1

Managing Your First Digitization ProjectManaging Your First Digitization Project

Krystyna K. MatusiakDigital Collections LibrarianUWM LibrariesUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukeekkm@uwm.edu

LITA 2004 National Forum

St. Louis, October 2004

2

OutlineOutline

Provide an overview of the digitization process Planning a digitization project Selection of source items Image capture and image processing Indexing and descriptive metadata Building an online collection Maintaining the collection Preservation of master files

Share the lessons learned from the project

3

Goals for the Pilot ProjectGoals for the Pilot Project

Create the first digitization project at the UWM Libraries

Build a searchable collection accessible through the Internet

Investigate digital library best practices and standards

Establish an infrastructure for future digitization projects at the UWM Libraries

4

CollectionCollectionMilwaukee Repertory Theater Photographic HistoryMilwaukee Repertory Theater Photographic History

http://www.uwm.edu/Library/digilib/milrep/index.htm Image collection – includes 1,800 images Documents 195 performances of the Milwaukee

Repertory Theater in the years 1977 -1994

5

Planning Your First ProjectPlanning Your First Project

Set clear goals for the project Consider your audience Define the scope and content of the project Evaluate the source collection

Copyright Format and size Level of indexing

Determine Staffing Timeframe Cost

6

Source CollectionSource Collection

Mark Avery Photography: Photographs 1977-1994 consists of thousands of black and white 35 mm film negatives Housed at the Archives, UWM Libraries Finding aid available at:

http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/arch/findaids/uwmmss155.htm

Mark Avery worked as the staff photographer for the Milwaukee Repertory Theater Company from 1976 to 1994

He donated his collection to the Archives at the UWM Libraries in 1999

7

Why the Mark AveryWhy the Mark Avery Collection? Collection?

Share a unique resource with a wider audience Archives at the UWM Libraries owns copyright to the

collection Increase the visibility of the collection and

encourage new scholarly use Improve access to the collection Create an online resource for the UWM theater

students, researchers, and community users Enhance intellectual control through indexing

and creation of metadata

8

William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet1978-1979

Thomas Hulce as Romeo and Valerie Mahaffey as Juliet

9

Arthur Miller The Crucible 1985-1986

Center: Johanna Melamed as Mary Warren. Right: Daniel Mooney as John Proctor and Albert Farrar as Deputy Governor Danforth

10

David Mamet Glengarry Glen Ross 1985-1986

James Pickering as Williamson and Kenneth Albers as Levene

11

August Wilson Fences 1989-1990

Lawrence James as Troy

12

Moliere Tartuffe 1986-1987

James Pickering as Tartuffe

13

Brian Friel Dancing at Lughnasa 1993-1994

Richard Halverson as Jack and Rose Pickering as Kate

14

Larry Shue The Foreigner 1992-1993

James Pickering as Charlie and Tom Blair as Owen

15

Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol1987-1988

Daniel Mooney as Ebenezer Scrooge

16

Selection of ImagesSelection of Images

The most representative images capturing key scenes and characters of the play

The negatives were selected for scanning after careful examination using a light table

Images selected for all 195 performances represented in the Mark Avery Collection

17

Image CaptureImage Capture

Follow digital imaging standards Use-neutral approach Originals vs. intermediaries

Scan the photographic negatives at 4000 dpi resolution in grayscale mode using a Nikon 4000 ED film scanner

Create digital master files Save scan images as uncompressed TIFFs

Assign a unique name following file naming conventions, e.g. av00001

18

Image ProcessingImage Processing

Process images using Adobe Photoshop Remove dust marks and scratches Correct images for tone and contrast, when

necessary Save the changes in the working copy of

master TIFF file Create derivative (access) images for Web

delivery and save them in JPEG format

19

IndexingIndexing

The negatives filed by season and performance; no other indexing data available

A research process accompanied the creation of the digital collection

Cooperation between the UWM Libraries and Milwaukee Repertory Theater Company was established at an early phase of the project

20

ResearchResearch

Gather the indexing data: names of actors and characters featured in the images, play titles, authors, dates, names of other contributing artists, such as directors, costume and set designers, and lighting designers

Examine research materials (play scripts, programs, and photographic prints)

Consult with subject experts

21

Browsable CollectionBrowsable Collection

http://www.uwm.edu/Library/digilib/milrep/records/browse.htm

22

Building an Online CollectionBuilding an Online Collection

In order to build an online searchable collection you need a digital delivery system

Possible solutions1. Develop an application in-house using a

generic database (e.g. MS Access, MySQL) + middleware (e.g. PHP, ColdFusion)

