Jewish Museum Milwaukee
Oral History Digitization & PastPerfect Database
Client/Company: Jewish Museum Milwaukee
Project Description: I initially met with leaders at Jewish Museum Milwaukee (JMM) about the possibility of helping with exhibits. But they had a more immediate need…what to do with their oral history collection. JMM had collected video oral histories of nearly 600 individuals and families, including important stories of Holocaust survivors as well as those sharing about their lives in Milwaukee’s Jewish community. Unfortunately, the interviews were all DVDs stored in boxes. Approximately fifty had been transcribed but the rest had not been indexed in any way, limiting their usefulness for researchers and others wanting to explore these first-person histories. Additionally, JMM had digitized approximately 15,000 photographs in its collection and wanted to make them accessible and searchable by the public.
Our goals were to digitize the video oral history collection; set-up a data management system that would allow for intellectual control; integrate PastPerfect’s Online portal into JMM’s redesigned website; and set up, customize, and develop best practices for content management system for JMM-specific content, including video oral histories as well as photographs and objects.
Julie’s Role: Project Manager / Database Consultant
I proposed a project that would ensure the preservation of the collection while expanding accessibility. The first step was digitizing their video oral history collection. I sourced a regional multimedia production vendor and facilitated the digitization process, converting their DVDs into a universal digital format. I also advised the museum on storage and redundancy needs.
Once digitization was complete, the museum decided it wanted to use PastPerfect collections management software as its primary database. I served as the main point of contact with PastPerfect. Working closely with JMM’s archivist, I reviewed how the collection was organized and created a series of spreadsheet templates they could use to import metadata directly into PastPerfect.
I spent several days on site setting up JMM’s database, customizing the metadata fields. Then I started to populate the database with sample video oral history, photograph, object, and document entries. Along the way, I reviewed and modified the metadata fields and refined process. When JMM rebranded and built a new website, I returned to set up PastPerfect’s online portal so that it could be integrated in time for their website launch. After the project was completed, I wrote and delivered a detailed procedures manual specific to JMM’s needs.
Jewish Museum Milwaukee's online collections database incorporating PastPerfect's online portal. Image credit: Jewish Museum Milwaukee
Keyword search page for JMM's online collections database. Image credit: Jewish Museum Milwaukee