We are thrilled to announce our implementation grant proposal – Building a Statewide Digital Readiness Community of Practice – was fully funded. This one-year project slated to begin later in 2020, builds on work completed through a 2019 National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) planning grant and will support “digital readiness” in small and under-resourced local historical societies and historic preservation organizations across Wisconsin. WiLS, Recollection Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Historical Society will provide support for this community-driven venture.
Two key concepts provide the foundation and structure for this project. We define digital readiness broadly as having the knowledge, tools, resources, and infrastructure to provide online public access to archives and historical records. As described by Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott and William M. Snyder in their 2002 book Cultivating Communities of Practice, a community of practice is “a group of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion about a topic and deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis.”
Community of Practice participants will increase their capacity to create, manage and share digitized historical resources through collaborative learning and relationship-building opportunities including virtual and in-person gatherings, training demonstrations, consultations, and knowledge and resource sharing.
The Project Launch Committee includes representatives from the following Wisconsin local history organizations: Kenosha County Historical Society, Milwaukee County Historical Society, Waukesha County Historical Society, Forest County Historical Society), Madison Trust for Historic Preservation, Langlade County Historical Society, Stanley Area Historical Society, History Center of Washington County, Barron County Historical Society, Appleton Public Library, and Lake Mills Aztalan Historical Society.
For more information about Building a Statewide Digital Readiness Community of Practice, contact Vicki Tobias (vicki@wils.org) or visit our planning project website.
This project is supported by an Archives Collaboratives Implementation Grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the granting arm of the National Archives.
