The University of North Florida (UNF) located in Jacksonville, is one of the first partners to join the Sunshine State Digital Network (SSDN) in 2021. Their digital collections contain approximately 20,000 records that they plan to share to the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) on an iterative schedule. They will be starting by sharing items from nine collections ranging in variety from yearbooks and historical letters to oral histories and student newspapers. The SSDN is happy to be adding our second partner from the northeast region of the state, enhancing the geographic coverage of the network and the materials we share with DPLA.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with the Sunshine State Digital Network to enhance the discoverability of digitized primary source materials through the Digital Public Library of America. Of particular interest to researchers will be the Eartha M.M. White Collection and images by photographer R. Lee Thomas. We look forward to expanding the content shared through this platform.”
– Courtenay McLeland, Head of Digital Projects and Preservation at the University of North Florida
A notable highlight from UNF’s first harvest is the Eartha M.M. White Collection. Eartha Mary Magdalene White, a prominent African-American resident of Jacksonville, Florida, was widely known for her humanitarian and philanthropic endeavors in northeast Florida. The collection contains more than one thousand items, including her personal papers, letters, documents, notes, and other memorabilia. It is a valuable contribution to the diverse collections shared from Florida institutions to the DPLA and highlights important regional history.
UNF will also be sharing materials from their Archbishop Desmond Tutu Collection. This collection includes handwritten and typed manuscripts and correspondence written by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The collection was given in honor of President John A. Delaney and transferred to the Thomas G. Carpenter Library Special Collections in May of 2018.
The SSDN is proud to be able to share these and many other outstanding resources from the UNF digital collections with a wider audience. We look forward to our partnership and enhancing the access to these invaluable collections.
Sunshine State Digital Network 