This episode of The Logbook, our History of Motorsports Series features Arthur Carlson, Director of Archives and Research Operations at the Revs Institute, outlining a major expansion in automotive archival preservation and access. He describes Revs’ new, highly secure Archives and Research Center in Naples, Florida; the scale of its holdings (including the Revs Digital Library’s ~724,000 photos, plus extensive books, periodicals, film, audio, art, and automobilia); and plans for a high-end digitization lab and modular researcher workspace.
Carlson explains partnerships using AI and machine learning for car and facial recognition to generate richer metadata across hundreds of thousands of images, plus an oral history initiative with the University of Kentucky leveraging transcription, translation, and linked data. He also details renewed digitization uploads, new acquisitions, returning internships, and a proposed consortium (“G.A.R.A.G.E.”) to create shared discovery and digitization standards across institutions.
- 00:00 Arthur Carlson, Introduction
- 01:43 Revs Library Origins
- 02:49 New Archives Facility
- 04:24 Digitization and Access
- 05:23 AI Car Recognition
- 08:26 Face Recognition Finds
- 10:15 Oral History Initiative
- 13:17 New Collections
- 15:19 “G.A.R.A.G.E.” Consortium Vision
- 18:07 Audience Q&A
- 25:02 Closing Thanks and Sponsors
This episode is part of our HISTORY OF MOTORSPORTS SERIES and is sponsored in part by: The International Motor Racing Research Center (IMRRC), The Society of Automotive Historians (SAH), The Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Argetsinger Family – and was recorded in front of a live studio audience.
The Motoring Podcast Network : Years of racing, wrenching and Motorsports experience brings together a top notch collection of knowledge, stories and information. #everyonehasastory #gtmbreakfix – motoringpodcast.net
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