Introduction
Week 9 Introduction Video Transcript.
This week we are going to examine digital library preservation and data curation and how community needs shape requirements for preservation. The themes this week clearly reflect the changes and activities carried out by digital libraries. More and more libraries are striving to make their content at the item level accessible through search engines like Google or their institutional discovery interface like Primo, Summon, or EBSCO EDS.
This week’s reading acts as a bridge between the concepts associated with digital libraries and academic institutions and the provision of primary source material on the Internet till next week’s readings involving for-profit publishing of electronic resources. As you read these chapters think about the perspective of both the libraries that create and those that consume the content that is being provided through open-access repositories.
This week’s activity is involved. It asks you to get into the world of a digital library and deal with the scenario that you might encounter the proposed donation and digitization of a gift collection. You’ll be provided information about this fictitious collection and ask to write a recommendation to a fictitious dean of the libraries. Along the way you will have to select your evaluation team and be given information from colleagues that you need to evaluate and synthesize. We’re looking at how well you synthesize the information and recommendations on what you have learned to date about the technology, institutional missions, and communities that you serve when you formulate your response.
Please post any questions that you have about the course to the class discussion board for this week or send me an email. I look forward to meeting with you during the synchronous sessions.
Learning Objectives.
By the end of this week, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate familiarity with digital preservation terminology and current state of practice.
- Understand how community needs and institutional constraints determine preservation and data curation plans.
Week 09 Reading Assignments.
Readings.
- Calhoun, K. (2014). Exploring Digital Libraries: Foundations, Practice, Prospects. Chapters 5, 8-10. ALA Neal-Schuman.
- Cervone, H. F. (2012a). Understanding the elements of a digital library project plan: part 1. OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives, 28(2), 75–78. https://doi.org/10.1108/10650751211236604
- Cervone, H. F. (2012b). Understanding the elements of a digital library project plan: part 2. OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives, 28(3), 126–129. https://doi.org/10.1108/10650751211262119
- Cervone, H. F. (2012c). Understanding the elements of a digital library project plan: part 3. OCLC Systems & Services: International Digital Library Perspectives, 28(4), 176–179. https://doi.org/10.1108/10650751211279111
- Hall, L. E. (2014). What happens when digital cities are abandoned? The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/what-happens-when-digital-cities-are-abandoned/373941/
- Lee, K.-H., Lu, R., McCrary, V., Slattery, O., & Tang, X. (2002). The state of the art and practice in digital preservation (PDF). Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 107(1), 93-106. https://libproxy.usc.edu/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/jres.107.010
- O’Neal-McElrath, T., & Carlson, M. (2013). Step 8: Developing the program budget. In Winning Grants Step by Step: The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals (pp. 71-). Somerset, UNITED STATES: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/socal/detail.action?docID=1469450
- Perlmutter, M. (2017, April 28). The lost picture show: Hollywood archivists can’t outpace obsolescence. IEEE Spectrum.
Additional Readings
Baucom, E. (2019). Planning and Implementing a Sustainable Digital Preservation Program. Library Technology Reports, 55(6). Retrieved from https://na03.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=gale_ofa597073617&context=PC&vid=01USC_INST:01USC&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&tab=Everything&lang=en
Week 09 Assignment 3: “Free” … as in, “Free Kittens” (Part One)
A Modest Proposal.
You’re working as a digital librarian at a research university and the Dean of the Libraries, through your boss, the director of scholarly communications, tells you that a faculty member, Professor Perez, has indicated he would like to donate a gift to the library. Professor Perez has amassed a collection of photographs during his 40 years of researching the use of public spaces, and your boss asks you to assess the feasibility of digitizing them and making them available on the web and in the library.
Assignment: What Do You Need To Know?
Submit in a Word document your five most important questions for assessing the scope and feasibility of the project. Explain why these are the most important questions.
Resources
Use these resources to see the types of questions that need to be answered when planning a digitization project.
Hint: Refer to the readings: Calhoun (2014) Chapters 3,4,6,7
Week 09 Assignment 4: “Free” … as in, “Free Kittens” (Part Two)
Instructions.