2. Purchase a digital management program, e.g. CONTENTdm or Luna Insight

3. Use an open source digital library software, such as Greenstone (New Zealand) or DLXS

23

Image Delivery SystemsImage Delivery Systems

Advantages Low initial cost Flexibility in database

and web interface design

Disadvantages Limited database size High cost of

programming

In-house Developed Applications

Commercial Digital Management Programs Disadvantages

Proprietary Offer limited

customization

Advantages No programming

required Offer database structure

plus a web interface

24

CONTENTdm: Digital Media CONTENTdm: Digital Media Management SystemManagement System

A multifunction software suite used to build and manage multimedia collections and make them available on the Web Import, index, store, and manage digital objects,

as well as search and display them Can store many digital media types including

images, text documents, compound objects, audio and video files

Designed for library and cultural heritage collections

25

CONTENTdm: Digital Media CONTENTdm: Digital Media Management SystemManagement System

Built on digital library standards XML, Dublin Core, VRA Core 3.0 (Visual Resources

Association ) Supports OAI (Open Archives Initiative) Protocol for

Metadata Harvesting

Supports single and multiple collections Individual metadata for each collection Capability to search across collections

Offers batch loading to WorldCat starting with version 3.5 Version 3.7 released in August, 2004

26

Descriptive Metadata Descriptive Metadata

Metadata to provide a description of the digital object and its intellectual content Describe objects in a consistent, standardized

way Enhance access - provide means of searching in

multiple ways Facilitate access to the original source

Descriptive metadata standards Dublin Core VRA Core 3.0 (Visual Resources Association)

27

Dublin Core Dublin Core

CONTENTdm provides a default metadata template with the 15 Dublin Core elements Title Type Creator Format Subject Identifier Description Source Publisher Language Contributor Relation Date Coverage

Rights

28

Customization of Metadata Customization of Metadata Templates Templates

29

Controlled Vocabulary Controlled Vocabulary

Use controlled vocabulary to ensure consistent metadata entry

Define a list of valid terms for a field Create controlled vocabulary lists as text files

and import them to CONTENTdm Add cross-reference terms to the lists

30

Building Records with CONTENTdm Building Records with CONTENTdm

31

Collection Interface Collection Interface

Use a default HTML client provided by CONTENTdm

or Design a customized collection interface

Search page Search Results Template – displays a number of

thumbnails and their titles Item Display Template – displays large image

and its associated metadata

32

Search Page Search Page

33

Search Results PageSearch Results Page

34

Item Display – Main Record Item Display – Main Record

35

Resource Discovery MetadataResource Discovery Metadata

Metadata for discovery and retrieval of the site on the Internet

Metadata embedded within the HTML tags of the main (index) page

A set of Dublin Core metadata elements describing the project on the collection level The Dublin Core Metadata Template available from

the Nordic Metadata Project at http://www.lub.lu.se/metadata/DC_creator.html

36

Maintaining the CollectionMaintaining the Collection

Document the digitization process Compile documentation during the project Write final project report

Promote the collection Issue press releases and announcements Schedule presentations and workshops

Update the collection with feedback from users Enable OAI support on the server and register the

collection with a OAI harvesting service, e.g. OAIster http://www.oaister.org/o/oaister/

Update the collection with time according to new digital technologies and standards

37

PreservationPreservation

Two sets of master TIFF files are stored at UWM Libraries The archival master files can be used to create other

types of digital derivatives or high-quality prints Document the digitization process to ensure a

long-term retention of the archival files Follow guidelines included in the OCLC/RLG report “A

Metadata Framework to Support the Preservation of Digital Objects”

Follow the NISO standard “Technical Metadata for Digital Still Images” to record the metadata on the item level

38

Preservation MetadataPreservation Metadata

Metadata for identifying master files and maintaining them over time

Collection level metadata: compression, resolution, and bit depth

Metadata on item level: digital file id, file size, dimensions in pixels, scan date, and master file location

39

Standards & Tools Standards & Tools

Standards used to represent content TIFF JPEG

Standards used to describe content Dublin Core

Standards and tools used to represent structure HTML CONTENTdm software

40

Standards & Tools Standards & Tools

Standards, guidelines, and tools used to record preservation metadata OAIS (Open Archive Information System)

Information Model NISO standard: Technical Metadata for Digital

Still Images MS Access database

41

Lessons Lessons

Focus on the users and outcomes Apply standards to build a robust and sustainable

collection Avoid the hidden costs of internal development of

applications Select a commercial digital image delivery system if

programming expertise is not available Include time for indexing and metadata creation in

your project plan Metadata creation can take up to 2/3 of the project time

Address the issue of master file preservation

42

Digital Collections UWM Digital Collections UWM LibrariesLibraries

UWM LibrariesUWM LibrariesDigital CollectionsDigital Collections

URL: http://www.uwm.edu/Library/digilib/