Operations Chapter 6

1. OperationsChapter 6 Universität zu Köln Institut für Historisch-Kulturwissenschaftliche Informationsverarbeitung Seminar: Digital Libraries (SS 2011) Dozent: Prof. Dr. Manfred Thaller Referent: Bernhard Strecker Datum: 19.04.2011

2. Starting out • Contemplating a digital conversion project? • Is the added value worth the price? • Added value: • Enhanced intellectual control • Increased and enriched use • Encouragement of new scholarly use • Creation of a virtual collection

3. Digital Technology promisesto… • Extentthereachofresearchandeducation • Improvethequalityoflearning • Reshapescholarlycommunication. Digital conversionoflibraryholdingscanbroadenaccesstovaluable but scarceresources. The costofconversionis high.

4. The dream of the virtual library comes forward now not because it promises an exciting future, but because it promises a future that will be just like the past, only better and faster. -James J. O‘Donnell, Avatars of the World

5. Good digital collections • Expicitcollection-developmentpolicy • Providing a description, Metadata • Sustainabiltyover time (also beyondthefundedperiod) • Broadavailabilty & avoidanceofunnecessaryimpedimentstouse • Respectingintellectualpropertyrights • Providing measurmentofuse • Fitting into a larger contextof digital library initiatives

6. Good digital objects • Support collection priorities • Are persistent • Remain accessible over time despite changing technologies • Are exchangeable across platforms, broadly accessible • Have a persistent, unique identifier

7. Can be authenticated in at least two senses: • Object‘s origins, structure, and developmental history • A user should be alble to determine that the object is what is purports to be. • Will have metadata. • Descriptive and administrative

8. Good metadata… • Is appropriate • Supports interoperability • Uses standard controlled vocabularies • Inludes a clear statement on conditions and terms of use • Has the qualities of good objects: achivability, persistence, unique identification… • Supports long-term management of objects

9. A good digitization project… • Has a substantial design component • Has an evaluation plan • Produces a project report

10. „Digital“ is a kind of genus term for all things composed of ones and zeros.

11. Digitization for preservation • Ideally, the formats would be based on open and well-documented standards. • Digital-preservation formats may be different from the file formats that the library delivers directly to users. • TIFF, JPG, GIF

12. Digitization for discovery • OCR is of utmost importance • Machine-readable form of text-documents • Sound and video discovery are highly desired but not yet at a marketable stage in their developement.

13. Digitization for delivery • Digital files are ideal delivery formats. • For nontextual media, there are alternatives. • Online streaming allows individual users to receive and experience content.

14. Digitization for reading • Goal ofdigitzingforreadingistoproduce a viablereadingexperience in the digital format. • Characteristicsofpaperbooksshouldbeimplemented • Numberedpages • Bookmarking • Navigation to individual pagesorchapters • Digital filesdesignedforextendedreadingneedtobe portable.

15. In the digital library, users# experiences will be degraded if their expextations of digital library materials do not meet the actual capabilities.

16. Starting a digitization project • Purpose, benefitsofhavingtheparticularcollection in digital form? • Goals ofproject? • Isthemaingoalincreasedaccesordecreasedhandlingof fragile originals? Orboth? • Will digital imagesreplaceorsupplementexistingoriginals? • Will theycomplementexistingcollectionsor will theyfill a lack ofdigitizedmaterials?

17. Who is your audience? • What are the physical characteristics of the collection? • Who owns it? • What is your time frame? • How is the project being funded? • Who will be responsible at different stages of the project

18. How will you perform the actual digitization? • What metadata scheme are you planning to use? • How are you going to provide access to the collection? • How will you maintain the collection into the future?

19. Technical infrastrucutre/ imagecreation • Is this scanner compatible with my documents? • Can this scanne produce the requisite quality to meet my needs? • Can this scanner support my production schedule and conversion budget?

20. Factorstoconsiderwhenchoosing digital formats • Sustainability • Disclosure • Adoption • Transparency • Self-documentation • External dependencies • Impact of patents • Technical protection mechanisms

21. Balancing the factors • Quality and functionality factors • Normal rendering • Functionality beyond normal rendering

22. Digitization = access • Digital surrogatescan bring togetherresearchmaterialsthatarewidelyscatteredabouttheglobe • Image processingexpandsthecapacityoftheresearchertogenerateknowledge in interactionwiththematerials. • Digital librariesshouldworkcollaborativelytocrate a criticalmassorsourceswithoutduplicates.

23. Going where the users are • Eightcentralvaluesoflibrarianship (Michael Gorman) • Stewardship • Service • Intellectualfreedom • Rationalism • Literacyandlearning • Equity ofaccesstorecordedknowledgeandinformation • Privacy • Democracy

24. It becomes critical for libraries to understand the current technological landscape and to have an articulate vision of the customers they intend to serve. Without this clarity, technology – rather than vision and needs – may end up drinving change.

25. By considering the end user‘s point of view, libraries can better shape technology systems and define their own service offerings more clearly.