RARE EPHEMERA FROM BOTH SIDES: A DIGITAL COLLECTIONS AND CURATION CASE STUDY OF RUSSIA (THE SOVIET UNION) AND ASIA [ARTICLE]

Abstract

This paper is a Digital Collections and Curation case study involving several very rare items that the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Special Collections has recently acquired. These items are in the process of being converted into open access digital collections to enhance access for scholars worldwide. The unifying theme of these materials is rare ephemera representing various stages of Russian-Asian relations. This paper focuses on the process of acquiring these very rare items, the partnership between subject specialist bibliographers and special collections librarians in curating these collections, collaboration with faculty in determining the potential research value and use cases for the materials, the physical and digital processing of such rare and fragile materials, the research involved in determining the historical context of the items, metadata creation in multiple languages, digital infrastructure, and the preservation of the physical originals.