In 2016 Smith College Special Collections was awarded a CLIR Digitizing Hidden Collections grant to digitize, describe, and publish materials from the YWCA of the U.S.A. records. Over the course of two years we will describe, preserve, and make available approximately:

• 380 reels of microfilm
• 48 linear feet of photographs
• 14 volumes of serials

The collection hold objects of great historical importance for women, women’s work, women’s equality, race equality, and other social and economic topics taken on by the YWCA USA. The digitized materials will make access to these records easier and freely available to a wider audience.

Preservation and discovery of the materials on microfilm are of critical importance to this collection and was a driving force behind the project. After the YWCA USA central office microfilmed the records, the majority of them were destroyed. The microfilm itself is now facing condition issues and digitally preserving the images became important to preserving the history of the organization. Once the reels are described and made openly available, the documents will be digitally preserved thus making the rich history available for the next generations.

Because digitization is being outsourced, the bulk of the project work will focus on rich metadata description of microfilm at the microdex level, volumes of serials, and folders of photographs; creating meaningful documentation; collecting work statistics; conducting image and metadata quality control; and preserving and storing the digital objects.