New Mexico Digital Collections offers a way for researchers and patrons unable to visit the CSWR in person to consult materials held in the collections.
While in most cases researchers will probably want to search for collections at a particular repository, NMDC also has a "browse" function (located at the top right of the homepage) where users can filter results starting from all of the materials available in NMDC. This might be useful to get a starting point from a broad search term, or to get a sense of how many collections involve a particular individual.
The search bar on the home page of the New Mexico Digital Collections will conduct a search in all of the collections housed on NMDC. Like NMAO, the NMDC includes collections held by a number of different institutions across New Mexico. Users should keep this in mind when using the search function.
The Advanced Search Menu includes options to narrow a search to a specific repository or collection. It also includes date and keyword fields for more targeted searches.
(Note: using the basic search function and subsequently filtering the results by deselecting repositories or collections is also possible.)
In the advanced search menu, users will see a list of all the collections and repositories participating in NMDC. The CSWR has a number of collections represented in NMDC. For users only interested in a limited number of CSWR collections, deselecting all and then selecting only the collections of interest can save time.
Search results are organized alphabetically by title based on the keywords used in the search. To filter objects by collection, date, tags, and other criteria users can use the menus on the left side of the screen.
NMDC does allow downloading and printing of items in many cases. However, high quality downloads of materials are limited to patrons using NMDC while on campus at UNM or those who have an institutional affiliation with UNM and have logged in.
Each digital item housed in NMDC includes several headings below the image identifying its creator, date created, date digitized, equipment used in digitizing, and other information. Importantly, this often includes copyright information or usage restrictions that may be of relevance to patrons who wish to use images in publications.
Items housed in NMDC also usually include a link to the corresponding NMAO finding aid for the entire collection. Patrons should note that material available on NMDC typically does not reflect the entire physical collection. There is usually substantially more material that is not available digitally.
Above is the NMAO finding aid page corresponding to the NMDC digital image on the previous tab. The finding aid will list more in-depth information about the material in the collection.
NMDC offers patrons the ability to browse parts of the CSWR's collections from anywhere with an internet connection. However, patrons should take note that in many cases NMDC materials do not consist of entire pictorial collections. A researcher might be able to get a sense of the scope, time period, and themes of a particular pictorial collection from the parts of it available on NMDC, but would either need to arrange for the rest of the collection to be scanned, or come to the CSWR in person to peruse the rest of the collection.
[Important note: the CSWR does provide for scanning and sending digital copies of photos, for a fee, to researchers unable to come to the Center in person. There are, however, some restrictions. Please contact the CSWR reference staff for more information.]
