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14 <br />particularly the museums to see how to digitize artifacts in addition to working with <br />documents. His project would work with our group for free! <br />Nick Graham met with the group on February 16 to explain more about the project. Four <br />agencies felt that they would like to work with him initially, though all might conceivably have <br />their researched materials digitized as well. The four groups that are involved are the Orange <br />County Public Library, the Orange County Historical Museum, the Orange County Historic <br />Preservation Commission, and the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough. They have agreed to meet <br />with him and will begin the work of digitizing the various collections. The NCHDP wishes to be <br />able to put digitized collections throughout North Carolina on their server and make them <br />accessible on their website for researchers. The Orange County Library, and any other site, can <br />easily Zink with the NCHDP to provide research materials of Orange County, and other places in <br />NC, as they become digitized. The library has agreed to provide that link and already has staff <br />that can help individuals use the web and do searches. <br />Archives and Environment <br />During group discussions I had clearly understood that there was a concern for the preservation <br />of archives. The Orange County Historical Museum is concerned about its environment in <br />relation to the preservation of their archives. I also learned that the Burwell School has already <br />received funding to digitize their collection. It is believed that their storage is not ideal, though <br />they do not appear to be seeking better storage at this time. While not tasked specifically, I felt <br />compelled to find a repository in Orange County that might store archives in a safe <br />environment, and allow the collection to remain under the control of the original agency. <br />I contacted Tim West, Curator of Manuscripts and Director of the Southern Historical Collection <br />at UNC and asked if they might be interested in receiving such materials. He felt that they <br />would accept the archives, particularly if they were relevant to Orange County. He also stated <br />he could work with the group and perhaps let them maintain ownership of the materials, as <br />long as they remain with the Historical Collection for a period of time to justify doing <br />cataloguing and listing of the materials on the web. This would be up to the individual agency <br />to pursue. <br />Conclusion: <br />The purpose of the Heritage Center as envisioned is four fold. <br />1j It would provide an environment that is necessary for archival storage; <br />2) It would bring together the documents and files that exist in several different <br />historical agencies that had neither the staff, space nor time to accommodate the <br />general public doing research; <br />3) It would enable local and visiting researchers to conduct their work in one place, <br />with assistance from trained staff; <br />4) It is hoped that such a Heritage Center would increase tourism in Hillsborough. <br />After surveying the historical agencies, only one, the Historic Foundation of Hillsborough and <br />Orange County, is in'need of better storage for its archival materials. One agency wanted to <br />