UTA’s Role in Preservation

“My vision for Top O’ Hill Terrace is rooted in connection—connecting our students to hands-on, meaningful work; connecting our University to the city’s cultural identity; and connecting the past to the future. Preserving this piece of Arlington’s story lets UTA do what we do best: create powerful learning experiences for our students and turn that learning into real-world impact.“- Dr. Jennifer Cowley, UTA President

Document Digitization 

The University’s Special Collections and Archives specializes in Texas History and Cartography, with two of their biggest collections being the Virginia Garrett Cartographic History Library, and the Fort Worth Star Telegram newspaper collection. Due to this unique speciality, UTA Special Collections has invested in many high-end document scanners, which allow them to produce digital versions of written documents, drawings, and maps. This allows for greater accessibility for the documents, as many of them are fragile in nature and thus cannot be handled by untrained hands. Other documents may have suffered damages before digitization, like many of the photo negatives from the Fort Worth Star Telegram. When these documents are digitized, they can then be restored through programs like Photoshop, allowing viewers to see what the original would have looked like, while not actually tampering with document.

Media Digitization 

In addition to documents, UTA also boasts the capability to digitize a variety of physical media, such as cassette and VHS tapes. The collection at Top O’ Hill Terrace includes several CD-R discs, the contents of which UTA was able to provide the site in a digital format. This helps to preserve this information in the event that the disc be lost or damaged, as CD-R discs are particularly fragile if not handled properly. In addition to the preservation aspect, digitization also makes physical media, which has mostly been phased out in favor of digital media, more accessible and usable in the twenty-first century.

Physical Artifact Digitization

Physical Artifact digitization is the newest method UTA has adopted for preservation. The process of digitizing a physical object begins with scanning the artifact with a 3D Scanner, which constructs a 3D model of the object on an accompanying computer. This method allows for the previously impossible task of digitally preserving physical objects. The 3D model can then be stored in a similar manner to digitized documents, or can be used to assist in restoration of the artifact if needed. While the physical objects will remain on display at Top O’ Hill, the virtual model ensures that the history the artifact holds will remain, even if the object itself eventually deteriorates.

Digitization in Preservation

We asked Amy Castillo, UTA Libraries Director for Access and Discovery, why she believes digital preservation is important for Top O’ Hill Terrace:

“The main benefit is essentially digital preservation provides another way to protect physical materials for long-term use. In some cases, the digitized version becomes the “working copy” or surrogate to further lengthen the life-span of the physical object so there is less handling risks and potential damage. In the case of Top O’ Hill, Vickie’s goal has been to ensure the museum’s textual history that she has collected in the binders, as well as the artifacts, be scanned in case any environmental issues impact the physical materials.” 

The University of Texas at Arlington is dedicated to serving the community it has called home since 1895. The Top O’ Hill Terrace preservation project has provided a space for UTA students to connect to Arlington’s proud history and culture, while also guaranteeing that future generations of Arlingtonians are able to appreciate the unique story of a seminary that once operated as a illegal casino and social hub for the Dallas-Ft Worth elite.