Monday, August 17, 2015

How many people are looking at these collections?

The UCSC Library Digital Collections had 11,447 page views in July 2015:
UCSC Library Map Collections2523
UCSC Library Regional Oral History Collection1482
UCSC Campus History - Photographs and Maps1088
Branson DeCou Digital Archive1073
Lick Observatory Digital Archive980
Organic Farming-Sustainable Agriculture Oral Histories764
Dibblee Digital Geologic Map Collection674
UCSC Library Aerial Photographs658
Hihn-Younger Archive653
UCSC Campus History - Publications561
Harry Mayo Surfing Photography Collection395
Santa Cruz County History Digital Collections328
Ansel Adams Photographs146
Performing Arts Collections122

In the Map Collections, the most popular item by far (viewed 142 times!) was the 1906 map of Santa Cruz County, drawn by the Punnett Brothers firm of San Francisco. The map shows not only roads and railways, but also land ownership with acreages, townships, school and supervisors districts, and the old Spanish and Mexican ranchos.

In the Regional Oral History Collection, visitors looked most at the oral history transcripts of  Professor Priscilla "Tilly" Shaw (literature faculty from 1966 to 1993),  Karen Sinsheimer (wife of former chancellor Robert Sinsheimer) -- both of whom recently passed away--, and the early histories of Oakes College and the Farm and Garden Project.

In the Branson DeCou collection, the most popular item was a scenic view of a desert landscape: Colorado Desert, California: landscape with sand verbena (Abronia villosa) and other shrubs. Perhaps visitors are looking for drought-resistant landscaping ideas!

University of California, Santa Cruz. McHenry Library, Special Collections, DC1.815.0038L