Baylor Libraries Wins Texas Digital Library Award for Black Gospel Music Restoration Project
Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, 254-710-6275
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WACO, Texas (May 30, 2018) – The Texas Digital Library (TDL) has honored Baylor University’s Black Gospel Music Restoration Project team at Baylor Libraries with the 2018 Excellence in Digital Libraries Award for their work in making accessible the creative output of hundreds of black gospel artists.
The only national project documenting the “Golden Age” of black gospel music (1945-1975), the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project (BGMRP) has digitized and provided access to more than 3,000 unique digital items in multiple formats, including recordings, posters and photographs. Its rich collection, developed over 11 years, is used in research about musical styles, lyrical analysis and performance practice, as well as for outreach opportunities, such as concerts, art exhibits and symposia.
In addition, the BGMRP’s key recordings are featured in the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Most notably, Baylor Libraries has produced Shout! Black Gospel Music Moments, a series of two-minute radio segments heard on NPR affiliates throughout the country.
“This award is a major acknowledgement of the importance of the digital components of the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project,” said Eric Ames, outreach liaison for the project at Baylor. “The materials themselves tell the story of America’s black gospel heritage, but it’s the work of our Digital Preservation Services team to digitize, preserve, describe and provide access to the collection that is making it available to the world. We are thankful to TDL for this honor, especially considering the strength of the other projects that were in the running.”
Each year, the Texas Digital Library Awards honor individuals and groups who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of digital libraries.
Members of the BGMRP project team at Baylor Libraries are:
- Eric Ames, assistant director, marketing and communications,
- Stephen Bolech, audiovisual digitization specialist,
- Kara Long, metadata librarian,
- Darryl Stuhr, associate director for digital projects, and
- Travis Taylor, academic consultant and digitization specialist.
Learn more about Texas Digital Library and the TDL Award winners at www.tdl.org/awards/winners/.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.
ABOUT THE BAYLOR UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES
The at Baylor University Libraries support excellence in teaching and learning, enhance research and discovery and foster scholarship and success. Through its Central Libraries and special collections – Armstrong Browning Library, W.R. Poage Legislative Library and The Texas Collection – the Libraries serve as academic life centers that provide scholarly resources and technological innovation for the Baylor community and beyond.