From Toni and Wilbur Clark Collection, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
From Shipler Commercial Photographers collection, Utah Department of Cultural and Community Engagement.
June 2001
Early Days
A joint project between University of Utah’s J. Willard Marriott Library and Utah State Historical Society to digitize a collection of glass plate negatives (Shipler Commercial Photographers) proved the concept of a multi-institution digital library. Initial members of MWDL included Brigham Young University, Southern Utah University, University of Utah, and Utah State University.
2002
Initial Launch
Utah Academic Library Consortium (UALC) awarded $100,000 of funding in January 2002 and the first MWDL site was up and running by September. The funding was used to set up digitization centers at the four founding universities and for software licenses to use CONTENTdm Multi-Site Server in support of the project’s goals: 1) build a digital collection reflecting the history of the region; 2) include resources from regional cultural and educational institutions; 3) offer local control and low-cost digitization to partners; and 4) make content accessible to all internet users (Arlitsch & Jonsson 2005).
Also in 2002, Salt Lake City and the surrounding area hosted the 2002 Winter Olympic & Paralymic Games. The Governor’s Olympic Collection was created during this time, an early example of a born digital collection containing photographs taken by Utah Governor’s Office interns.
Chris Lewis, 2002. Department of Cultural & Community Engagement, Governor’s Olympic Collection
Internet Archive
2003
Regional Growth
University of Nevada, Las Vegas and University of Nevada, Reno both joined MWDL, expanding it into a regional digital library. UNLV and UNR are also members of the UALC.