-mouth will bring them to us. Then they can provide their permission or deny it, in which case we'd take their materials down.

At a presentation I attended last week given by an ex-curator of a jazz collection at the University of Idaho, I saw an interesting feature of CONTENTdm that I didn't know existed: password-protected items. He had to enter a user name and password to access the sound and video clips on the site, due to copyright restrictions or concerns. It seems to me that since all of what he was playing was recorded and released before 1972, they would be now in public domain, but anyway, it's an option, perhaps, for getting around temporary privacy or copyright issues. 

It's also an option if we want to maintain total control over the content (i.e., prevent unauthorized downloads), regardless of its copyright status. That would allow us to still collect use and publication fees for those who want copies. I doubt I'll go that far, though. We don't want every person who just wants to listen or view something to have to contact us. Probably what I'll do see if we can make the exhibit items lower quality, so anyone who needs publishable/broadcast (or at least higher) quality will still have to come to us.