HILL MUSEUM & MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY

ACCESS REFERS TO THE PROCESSES BY WHICH HMML MAKES ITS COLLECTIONS (DIGITAL IMAGES OF MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS RECEIVED FROM ITS PRESERVATION SITES) ACCESSIBLE ONLINE FREE OF CHARGE. WHEN RECEIVED FROM THE PRESERVATION SITES, HARD DRIVES OF DIGITAL IMAGES ARE HARVESTED AND ORGANIZED TO CONSISTENT STANDARDS FOR TRACKING PURPOSES; SCANNED FOR MALWARE; AND BACKED-UP FOR ONSITE AND OFFSITE ARCHIVING. EVERY DIGITAL IMAGE IS ROTATED TO UPRIGHT POSITION, ASSIGNED AN IDENTIFYING FILE NAME, AND PREPPED FOR ACCESS IN HMML'S ONLINE READING ROOM (HTTPS://WWW.VHMML.ORG/READINGROOM ). IN FY25, A TOTAL OF 1,039,166 IMAGES WERE RECEIVED FROM HMML'S PRESERVATION PARTNERS, WHICH THEN WERE ORGANIZED, AND PREPARED FOR ONLINE ACCESS. AT THE END OF FY25 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MANUSCRIPTS WITH DESCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE ONLINE IN HMML READING ROOM WAS 155,504; AND THERE WERE 9,978 REGISTERED USERS OF HMML READING ROOM. THE DIGITAL IMAGES ARE FIRST MADE AVAILABLE TO HMML'S CATALOGING STAFF TO CREATE DESCRIPTIONS SUITABLE FOR ONLINE DISCOVERABILITY. THE CATALOGERS' WORK MAKES EACH MANUSCRIPT DISCOVERABLE BY UNIFORM AND ALTERNATE TITLES, AUTHOR(S), AND LANGUAGE. AT THE END OF FY25 DESCRIPTIONS OF 156,157 MANUSCRIPTS WERE AVAILABLE ONLINE, INCLUDING 101,796 WITH FULL DIGITAL IMAGE SETS AND AN ADDITIONAL 52,836 MANUSCRIPTS PRESERVED IN MICROFORM. IN FY25 ALONE, THE CATALOGING TEAM CREATED 16,500 NEW DESCRIPTIONS OF MANUSCRIPTS. THE HMML AUTHORITY FILE (HTTPS://HAF.VHMML.ORG/), AN OPEN-ACCESS ONLINE DATABASE, PROVIDES ACCURATE AND CONSISTENT AUTHORITIES FOR THE NAMES OF PERSON, PLACES, WORKS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND FAMILIES RELATED TO THE MANUSCRIPTS. IN FY25, 4,456 NEW AUTHORITIES WERE CREATED; 579 OF THESE WERE CONTRIBUTED TO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AUTHORITY FILE THROUGH THE NAME AUTHORITY COOPERATIVE PROGRAM (NACO). THE GOAL IS TO MAKE THE HANDWRITTEN HERITAGE OF CULTURES FROM AROUND THE WORLD, PREVIOUSLY INACCESSIBLE, AVAILABLE FOR GENERATIONS BOTH NOW AND TO COME.

ACADEMIC PROGRAMMING IS ONE WAY IN WHICH HILL MUSEUM AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY (HMML) SHARES ITS COLLECTIONS. PROGRAMS INCLUDE ONLINE AND IN-PERSON COURSES, INTERNSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS, LECTURES, EXHIBITIONS, AND TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES TO PRESERVATION SITES. IN FY25, 1) 11 FELLOWSHIPS FUNDED BY HMML WERE AWARDED TO VISITING SCHOLARS; 2) 30 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN THE 'WINTER SCHOOL IN ARCHIVAL STUDIES' PROGRAM (DECEMBER 2024); 3) 15 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN A TWO-WEEK ONLINE 'INTRODUCTION TO ARABIC MANUSCRIPT STUDIES' PROGRAM; AND 4) IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DUMBARTON OAKS RESEARCH LIBRARY (WASHINGTON, DC) 18 PEOPLE PARTICIPATED IN TWO IN-PERSON SUMMER SCHOOL LANGUAGE PROGRAMS AT HMML, ONE FOCUSED ON THE GEEZ LANGUAGE AND THE OTHER ON SYRIAC LANGUAGE; 5) A TOTAL OF 182 REQUESTS WERE RECEIVED FOR DIGITAL COPIES OF 307 MANUSCRIPTS. TWO ON-SITE AND TWO VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS WERE CREATED FEATURING MANUSCRIPTS, RARE BOOKS, AND ART PIECES FROM HMML'S COLLECTIONS, CURATED BY STAFF AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT EMPLOYEES. THE GOAL OF ALL ACADEMIC PROGRAMMING IS TO ENGAGE AUDIENCES WITH HMML'S MISSION THROUGH ITS COLLECTIONS.