Gael Stream, Gaelic, and Digitization Rita Campbell, Special Projects Librarian Sheldon MacDonald,...

Gael Stream, Gaelic, and Digitization

Rita Campbell, Special Projects Librarian

Sheldon MacDonald, Special Projects Assistant

Susan Cameron, Celtic Collection Librarian

Angus L. Macdonald Library

St. Francis Xavier University

Gael Stream

1977-82: Field Recordings & cataloguing StFX Celtic Department (Sr. Margaret MacDonell and John Shaw)

Field recordings done of some of the last native Gaelic speakers in Nova Scotia

Collection accessed on reel-to-reel, indexed on catalogue cards 1982-2005:Cards typed into database; reel-to-reel converted to

cassettes 2005:LAC grant

Kathleen MacKenzie, StFX Archives & Jamie MacDonald, StFX Celtic Studies professor received LAC grant to digitize the 350 reel-to-reel tapes of the CBGFC & create website; partnered with NS Highland Village

2006: Gael Stream launched 2007: StFX Library digitizing other Gaelic material; regional

group formed to cooperate on digital initiatives

Gael Stream / Sruth nan Gaidheal Project

The objective of the project is to present a comprehensive, animated, and interactive discussion and interpretation of Nova Scotian Scottish Gaelic culture and life from the 18th to the 20th centuries.”

“The website will record the life and culture of early Highland Scots in Nova Scotia. It will also relate the immigration story, the struggles the people faced, how they supported themselves, how they adapted to their new environment, how their communities grew, while at the same time how the Highland Scottish culture was sustained and preserved…

Subject areas Cape Breton Gaelic Folklore

Collection Education Everyday Life The Gaelic Language Gaelic Folklore in Nova

Scotia Immigration Industry Music and Culture Politics Religion

Gael Stream - Technical

Greenstone Digital Library SoftwareQualified Dublin Core metadataArchival files in WAVPresentation files in MP3Documents in whatever format we

received them (not ideal)

Gael Stream / Sruth nan Gaidheal

The Digitization Lab

Set up to digitize English print Gaelic print Audio

Future Video Microfilm/microfiche

Required Space

Bindery Repurposed Equipment (cutter,

grinder) Secure Internet access space

Required Space

Bindery Repurposed Equipment (cutter,

grinder) Secure Internet access space

Pictures

Our lab

PRINTFlat bed scanner (types)BookDrive DIY ATIZ.comAbbyyfine Reader 8.0 OCR software

(site license)2 workstations, for OCR and scanning

Our lab

AUDIOMac computer PC workstationReel-to-reel players (6-8 to get one

operational and right tape speed)Cassette playerMixer?Amplifiers

Staffing: Digitization Unit

Rita Campbell, Special Projects Librarian, Oversees project

Sheldon MacDonald, Special Projects Assistant, Lab Manager, copyright, etc.

Brad Dewar, Digitization Programmer, technical support, audio

Students, 3-5 at any time

Process

Identifying materialCopyright and permissionsScanning Optical Character RecognitionStorageVersions of files – tiff, jpeg, pdf, xmlPresentation – Greenstone, ContentDM

Rita Campbell rcampbel@stfx.caSheldon MacDonald smacdona@stfx.ca

Choice of tourTour of Celtic CollectionTour of Digitization Lab