During his 40 years of researching the use of public spaces, Professor Perez has amassed a sizeable collection of photographs, which he would like to donate so that it might be digitized and made available on the web and in the library.
Professor Perez provides you with the following details about his collection:
- He has filled a standard two car garage with shoe boxes inside of larger boxes containing prints, negatives, and contact sheets. Some are color, some black and white. The negatives are mostly 35 mm, but he has some that are larger formats, he’s not sure of the size. The prints range in size from contact prints to poster size.
- He and his deceased partner, Professor Smith, shot most of the photographs, but he has commercially produced postcards and slides that he acquired on his travels as well as the contents of a commercial photo studio that photographed buildings in Montana for insurance purposes. He believes that Smith’s will transferred all rights to the photographs, but promises to check with his probate attorney.
- He has 6 computer drives of varying sizes with digital photography that he started taking around 2000. He also has photographs on Flickr and a public website that he uses when he teaches his class in Urban Planning. He uses Google Analytics to track usage.
- He experimented with QuickTime VR.
- He thinks that research and pedagogical uses are very important. His graduate students have used his collection in their dissertations and theses.
Assignment: What are the Next Steps?
Write a memo to your supervisor, Dr. Graves (Director, Scholarly Communications) outlining next steps. In this memo:
- Identify areas where you need more information from Dr. Perez.
- Propose a timeline for evaluating the collection.
- Identify the people that you want on your team to help you create your budget (See “Resources,” below.). Try to keep your team below 8 members.
- List your criteria for selecting team members.
Submit your memo to the instructor as a Word document.
Resources
The Library Staff Directory below provides a list of position titles held by various library staff members. Unlike a typical staff directory, it also includes a brief description of what each staff member does.
From this list, select the staff members who will help you create a budget for this project. Try to pick no more than 8 people.
Remember that at this point, no decision has been made to acquire the collection. You will eventually have to include a budget for processing the physical collection, as well as the digital materials. You will also have to provide a recommendation on whether the collection fits within the teaching and research mission of the University. (Don’t worry—we’ll give you the budget and background information.) You need to get subject matter experts who can help you with these tasks on your project team.
*To reset your choices below, please drag them back and try again.
Week 09 Assignment 04 – Resources Transcript – see uploaded W9 Resources.pdf
Week 09 Assignment 5: “Free” … as in, “Free Kittens” (Part Three)
Instructions
During his 40 years of researching the use of public spaces, Professor Perez has amassed a sizable collection of photographs, which he would like to donate so that it might be digitized and made available on the web and in the library.
You have submitted a memo to Dr. Graves (Director, Scholarly Communications), proposing a timeline for evaluating the collection and identifying the staff members you’d like on your project team.
Now, Dr. Graves wants your final recommendation: should the library acquire the professor’s collection, or not?
Assignment: What are the Next Steps?
Write a memo to your supervisor, Dr. Graves (Director, Scholarly Communications) presenting your recommendation.
If you recommend moving forward, what needs to be done first? What will be available for public use on the web? Will you have phases? Include important information provided by other task force members.
Your memo should have the following sections:
All the information you need may not be here. Incomplete information is a risk; be sure and identify it as such in your memo.
- Description of the project and scope
- Cost
- Reasons to acquire the collection
- Reasons not to acquire the collection, and
- Consequences of not acquiring it
Your memo should also answer the following questions:
- What benefits will the collection generate for its intended audience(s)?
- What is the unique selling point (the particular qualities that differentiate this collection from others like it?)
- What is the target audience or audiences and what is its size?
- What are the enabling technologies?
- What are the risks?
- Who will fund the initiative now and over time, and how?
Submit your memo to the instructor as a Word document.
Background Information
At this point, word has gotten around about the collection, and various interested parties are weighing in with their own opinions and recommendations.
- The Curator of Photography and the Architecture Librarian recommend acquisition of the collection.
- Professor Perez is reluctant to give the University a deed of gift and rights to the collection. A family member told him it was valuable. He wants $100,000 for the collection or a license based on collection’s online usage.
- Read additional background information: Correspondence from Interested Parties (PDF)
- One-time Cost Table (PDF)
- Ongoing Cost Table (PDF)
