MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- The Air University Library is currently digitizing and cataloging 2,500 linear feet of analog resources to make the entire collection of unclassified AU research and products readily available to the larger Air Force and DOD communities.
Once all documents have been fully processed, they will be available for AU students, faculty and staff and will not only significantly impact the Senior and Intermediate Professional Military Education cohort and the AU masters and doctorate programs, but will support the force development plans of Airmen and other branch service personnel, regardless of location.
“Air University Library’s vision is to ‘fuel Air Force research and connect the nation’s Airmen to information that makes a difference,’” said Alisha Miles, Air University Library Reader Services Division chief. “AU schools and programs are producing a wealth of useful information, and we are working to make sure it is available to all Airmen.”
In collaboration with the AU Integration Cell, AUL will work to promote awareness and utilization of the digitized resources in order to improve research, curriculum design and command decision making.
“The ability to sort the data by decade or subject through key word identification lends the ability to identify spikes in student research areas,” Miles said. “Additionally, by making such a large amount of information available in digital format, we are looking to introduce legitimate big data analytics into AU and provide a useful tool that can help visualize gaps in our student and faculty learning in order to guide future research and analysis.”
Just a few of the noteworthy collections being digitized are:
- Air University Student Papers 1947-present
- Air University History Office Photos
- Historical Summary of the Women in the Air Force 1955-1971
- United States Strategic Bombing Survey 1945 & 1947
- The Dispatch (Maxwell-Gunter Newspaper) 1947-2014
All digitized resources can be found at the AU Library website.