The American Congress Digital Archives Portal Project

FAIN: PW-277585-21

West Virginia University Research Corporation (Morgantown, WV 26506-6201)
Danielle Emerling (Project Director: July 2020 to January 2024)

A multi-institutional planning project to develop an online portal that would aggregate the personal papers of former members of the United States Congress.

The American Congress Digital Archives Portal Project proposes to digitize and aggregate congressional archives in an online portal that will expand access to collections and increase research value by providing context and linkages among them. Congressional archives are rich resources documenting the history of the legislative branch and illuminating multiple narratives about America’s social, cultural, and political development. The portal would provide scholars with significantly improved access to geographically dispersed collections and provide the general public and teachers access to civically important documents about Congress and public policy. With the expertise of congressional scholars, archivists, and technologists, this Foundations project will establish best practices for contributing materials and provide scope for a larger project by prioritizing materials to be digitized. A prototype digital portal will provide a model for future collaboration and digital practice.

Associated Products

American Congress Digital Archives Portal (Web Resource)
Title: American Congress Digital Archives Portal
Author: Danielle Emerling
Author: Sarah Gard
Author: Jody Brumage
Author: Travis Williamson
Author: Tracy McCormick
Abstract: The American Congress Digital Archives Portal is a collaborative, non-partisan project that makes congressional archives from institutions across the country available online, bringing the history of the People’s Branch to the people. It provides open access to archival materials and the descriptive information (metadata) about those materials.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://congressarchives.lib.wvu.edu/

The American Congress Digital Archives Portal Project White Paper (Report)
Title: The American Congress Digital Archives Portal Project White Paper
Author: Danielle Emerling
Abstract: This white paper documents the work of the American Congress Digital Archives Portal project to aggregate congressional archives into a single, online platform and make them more broadly available. Congressional archives document the democratic process; the development of public policy; and multiple narratives related to the country’s social, cultural, and political development. Work of the project included developing standards and best practices; creating governance structures for the one-year project and future phases; developing a web portal that meets user needs and adding archival content; determining digitization priorities via a research survey; conducting usability testing; and communicating and publicizing the project. The project was made possible by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Date: 04/15/2022
Primary URL: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/faculty_publications/3090/
Access Model: Open Access

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