The Last McCoy Library

The Last McCoy Library currently consists of six collections that capture the life of the McCoy family from 1866-2000. Family members have passed down photographs, letters, and ephemera through the decades until they came into the possession of the current curator, Jaylyn McCoy, who is the last remaining child that carries the McCoy surname. Inventory of the items remains an ongoing process, but the library currently consists of 811 photographs, 65 books, 34 newspaper clippings, 21 letters, 13 certificates/forms, 4 postcards, 2 telegrams, and 54 pieces of ephemera. Many of the items originated more than a hundred years ago. They have been stored in dubious containers, such as vintage suitcases, and left to their own devices until now.

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The Last McCoy Library strives to preserve the history that has been passed down while serving as a point of practice for the curator, who graduated in June 2022 with a Masters of Library and Information Sciences from the University of Denver. The collections will be digitized, physically preserved, digitally preserved, and shared through Omeka collections. The processes will be discussed in blog posts. The initial project will focus on the preservation and digitization of older photographic materials and documents from 1866-1945 as they are the most vulnerable to physical deterioration.