Unit 1 My digital collection Saratoga Springs, NY

My digital collection centers around the resort town of Saratoga Springs,NY. The town is now best known for its racetrack and the festive summer days that include major stakes races, like the Hopeful and the Travers. But many years ago Saratoga Springs was better known as a gathering place for high society with its geysers, mineral waters and elegant hotels attracting a fascinating collection of rogues, celebrities and the well to do. Saratoga Springs is brimming with history, the battle of Saratoga is generally acknowledged as a turning point in the American Revolution. The cultural and literary life in Saratoga is extraordinary as evidenced by it being the site of Skidmore, the prestigious liberal arts college and the world famous Yaddo artists colony.

I have harvested a small collection of diverse digital objects that reflects some of these attractions. Among the items in my collection are several mp3 files of songs from the Broadway show “Saratoga” with music by Harold Arlen and book by Edna Ferber. Other digital objects include an .avi file of a podcast about the mineral waters of Saratogs Springs, and an .avi video featuring a day at the Saratoga Race Course The collection includes six .jpg files, digitized photographs of the racetrack, Congress Park, Yaddo and a digital reproduction of a vintage photograph depicting three major grand hotels of old Saratoga Springs. Rounding out the collection are seven pdf files which include three out of print and out of copyright books about the geysers and mineral waters of Saratoga Springs, and four pieces of sheet music featuring songs about old Saratoga Springs including one entitled “Under the Elms: A Souvenir de Saratoga” by Victor Herbert.

I think this collection would be of interest to historians of Saratoga local history and collectors of American songs and theatrical music. The collection would have broad general appeal with tourists and racing fans. Some of the terms that I might use to provide access to the digital collection include: “Saratoga Springs”, Yaddo, horse racing, and mineral waters. However, I'd like to do so more research and think about this further before creating the metadata for this collection