The LA jolla historical society will digitize nearly 1,800 photographs, postcards, and oral history recordings in its collection

The La Jolla Historical Society received a $106,304 Project Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the Museums for America (CFDA 45.301) program. The funding will support the digitization of nearly 1,800 photographs, postcards, and oral history recordings in the society's collection. This project will hire and train two paid interns to digitize and catalog the collections, increasing accessibility for guest curators, researchers, genealogists, and the public. By preserving the deteriorating items and making the collections available online, the project aims to inform future exhibitions and respond to the approximately 325 annual research requests received by the society.

The project will support the hiring and training of two paid interns. Under the supervision of the collections manager, the interns will digitize and accession the collections, research and draft descriptions for the catalog records, and upload all materials to the society's collections management system. Cataloging and digitizing the collection will address the urgent need to preserve fidelity of the deteriorating items in the collection. This project will also increase the accessibility of the collections for guest curators, researchers, genealogists, the public, and staff members, who will use the collections to inform future exhibitions and to respond to the estimated 325 research requests the society receives annually.