The North Dakota School for the Deaf digital collection has reached a milestone: over 500 items have been added and are available online. Hip hip hooray! In honor of this milestone, the Digital Initiatives Department decided to do a breakdown of the collection. Here’s a look at the numbers.
The collection is a partnership between the North Dakota State Library (NDSL) and the North Dakota School for the Deaf (NDSD). The collection contains newsletters, biennial reports, photographs, videos, objects, and documents relating to the school since its inception in the 1890s to the present.
When the collection was first launched back in 2017, it only consisted of the school’s newsletter: The Banner. The Banner was first published in 1891. Its purpose was to keep parents informed on what happened at the school, publish pupils’ schoolwork, and to provide publishing experience to students. The publication frequency has changed over the years, but The Banner continues to be published to this day.
In 2021, NDSL and NDSD decided to expand their digital collection partnership. The school has such a rich history that it seemed appropriate to include more than just its newsletters. Images, biennial reports, videos, objects, and documents relating to the school were also included. This expansion project was nominated for a Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service.
The collection is organized into 4 subcollections: Banner Newsletters, Biennial Reports, Images, and Publications.
The newsletters are still a core aspect of the collection, making up about 27% of it. If the newsletters were available by individual issue, they would certainly be the predominant item in the collection. However, issues of The Banner are grouped together by school year.
Images have grown to be the main subcollection and format within the digital collection. There are 291 images uploaded, making up about 58% of the collection. In two instances, the “Images” subcollection has been further divided into sections: graduating classes and school superintendents.
When browsing by decade, things are very spread out. This is understandable when considering how long the school has been around. Right now, the 1970s is the leading decade in the collection, but the 1920s, 1950s, and 1960s are not far behind. Expanding this slightly, there are 272 items from 1900 to 1949, and right behind that is 270 items from 1950 to 1999. Looking back further, there are 29 items dating to the 1890s. Looking forward, there are 42 items from the modern era (2000 to today).
To learn more about ND Memories, visit the collection’s finding aid on LibGuides or you can browse the collection directly on Digital Horizons.
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