Annual Conference Journal Digitization
To digitize issues of the Annual Conference Journal, 1850-1994, allowing for greater public access to this historic resource.
To digitize issues of the Annual Conference Journal, 1850-1994, allowing for greater public access to this historic resource.
$5,846,000 in fiscal year 2020 and $7,004,000 in fiscal year 2021 are for statewide historic and cultural grants to local, county, regional, or other historical or cultural organizations or for activities to preserve significant historic and cultural resources. Money must be distributed through a competitive grant process. The Minnesota Historical Society must administer the money using established grant mechanisms, with assistance from the advisory committee created under Laws 2009, chapter 172, article 4, section 2, subdivision 4, paragraph (b), item (ii).
Available upon request. Contact, grants@mnhs.org
Through the grant we have achieved the goal of getting the journals digitized, metadata assigned, and are in the process of getting them posted to the organization's website. The archivist has also removed the physical books from regular public access to ensure their long-term preservation and limit who has regular access to the material.
The archivist will be writing a blog post which will be shared in the weekly Conference newsletter to announce to the wider Minnesota Methodist church community that journals are now available online. A display highlighting the completed project will also be done at the MN Annual Conference on May 24-25, 2022. This display will reach the majority of MN United Methodist Clergy and other Methodists from around the state. Additionally, the archivist has been communicating and directing individuals to the online journals so they can conduct their own research. The initial feedback received from Pastors and others has been extremely positive and individuals shared their excitement to have easier and quicker access to the journals.
Since January 2021, the archivist has been tracking the inquiries that require the use of the journals.
Between January 2021 and February 2022 there have been 26 inquiries that required journal use. This number will be the baseline to measure if use increases or decreases over the coming year. The journals were sent out for digitization in September 2021 and not received back until March 2022, so it is not possible to determine the impact of the digitization at this point but having a baseline number will allow the archivist to compare numbers in the coming year. These numbers have been and will continued to be shared with the leadership.
Overall, the digitization project has been successful for our organization and those we serve. It has provided the archivist with quicker and more efficient access to the journals. In the initial months of the pandemic, there was no access to the physical copies of the journals, and questions with information found in the journals had to be delayed. If the digital copies had been available prior to the pandemic, this could have been avoided. In the short time that digital copies of the journal have been available, the archivist has been able to provide a timelier response to journal-related questions, especially on days that I have not be in the office or working offsite. The communication team has been using the journals for various historical-related questions they traditionally ask of the archivist. Additionally, the database team has been using the journals to assist in various projects in the database system including updating clergy service records, tracking church name changes, and church mergers. Over time, I believe additional uses for the digital journals will become even more evident and prove beneficial to the conference.
Available upon request, grants@mnhs.org