My intention was to announce this website at the school reunion this summer.  Once again, I was not quite ready.  My intent is announce via the facebook and email list sometime between now, September 17, 2016, and sometime in October 2016.

The website is still a work in progress.  There is much to be added, but all of the yearbooks for both schools are now available.  All but two are being hosted by the Maine Digital Repository with links to those files on this site.  The director of the Maine Digital Repository informed me this summer that they can provide a new page flip software, but I have yet to set a time to train on that program.  Perhaps that can be completed this winter. 

I have created pages for each class year and I need artifacts to digitize for those pages.  If you have the following for your class year (graduation and baccalaureate programs, programs for NHS, plays, special events, or news clippings) , please contact me. 

On another note, I mentioned the Wikipedia article in my last post.  After some editing, it was finally accepted but needs some work.  It is essentially about the Academy with a paragraph about the Bible College.  My intent is to at some point expand that paragraph about the college into a separate Wikipedia article.

There have been some minor developments since my last post.  All but two yearbooks have been scanned and are now available on the Maine State  Repository which is partnered with the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).  The Maine State Library has provided use of their book scanner as well as providing space on their server for our digital yearbook files.  File space is free and backed up daily. Since the files were uploaded, the library has added a new page flip software that will improve readability and download speed.  The current files need to be converted and it is my hope that that can happen this fall.  In the meantime, digital yearbooks are accessible through this web site or directly through the Maine State Repository. 

Once again, I have hesitated to publicize this website because it is "not finished".  I have, however, decided that it is going to be a work in progress for some time and I will announce it at the reunion this summer.

As mentioned in my previous post, I have been working on a Wikipedia article about the school's history.  Much to my surprise, publishing an article in Wikipedia is more difficult than expected.  The article is complete including photos and formatting but has not been accepted yet because it is in need of additional primary source references. 

If you are an alumnus reading this post, I am in need of newspaper clippings particularly from either the Portland Press Herald or Bangor Daily News in order to comply with this requirement.  As you view the site, you will see that there is space for news clippings about and related to the schools, graduation and other event programs, etc.  Please contact me if you have any of these materials that I can borrow long enough to scan.

2015 was spent finishing yearbook scanning and work on the historical narrative of the school's history.  We have a Wikipedia entry almost ready to upload. We have also continued research on the history of Warrenton and the schools.  

Two issues that have slowed our progress are a failed API and the search for a missing yearbook. An API is an application program interface or a set of programming instructions that allow a web page to interact with a web based application or software tool.  In this case, it was a script that allowed us to automatically populate our yearbook page with icon links to the yearbook digital copies that are stored on the Maine Repository server.  The original problem was in the display of the icons that made the hyperlinks inoperable, and the API is now completely inoperable.  I am waiting for a reply regarding the status of the API. Can it be fixed or will it be discontinued.  While I am waiting, I am making preparation to redesign the yearbook page by adding the icons and hyperlinks individually.  Since we have a limited number of files and will not be continuing to add, this will be effective but is slowing us down.

The second issue has been time consuming but an intriguing mystery.  We have currently scanned all of the yearbooks for both schools except the 1966 Witness.  I have sent out several appeals for a copy of the 66 Witness on both the high school and college facebook pages, via the email list, personal emails to students who were present in 1966, phone calls to a few individuals, and personal conversations.  All to no avail.  I was particularly surprised after contacting Mrs. Duff, Mrs. Troester's family, Ben Conant, and John DeCoster (who operated the school print shop during that time) to find that none of them had a copy.  Given my OCD tendencies, I finally decided to send a letter via USPS to alumni of the classes of 1966-68 which included a self addressed stamped reply post card.  After two months, I have received only about one third of these post cards.  While I have not made contact with all members within this group, those who have responded do not have copies of this yearbook.  Based on this evidence I am moving ahead and assuming that it is likely that a 66 Witness was never produced.  (However, if you are reading this and own a copy, please contact me so that we make arrangements to scan it.)

