CCDC Host Reflections: Manitowoc County Historical Society

Hello from the Manitowoc County Historical Society! My name is Amy Meyer and I am the Executive Director of the museum. As an institution whose collection is managed and organized by volunteers, the knowledge gained through participating in the CCDC program has been remarkable. The work with the CCDC has already transformed the way our volunteers and staff view digital preservation and paved a way for procedural documentation that will lead our efforts for years to come.

The effort began two years ago when our museum received a personal collection of over 3,000 photo negatives from a local photographer, Daryl Cornick. This collection provides images from the 1940s to the 1970s from throughout our community. The collection also contains pictures from 1950s Green Bay Packers games, as Cornick was a Packer photographer for some time. The collection was organized and cataloged by our volunteers and scanned with assistance from local college students and volunteers. This incredible collection shares a piece of our local history like no other resource. The images it contains capture the triumphs, tragedies, and everyday happenings of Manitowoc County for over 50 years. Our volunteers worked diligently over the last few years, with the best of their abilities, to scan and provide background data for the images in the collection. We wanted to ensure the Cornick Collection, and other scanned images, would be properly preserved and made accessible to the public.

Photo by Daryl Cornick: Kite flying on campus lawn, Manitowoc, March 1969. From UW-Manitowoc via University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.
Photo by Daryl Cornick: Kite flying on campus lawn, Manitowoc, March 1969. From UW-Manitowoc via University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.

One of our first tasks was to complete an inventory of what we have. Using our Past Perfect software, we learned new ways to gather data, including an inventory, of our newly digitized Cornick Collection. Being able to use more features in the Past Perfect software will make documenting our collection easier for our staff and volunteers. We are also working towards adding Past Perfect Online to make the Cornick Collection accessible to those unable to visit our physical museum.

Another area we began working on right away was how we back-up our files. We were able to make a partnership with Manitowoc County to house a version of our back-up at the Sheriff’s Department.

As our organization works to properly preserve the digitized Daryl Cornick Collection, we can use the tools we have learned and the policies that have been created to provide a roadmap for other and future digitization projects. With the proper procedures, training, skills, and technology, our volunteers and staff can feel confident in the work we are doing to preserve our local history.

— Posted by Amy Meyer, Executive Director, Manitowoc County Historical Society


Curating Community Digital Collections is supported by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, #RE-85-17-0127-17.