PACSCL - The Greater Philadelphia Research Collections Network

The Greater Philadelphia Research Collections Network

As an outgrowth of a strategic planning process beginning in 2002, PACSCL has developed a set of interlinked initiatives that together form The Greater Philadelphia Research Collections Network. These initiatives will allow researchers, students, and lifelong learners to explore and engage with the rich documentary resources of the Philadelphia region, fostering scholarship and education, community awareness, heritage tourism development, and regional economic growth. They include:

An online public access catalog upgrade for several members, in addition to "one click" search capability, using the Z39.50 interface, that will allow users to search the special collections portions of all members' online catalogs at one time (in process, funded by a grant from The William Penn Foundation);
A consortial survey initiative to assess and provide information on approximately 35,000 linear feet of manuscripts and archival material in member collections (in process, funded by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation);
A geohistory network that will allow users to explore the Greater Philadelphia area through time and place by entering a street address or other information, based on the City of Philadelphia's landmark Geographic Information System (funded by a planning grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation);
An open archive portal for unified searching of manuscript finding aids, digital image collections, online exhibitions and other materials (planning in process);
A cultural records management initiative to help other cultural institutions in the Philadelphia area to document the history of their institutions and the cultural life of our community (planning in process).

The full set of concept papers for these initiatives is available as an Adobe Acrobat document.