Once I recreate the yearbook page, I will publish the website address.  I will continue to work on the Wikipedia entry, the history of Warrenton and Christian Schools, Inc. and add digital artifacts as I receive them. 

After several inquiries among the professional library community, we decided that there is no copyright infringement in our republishing digital copies of yearbooks and other material from GCCA and GCBC.  This seems to be the prevailing opinion of most, if not all, of my colleagues.  While this is not an official legal opinion, coupled with two other factors, I feel confident that there is no copyright issue.  The other factors being that the schools are no longer in existence and that I have talked with the founder's widow and a few other former administrators who fully support the project.  In addition, I contacted Taylor publishing the publisher of the most recent yearbooks and their policy is as follows:

"Balfour (Taylor) prints millions of yearbooks every year, which prohibits us from keeping an inventory of past editions. At the end of each printing, all copies are sent to our customers for final distribution.  However, if you have not already, we suggest contacting your school’s media center or yearbook adviser about backdated yearbooks. It is possible a copy of a past edition can be found in the journalism department.  If you locate a yearbook and would like to reproduce it, first contact your school or district for permission."  (We do have that permission from former officials of the schools.)

Process

Part of developing this archive included planning and testing. At some point, however, the testing becomes overwhelming for type A personalities, because it's never good enough. Consequently, I have made an "executive decision". I will begin publishing scanned material with the option of replacing it at a later date if I am able to achieve improved resolution. The deciding factor for this decision is essentially financial. In order to begin this project, I had to replace a failing hard drive. I then made the decision to purchase a larger format flatbed scanner. Those of you who have priced larger format flatbed scanners know that they are expensive. I was able to find a brand that was in the two hundred dollar range but obviously there are compromises involved in the price break. It is not the top of the line processor. At this point, the scans at full size appear to be decent. I have begun testing and will soon publish a digital version of one of the early yearbooks. Fortunately, I already owned a version of Adobe Photoshop that while dated is still a very versatile and robust software. I have also experimented with using a digital slr camera which would make the digitizing process much faster. I have yet to produce a suitable image through this method. The problems I am encountering include unwanted shadows and coloring. I have experimented with lighting and white balance settings but am not satisfied yet. A macro lens might help but that is not in the budget. My intention is not to complain, but rather to explain. With the equipment used by Google Books or other digital library consortiums, we could come much closer to perfection, but with the equipment we have, we can still meet our goals of preserving the information and providing access to the history of GCCA and GCBC.

My apologies if you find this boring. I am recording my thoughts for my own benefit and the benefit of those who might be attempting a similar project. I will be posting a bibliography of works consulted under the About tab on the web site, along with specifications, resolutions, and formats that I have chosen. I will also include URLs for websites that have been extremely helpful such as the Library of Congress and Smithsonian pages directed specifically at amateur archivists attempting similar projects.

Since a blog or weblog is a journal or diary, it seems appropriate to share my inspiration for this project.  My inspiration is the experience I was privileged to enjoy as a student at Glen Cove Christian Academy(GCCA) and later at Glen Cove Bible College (GCBC).  While the schools were forced to close, too soon from my human perspective, they live on in the hearts and minds of their respective alumni.  My intent is to help to preserve the history of the school by digitizing as many objective historical documents as possible.  This will not only preserve the documents but allow us to publish them on a website created for that purpose.  I appreciate the kindness of several alumni and former teachers who have shared publications and documents for this project.  Since this is my first post, this is probably the appropriate place to express my thanks.  I am grateful to Harold and Evelyn Duff, Dr. Arthur Fish and many others for their vision and sacrifice in providing leadership to establish the schools.  Their names and the names of many other board members, teachers, staff members, parents and students who through God's grace formed these schools will appear throughout this new archival web site.  As I have worked on this project, I have frequently wondered how different my life would have been without GCCA and GCBC.  It has served as a reminder of God's goodness to me and my fellow alumni in having provided a high quality Christian education for so many students.  Many of the subsequent entries will be devoted to the process of creating this archive, in part, for my benefit as I seek to improve the process.

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