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About the Project
Table of Contents
In the summer of 2004, the University of Maryland Libraries began its participation in Phase V of a state and local literature project coordinated by the Albert Mann Library at Cornell University and sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. This project is part of the National Preservation Program for Agricultural Literature (NPPAL), a joint effort by the United States Agricultural Information Network and the National Agricultural Library.
Based on Cornell University's project guidelines for subject scope, subject headings, and inclusions/exclusions, the University of Maryland Libraries searched for monographs and serials published in or about Maryland from 1820 to 1945. OCLC's WorldCat was the main source of publication citations, but other resources used include Agricola, the University of Maryland's card catalog of theses and dissertations, and approximately 90 print bibliographies. In addition, UM Library staff made site visits to the Maryland Historical Society, Enoch Pratt Free Library, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Frostburg State University.
The Libraries' search and retrieval approach was to capture as many relevant citations as possible. Consequently, there was an intensive post-search process in which project staff examined the bibliography and removed out-of-scope and duplicate publications. The publications were then separated into four categories: Monographs, Serials, Catalogs, and Theses/Dissertations.
Once the bibliography was organized, a scholarly review panel ranked each publication based on its relative importance for historical research, placing greater emphasis on publications that concern the state of Maryland and its industries. These rankings were then compiled, averaged, and rounded, leaving each citation with a single rating. The following scale was used in the ranking process:
| Rank | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 1 | Very important historical title; first priority for preservation in this grant project |
| 2 | Definitely worth preserving; funds permitting should be preserved as part of this grant project |
| 3 | Worth preserving at some time if possible, but of lower priority |
| 4 | Not worth preserving |
The following statistics were compiled following the scholars' rankings and the subsequent weeding of duplicate and out-of-scope publications not previously detected.
| Publication Type | Total Number of Titles | Rank 1 | Rank 2 | Rank 3 | Rank 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monographs | 714 | 77 (11%) | 314 (44%) | 280 (39%) | 43 (6%) |
| Serials | 262 | 15 (6%) | 166 (63%) | 81 (31%) | 0 (0%) |
| Catalogs | 57 | 0 (0%) | 51 (89%) | 6 (11%) | 0 (0%) |
| Dissertations & Theses | 566 | 7 (1%) | 166 (29%) | 387 (68%) | 6 (1%) |
| Total | 1599 | 99 (6%) | 697 (44%) | 754 (47%) | 49 (3%) |
During Phase VI (2006-2008) of the NPPAL project, UM Libraries will be microfilming the publications designated as having the greatest significance, as funding allows. As part of this process, staff will be locating, assessing, and selecting specific copies of the publications.
