Alliance Memory Reaches Milestone with New Collaborators

July 29, 2009

"It was rough riding in a covered wagon … and we did have hard times but we didn’t let them beat us." So begins a handwritten letter from Laura Ingalls Wilder to the children of Rodman Public Library in June 1945. This letter, selected as the 2,500th item to be added to the Alliance Memory project, has new meaning to the patrons and staff of Rodman Public Library. You may view it at http://www.alliancememory.org/u?/people,460

As funding sources from the State of Ohio continue to dwindle, it became evident that outside funds needed to be found to keep AllianceMemory.org alive and thriving. Karen Perone, systems coordinator and administrator of the Alliance Memory project contacted the Alliance Historical Society to ask for assistance in paying the annual $1,200 maintenance bill. "The Historical Society had always partnered with the library on this project, supplying a large percentage of the photographs and documents that were included on the site. They seemed a logical place to start and were very eager to assist with the funding." But the Alliance Historical Society also thought the site was beneficial to the other historical groups in Alliance. "The Historical Society also recommended that we approach Haines House and Castle Crusaders to help share the ongoing annual cost," Perone continued. "The library is delighted to have these two groups on board and to become more closely affiliated with their efforts to preserve Alliance’s past."

This all occurred as Alliance Memory reached a few milestones of its own. In May, the project completed its fifth year. It was also a time of moving the site to its new home to OCLC’s servers in Dublin, Ohio. OCLC is the parent company of the CONTENTdm software used to run Alliance Memory. This move was precipitated by aging hardware and growing needs for more software maintenance expertise. The fact that the library no longer needs to spend time maintaining hardware and software allows more items to be entered into the collection.

Alliance Memory is an online digital collection of photographs, documents, oral histories, and three-dimensional objects relating to the history of the Alliance community. The site now sports a new home page opening it up for better exploration. It is divided into five collections: Alliance Places, Alliance People, Taylorcraft, Morgan Engineering, and Voices of Alliance. The Taylorcraft, Morgan Engineering and Voices of Alliance are comprised of items owned by Rodman Public Library. The Alliance Places and People collections consist of items supplied by the Alliance Historical Society, Alliance Area Chamber of Commerce, and individuals and businesses in Alliance.

If you are interested in donating or lending photographs to the Alliance Memory project, contact Karen Perone at Rodman Public Library for information on how to contribute. Perone states, "A lot of donations start with the comment, ‘I was cleaning out some pictures and I didn’t want to throw them away.’ We are happy to get these priceless historical items for the collection."

As the Laura Ingalls Wilder letter ends, "If any of you come past here I would be glad to have you call on me." The partners in this project would love to have you stop by for a visit at http://www.AllianceMemory.org