PICTURE THE PAST - AND YOU MIGHT WIN A PRIZE!
March 25th, 2004
Whether your interest is fossils or flowers, buildings or books, there's a new web portal - all about the West Midlands - you simply must see. Visit before the end of April - and you might win a prize.
Two digital cameras and four USB data memory sticks will be awarded to the winners of an easy-to-enter online competition which celebrates the launch of Digital Midlands - a new web portal which brings together a massive collection of archived resources from around the West Midlands.
Digital Midlands makes it easy for anyone to explore the history, human experience, heritage, literature, natural environment, architectural and industrial past of the region. Seven Midlands website projects joined forces to create this unique digital record and make it available to all, via the Internet.
Digitising a wide range of resources held in separate collections and archives around the region - to make them more accessible than ever before - was no small feat. But thanks to funding from the New Opportunities Fund, via the EnrichUK programme, and the dedication of teams around the region, the project has been completed.
"The Digital Midlands web portal is a gateway to the region's past like none before," said Digital Midlands Project Co-ordinator Jon Kirby. "It brings together an unprecedented wealth of materials, held in public and private collections around the West Midlands - much of it not readily available to the public. Until now."
Log onto digitalmidlands·org·uk. to see what Jon means. Digital Midlands gives access to seven regional websites at the click of a mouse. Many thousands of digital images, maps, documents, and more are available to view and download. The seven digitisation projects are:
- Digital Handsworth
- Exploring the Potteries
- Literary Heritage - West Midlands
- Revolutionary Players
- Secret Shropshire
- Staffordshire Past Track
- Windows on Warwickshire
Each project explores a specific county, locality or theme. Digitised materials include old photographs, wildlife records, fine art, oral histories, video footage, old maps, literary works, historic documents, memorabilia, archaeological finds, geological specimens and much more.
Web users can search the full database by using maps, subject themes, date ranges and other search mechanisms. Each item is interpreted by subject experts and, in addition, a number of learning pathways are provided to give users a greater understanding of key aspects of the collections.
"Collectively, this major new resource demonstrates what makes the Midlands a special place in which to live and learn by using real resources from the region," said Jon Kirby.
Individual launches of the seven project websites ran through 2003 and into 2004. Digital Midlands uses a searchable database developed by Staffordshire County Council on behalf of the regional project
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact: Jon Kirby
Digital Midlands Project Co-ordinator
tel: 01926 412881
email: jonkirby(at)warwickshire·gov·uk
You can contact any of the seven individual projects that constitute the regional initiative as follows:
Digital Handsworth
Richard Albutt
tel: 0121 464 1619
email: richard_albutt(at)birmingham·gov·uk
Exploring the Potteries
Keith Bloor
tel: 01782 232 952
email: keithbloor(at)stoke·gov·uk
Literary Heritage West Midlands
Don Yuile
tel: 01743 255023
email:don·yuile(at)shropshire-cc·gov·uk
Revolutionary Players
Jane Arthur
tel: 0121 303 4510
email: jane_arthur(at)birmingham·gov·uk
Secret Shropshire
Mary McKenzie
tel. 01743 255365
email: marymckenzie(at)shropshire-cc·gov·uk
Staffordshire Past Track
Andy Holt
tel: 01889 256290
email: andy·holt(at)staffordshire·gov·uk
Windows on Warwickshire
Jon Kirby
tel: 01926 412881
email:jonkirby(at)warwickshire·gov·uk
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The Digital Midlands project was partially paid for by the New Opportunities Fund. General enquiries to the Fund can be e-mailed to: NOF-Digitise Office: general·enquiries(at)nof·org·uk
The New Opportunities Fund and EnrichUK·net
www·EnrichUK·net. is a gateway to the collection of websites supported with National Lottery money by the New Opportunities Fund. Their contents range across the very best in culture, history, art, science, and social and economic development of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and make a major contribution to lifelong learning.
The New Opportunities Fund> is the biggest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, providing Lottery funding for health, education and environment projects across the UK, with a particular focus on improving quality of life, particularly in disadvantaged communities. To date the New Opportunities Fund has committed over £2 billion in funding to schemes across the UK
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