I have written an essay on the way digital technologies have become pervasive in almost every aspect of communication, creating a global digital culture. I researched this topic to examine the importance of using digital technologies to disseminate information about one’s work. My intention is not to replace traditional methods of communicating – face to face, phone, snail mail – but to use digital technologies to enhance and broaden one’s reach to audiences unavailable through traditional methods of communication.
On February 3, I met with the director of a local library who gave me the names of three resources: an archivist at a local college, a local historian, and a link to www.idea.org which explores ways to share large amounts of information in formats that require brief reading and viewing. The site has an interactive online museum and researched information intended to help others set up their own online museums. In looking at different pages on the site, I came across its policy on copyright. The site recommends using Creative Commons with Some Rights Reserved.
This is the link: http://www.webexhibits.org/about/legal.html
Basically, the information on the site is free to use for non-commercial purposes. It is recommended that the user look at each article for variations in permission.
Here is an example of the Creative Commons copyright and usage philosophy:
http://creativecommons.org/choose/
I have looked at the Davis Foundation grant submission guidelines and discovered that the deadlines for submitting grant applications are February 10, May 10, August 10 and November 10. This foundation’s site is at http://www.davisfoundations.org/site/application_family.asp
These criteria must be met:
My organization is a 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) or (2) organization as determined by the IRS.
My organization is not a private foundation.
My organization is located in New England.
This foundation has given grants for building reconstruction, renovation, and repairs. The foundation supports “Cultural/Arts Organizations: organizations whose customary and primary activity is to promote music, theater, drama, history, literature, the arts or other similar cultural activities.”
Someone suggested the Muskie Foundation as a possible source of grants and I have looked at its site, but do not see where the foundation would make a grant to WLU.
http://www.muskiefoundation.org
A friend, who spent a good amount of time in her career writing grants for a non-profit, suggested that I follow the information found at http://www.foundationcenter.org
The site offers a wealth of information, training, and links to foundations.
I have stressed the importance of registering the club with grants.gov as soon as possible to be able to take advantage of federal grants. That will be discussed among the members of the executive board this week. Also, setting up a Facebook page will be recommended as another way to disseminate information about the club.
I have enjoyed learning a little bit more about the culture of the Woman’s Literary Club with each of my visits. Last Saturday, I photographed 220 pages from a Book Review Club minutes notebook for the years 1940 to 1951. I think that the kind of information found within this book is valuable and should be made available to researchers and scholars.
This past Saturday, February 5, I picked through the collection of documents and photos and chose items to photograph that contain historical information that reveal the culture and community in which the WLU operated.
Once again, the club members searched for access to the lighting behind the stained glass windows. We didn’t find it, but we did find the blueprints for the house. Unfortunately, although the blueprints were very interesting, they did not reveal any information on the window lights. I will check with Auburn City Hall and see if they have records on the house from when it was built.
Club members are searching for a framed photo of the original house that was on the lot before the Foss mansion was built. A photocopy of the actual photo has been located, but not the actual photo.
I discovered a master’s thesis done by a University of Southern Maine student in 2000 on the very same topic that I am pursuing, mainly the civic engagement of the Woman’s Literary Union examined in a cultural context including biographies and oral histories. The thesis looks thorough, but the work does not appear to have continued once the student’s project was finished. I searched the USM library online, but the thesis did not appear in the database. I am hoping to create a foundation for my project to be incorporated in to the club’s structure and updated as an ongoing project. This may mean creating a position in the club for an overseer who will maintain the club’s collection and solicit help from the local colleges.
Members of the club have expressed an interest in documents pertaining to Horatio Foss, but I have not come across any documents or photos.
Club members are busy working on the 11th annual Mother-Daughter-Doll Tea Open House scheduled for April 30.
Visit the Woman’s Literary Union website at www.womansliteraryunion.org
