The Devil-Goat Day digital archive challenged me in many ways. This group project may have been the largest I had taken on, with four members working together. The collaborative effort was also something I had not experienced in other group projects. We grew close and met frequently to work. In theory, the project was straightforward: curate a digital archive of Devil-Goat Day material spanning 100 years, provide context for the event, and ensure the content is accessible to all community members. The material itself consisted of photographs, written documents, and memorabilia. The format for the website was decided early on: a digitally accessible archive with content sorted by decade, along with an interactive timeline that provided context and information for each period.
As for how the work would be divided, we all initially started as researchers, working to gather content for the website and see what we could find. Shortly after the project began, Charlotte and Cora visited the Simpson Library’s Special Collections to retrieve scans of the physical inventory. Abby, with her experience in the DKC, took on the role of head website designer. I began focusing on social media after we established our contract and schedule. A major strength of our group was how frequently we met; even if we were occasionally distracted during sessions, building rapport and consistently checking in strengthened our teamwork and ensured we stayed on track. Even as pressure increased near the project deadline, we communicated well, collaborated effectively, and produced strong work together.
In addition to social media, I also collected entries from online sources, such as the Centennial collection. For metadata and entries, I focused on the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s. Seeking out this material and selecting what to include was a process, especially after the 2010s, when we had a large volume to work with. Our group also overcame the slump we experienced with sourcing material from the 1990s after our initial draft submission.
The social media portion of the project became an important tool for generating interest in both the website and Devil-Goat Day history. Initially, I was unsure whether we would expand beyond Instagram, as engagement seemed strongest there. Growth on Instagram was slow at first, but after introducing the countdown posts, it became much more effective. The idea was simple: post a photo from our archive, include a countdown caption with a citation, and pair it with a song from the year of the photo. At first, I planned to post daily, but engagement proved stronger when posts were spaced out every few days, giving people something to anticipate. While the majority of our content remained on the website, Instagram functioned as a teaser.
Regarding our contract, the area that deviated most was outreach. Initially, we planned to distribute flyers on campus and downtown; however, we instead included a flyer in the SAE newsletter and a citation for our Instagram in the UMW newspaper. Some students also reposted our Instagram content, which helped meet our outreach goals, even if we fell short of initial expectations. The tools outlined in our contract were followed and used as intended, particularly our emphasis on accessibility. Another challenge was our goal of ten entries per decade. We struggled with some periods, especially the 1930s and 1990s. After discussing this with Dr. McClurken, we decided that if we could not meet the target for a decade, we would include a disclaimer. Following our initial draft, we were able to meet our goal for most decades; however, the 1990s remained incomplete, and we addressed this gap within the decade’s historical context section. Overall, we adhered to our task assignments and schedule, and when needed, supported each other as a team. I am very proud of the work we accomplished together on the Devil-Goat Day digital archive.
