P. Boyd Smith Hymnology Collection Archive
About the Collection
The P. Boyd Smith Hymnology Collection is one of the special collections in the Annie Gabriel Library at California Baptist University.
The special and rare books in the collection currently reside in a closed, climate-controlled room in the library.
As one of the Annie Gabriel Library’s special collections, patrons of the library may not check out the books and may only view them during scheduled appointments under supervision of library staff while wearing gloves.
The collection is a special gift to the CBU community but the strict viewing conditions mean patrons cannot read, study and enjoy the volumes for extended periods of time.
Digitizing the Collection
In an effort to encourage and provide open-access opportunities for reading of the hymns in this rich collection, the English and creative writing faculty at CBU’s Modern Languages and Literature Department and the librarians in the Annie Gabriel Library have been and are currently working to digitize the volumes no longer under copyright in the collection and make the digitized volumes available online for patrons to read.
Starting in the spring 2022 semester, interns began working on the digitization of the collection. As they work on digitizing the books, they have also created innovative digital and literary analysis of their work.
How to Get Involved
English and creative writing undergraduates and graduates can enroll in the ENG 491/591 Internship course.
The internship offers various opportunities to digitize rare books using the Bookeye 5 V3 scanner with a V cradle located in the archive, maintain and annotate digitized files, and articulate creative approaches for the digital archive.
The collection development librarian oversees students working with the Bookeye 5 scanner, and Dr. Berniece Alspach guides student research of the literary elements of the volumes.