A monthly look at life in the UK Libraries

June/July 2007

UK Libraries, Keeneland Take on Historic Project for Racing Industry
During Keeneland's spring meet this year, the University of
Kentucky Libraries Preservation Department and Keeneland
embarked on a unique partnership that will guarantee the
horse racing industry and its legions of fans access to the archives of the Daily Racing Form (DRF), the touchstone publication of the Thoroughbred industry. The two-year "test
bed" project will preserve a sample of the DRF archive and
will develop a plan to ensure the public access to the entire
DRF archive currently housed at the Keeneland Library.
Keeneland is the exclusive home to the Daily Racing Form
collection as well as the archive of its predecessor, The
Morning Telegraph. Approximately 10 million newspaper
pages in 3,700 folio hardbound volumes are stored in a climate-controlled storage facility in the Keeneland Library.
Currently, the volumes are virtually unusable.
A two-year “test bed” project employing a hybrid approach to produce digital and microfilm versions
of the DRF began this spring. The partnership between UK Libraries and Keeneland will produce a
keyword-searchable digital archive of the DRF to facilitate in depth research into past performances of
the equine athletes and will also create 35mm silver halide, polyester, “preservation” microfilm as a
security copy. During the test bed, the selected sample will focus on Triple Crown coverage from the
111-year old archive.
The project, known as Partnering to Preserve Racing’s Rich History, will generate several products for
the Keeneland Library:
•
•
•

a keyword-searchable digital image archive of approximately 100,000 pages that
meets the highest standards for preservation and access and that is accessible via the
Kentuckiana Digital Library and the Keeneland Library Web site;
long term storage and maintenance for the digital archive in a digital repository at UK
Libraries; and,
conservation treatment proposals for damaged DRF volumes and rehousing in archival enclosures for the fragile volumes.

The Preservation Reformatting Center (PRC) has a long history as a leader in the preservation of historic newspapers. The PRC, along with the Libraries’ Digital Programs, participates as one of six projects in the NEH-funded National Digital Newspaper Program, 20-year initiative to create digital archives from preservation microfilm of historic newspapers.
Partnering to Preserve Racing’s Rich History will establish a significant historical resource for scholars, Thoroughbred breeders, owners, trainers and racing fans alike. The project also will establish a
model upon which Keeneland can build its research collections and further its mission as the foremost
research facility for the Thoroughbred industry in the world.

1

*