Creating the Joint Base San Antonio Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Archive Final Report (2015 – 2018)

Summary

The Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Resources Archive is a digital archive created by the Center for Digital Antiquity (Digital Antiquity) in tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record). Funding for the project was provided by United States Air Force (USAF) Cultural Resource Management Program of the US Air Force Civil Engineer Center (USAF-CEC) and administered through contract between Baer Engineering of Austin, Texas and Digital Antiquity at Arizona State University. In creating the digital archive, digital curators and data managers at Digital Antiquity worked with the cultural resource management (CRM) staff at JBSA. The creation of the JBSA digital archive in tDAR involved a number of activities:

• First, the material to be considered for inclusion in the digital archive was identified by the JBSA CRM staff and collected by Digital Antiquity staff. Material included: CRM-related documents, records, published and unpublished reports, correspondence, images, and other relevant material for the archive.

• The materials were reviewed to determine the potential importance and relevance to future use for CRM activities.

• Relevant paper records were scanned to create digital files for the archive and existing digital files were gathered so that a listing of the available material could be created for tracking the activities necessary to create a useful digital archive.

• During the process duplicate files, draft documents for which a final version was available, and material that was determined not to be relevant for CRM uses were set aside and not immediately processed, but retained for checking as the creation of the digital archive progressed.

• As relevant digital files were identified, they were uploaded to tDAR and metadata records drafted for them. Draft metadata records for review by the JBSA CRM staff are identified. The JBSA CRM staff must complete their review of these draft records. Once the review is completed, final editing, as needed can be accomplished and the records made accessible, files containing the reports, other documents, images, etc. may be kept confidential as determined by the JBSA and USAF-CEC CRM staffs.

• Based on discussions with and requests from the JBSA CRM staff, sub-collections have been created for organizing and ease of use of the JBSA digital archive content.

The JBSA digital archive contains documents, images, and other data and information related to archaeological and other cultural heritage resources. The archive is fully useable by the JBSA CRM staff, however, many of the records need to be reviewed and any editing noted by the JBSA CRM staff should be made. Corrections and modifications can be accomplished by the JBSA CRM staff or, if preferable, through another contract with Digital Antiquity.

Digital Antiquity digital curators reviewed over 6,300 files in developing and organizing the JBSA digital archive in tDAR. About ten banker boxes of paper files were received from the JBSA CRM staff in 2015. These paper records, which included a range of documents, correspondence, and photos and other images, were reviewed by Digital Antiquity data management experts. Some of them were scanned and included among the digital files reviewed. Most of the files were received in digital formats from the JBSA CRM staff at the beginning of the project also in 2015. In addition, Michelle Wurtz Penton of Versar provided digital copies of a number of CRM reports done by GMI for various JBSA units.

Each file was reviewed for technical integrity, CRM value, and available metadata by digital curators. After being reviewed, a file was either uploaded and a tDAR metadata record created or marked as: (1) a duplicate; (2) as having a technical issue that prevented uploading; or, (3) as potentially unsuitable for curation (i.e., not relevant to the JBSA CRM program). A full list of the files and their tDAR ID number (for those included in the archive) or other disposition information (e.g., they are a duplicate file or for some other reason were not included in the archive) is included in an Excel spreadsheet on the Digital Antiquity shared drive (JBSA_File_Tracker_20180731).

Following the digital curator review, 3,520 files were uploaded to tDAR. Of the approximately 6,300 files reviewed, about 1100 were found to be duplicates, 200 were judged not to be relevant for the JBSA CRM program, and about 1000 had a technical problem that prevented them from being opened or uploaded. The uploaded files resulted in 2,352 tDAR resources. Some of the files, mainly images, shared the same descriptive, administrative, and technical metadata and are grouped together under a single metadata record. Resources are metadata records in tDAR that may be tied to one or more files. Closely related files (versions of the same document, portions of one report, closely related images) may be included in the same resource in tDAR. A copy of the current JBSA metadata style guide is provided as Appendix 2 of this report.

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Cultural Resource Office, Joint Base San Antonio

File Information