About Gateway

Get in touch!

If you have a question about our digital collections or wish to get in touch with us for any reason, please email David Gwynn, Digitization Coordinator.

What is Gateway?

Gateway is a collaborative digital collections platform that's hosted by the UNC Greensboro University Libraries. Gateway was established as the libraries' CONTENTdm-based digital collections portal in the mid-2000s, alongside locally developed platforms created for specific digital collections by the Electronic Resources and Information Technology Department. Gateway has since evolved into a community-based platform where content is generated by institutions and individuals all over the region. As of 2021, Gateway now uses the open-source Islandora platform for all collections.

The Digital Collections Unit at UNC Greensboro maintains the platform and does much of the digitization and metadata creation. We partner with other local libraries and museums and also occasionally arrange community scanning and history events. We also work directly with local groups, churches, schools, and individuals to make their history available online. And we work closely with the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center and the State Library of North Carolina.

Gateway is designed to be much more user-friendly than our old digital collections platform and it is also designed to work much better with mobile devices. The major task of migrating content into the new platform has allowed us to re-think the organization of our collections and also to improve access and discovery through better descriptive data and improved full-text searching. Let us know what you think!

The Digitization Unit at UNC Greensboro

The Digitization Unit of the UNC Greensboro University Libraries maintains the platform and does much of the digitization and metadata creation for materials held by the University Libraries and the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives and numerous community partners. 

The Digitization Unit, a part of the Electronic Resources and Information Technologies (ERIT) Department, is responsible for the digitization of primary source materials and other historical and archival resources both within the University Libraries and for external keepers of unique historical material, including UNC Greensboro faculty plus local cultural heritage organizations and community members. Currently staffed by two full-time employees, two employees shared with other departments, and several student assistants and grant-funded staff, the digitization unit handles a variety of projects within the Gateway, our digital collections platform.

Among the services we offer are:

• Image scanning, including large images up to 17x22 inches and possibly larger
• Small-scale audio and video digitization
• Format conversion
• Metadata creation
• Consultation on grant projects

The Digitization Unit does not currently offer these services for personal or classroom use. We are only able to digitize material that we will be making freely available to the public online via Gateway, our digital collections platform. 

The Digitization Unit consists of:

• David Gwynn
  Associate Professor and Digitization Coordinator
  Supervisor and Site Administrator of Gateway Digital Collections
• Callie Coward 
  Special Collections Cataloging and Digital Projects Library Technician
• Donnie Harden
  IT Professional and System Administrator
• Tiffany Henry
  Associate Professor and Discovery Cataloger
• Kathy Howard
  Digitization and Metadata Technician
• Darinlee Needham
  Serials Technician and Digital Projects Library Technician

Digital collections priority areas at UNCG

Our oversight committee at UNC Greensboro, the Digital Projects Priorities Team, which approves all projcets completed by the unit, has identified four collection priority areas for new digital projects based on collection strengths and priorities within the University and the University Libraries:

• University history
• Local and regional history
• Women's history
• Visual and performing arts

The Digital Projects Priorities Team consists of:

• Tim Bucknall 
  Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Electronic Resources and Information Technology (chair)
• Christine Fischer 
  Associate Professor and Head of Technical Services
• David Gwynn
  Associate Professor and Digitization Coordinator
• Kathelene McCarty Smith 
  Associate Professor and Head of Special Collections and University Archives

Community partners

We work with a variety of community partners throughout the region and the state, including libraries, museums, archives, businesses, and community groups to make their content available theough Gateway or other platforms.

• See our local cultural heritage partners.
• Explore collections contributed by individuals and groups in the community.
• Contribute your own materials.

Get in touch!

If you have a question about our digital collections or wish to get in touch with us for any reason, please email David Gwynn, Digitization Coordinator.