Paper short abstract:

This presentation concerns preparing the Jose Adelino Macedo Collection which is located at the Library of Congress for a world-wide audience of researchers.

Paper long abstract:

Materials from Jose Adelino Macedo (1907-1983), a Portuguese colonial officer who worked in Mozambique and in South Africa from 1928 to 1971, were acquired in 2009 by the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. This collection of thousands of items in Portuguese and English reached the Library somewhat organized by format (publications, documents, photos, personal objects, artifacts) and for years, it was totally inaccessible to researchers. The Preservation Office provided appropriate housing and with the help of many student volunteers, from 2012-2015, scans were made of this collection and were copied to CD's. This allowed the African Section to offer onsite access in the African & Middle Eastern Division Reading Room. Original items could only be viewed under supervision. Since the collection's arrival, one main challenge was to provide for its security in a public reading room, but the onset of the digital age has presented new options for preserving the material and keeping it safe. In 2018, the Library made the decision to process and to digitize this unique collection, both to make it accessible to researchers worldwide and to help protect, preserve and secure fragile items for future generations. This paper will present an overview of the Macedo Collection and the ways in which the Library has worked to preserve, process, and present its valuable contents in the new digital environment. Among the topics to be explored are the Library's complex process for proposing digital projects, and the challenges presented by shifting Library policies and the constant changes in technology.