Digitization and Scanning Basics at RRLC Planning a Digitization Project: November 27, Vision & Goals:

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1 Digitization and Scanning Basics at RRLC Planning a Digitization Project: November 27, 2012 Vision & Goals: Does your department (or you personally) have a vision statement? If so, what is it? Does your institution (if applicable) have a vision? If so, what is it? Can you tie items you d like to digitize to either vision? Explain: What do you wish for long-term for your physical collection related to digitization? o Preservation o Access o Other: From your vision (department/institutional/personal), develop goals for your project. Remember to start small at first. Goals should be measurable (create metadata for all items, scan images, etc.) o o o Goal: Goal: Goal:

2 What is the general purpose* of the project? Consider your goals. Do you want to o Preserve materials o Increase accessibility o Replace physical materials with digital o Compliment a physical collection with a digital one o Fill a lacking subject area in your institution for users o Other: *This will guide your selection of materials to digitize, as you want to begin small and digitize a few, basic items first. Users: Who is this digital collection for? Identify 3 groups, if possible: Primary: Secondary: Tertiary: What are these groups needs (accessibility, search features/browsing on a site?) Primary: Secondary: Tertiary: Who would you like to have the ability to access the collection? o Anyone o Only institutional/local users o Only me Do you need the digital collection to be password protected? o No Platform: How would you prefer the digital collection be accessed in the future? o From my computer only via server, hard drive, etc. o From institutional website o From New York Heritage o Other:

3 Selection: What items/groups of items do you want digitized? This depends on several factors, including your goals/vision/purpose, the physical condition of the materials, copyright, the platform for the digital collection, and your budget (staff expertise/equipment): Copyright: Who owns the copyright to the materials you wish to digitize? List items underneath the correct category. You may need to prioritize digitization based on items for which you definitely own have copyright. Public domain Copyright owned by you or your institution Do not own copyright (Can you gain permissions?) Characteristics of Physical Collection: What format(s) are the items in your collection? This will determine what equipment is needed to digitize your items. o Prints, postcards, etc. o Photos o Slides o Books o Manuscripts o 3-D Objects o Other:

4 In general, describe the characteristics of your physical collection (physical condition, size, quality, etc.): How will your project be funded? Funding: What resources can you utilize to decrease spending? (RRLC & New York Heritage, grants, etc.) What is your overall budget? Consider costs for: Physical resources (equipment) Labor or training Hardware Software Networked access (internet/accessibility to platform) Dedicated space for digitization to occur (do you need to rent?) Vendors (if used) Storage Data migration Ongoing Maintenance: How will you maintain your digital collection, in terms of the below areas? Remember, digitization is a long-term commitment. o Funding: o Storage: o Backups: o Data migration/ refreshment:

5 Time Frame: Determine the amount of time it will take to complete each task and goal. Always over-budget time needed to complete tasks. This will help ensure you fulfill your vision by your estimated completion date. At what date(s) do you plan to complete your goal(s)?: Goal 1: _ Goal 2: Goal 3: _ At what date do you plan to complete your overall vision? Metadata: What type of metadata standards exist for items (if any?) o MARC o Dublin Core o ISO o NYH Metadata Standards o Other: Is existing metadata (if any) o Item-level? o Collection level? o Both Is existing metadata (if any) accurate? o No/not sure What metadata standards will you use to assign metadata to digitized items? o MARC o Dublin Core o ISO o NYH Metadata Standards o Other:

6 Planning of Project Tasks: Roles in Project: Determine what roles need to be fulfilled to complete the project, and if possible, identify who will take on these roles. o Project Manager: o Scanner(s): o Cataloger (1 for consistency): o Web developers: o Archivists: o Photographers: o IT Specialists: Will you use staff, volunteers, or an outside vendor to complete this project? Your budget, allotted time, staff expertise, project goals, and coordination of the general project will help to determine this. o Staff o Volunteers o Outside vendors Equipment & Software: What equipment do you already have available for digitization? o Computer with monitor o Scanner- Type/size: o Hard drive (for back up)- Capacity: o Digital Camera o Tri-pod for Digital Camera o Overhead projector Think about the items you wish to digitize. Can you produce quality digital images with the above equipment, or do you need other equipment than what is listed? For general use, you want to be able to scan at 300 PPI. Archival images need to be scanned at 600 PPI. If other equipment is needed, list below: o o o Are you able to purchase or borrow equipment needed if it is not already owned?, we could borrow from, we have budgeted $ o No/Not sure

7 Generally, scanners come with capture software that allows you to adjust settings such as PPI and file format output. Does your software allow you to do this? o No/Not sure Image editing software does not usually come with your scanner, although there may be a very basic level of software on your computer already (such as Microsoft Office Picture Manager with Microsoft Office packages on Windows OS). Does your current software fit your needs as far as cropping, rotating, etc. your Access images? o No/Not sure If you need to obtain different image editing software, do you have funds to do so? If not, don t forget there are open-source options as well (such as GIMP), though they may (like purchased software) have a slight learning curve., we have budgeted $ o No/Not sure Location: Is the place where you plan to scan your materials o Secure? o Comfortable? o Fairly free of natural light (to avoid flares/reflections from glass when scanning)? o Big enough to accommodate your needs? Quality Control: Has the project manager defined what is/is not acceptable as far as scanning, image editing, file naming, and metadata creation, with examples for those involved?, described briefly here: o Not yet

8 Has the project manager come up with a way for those involved to document what tasks they have done, as well as when and how the tasks have been accomplished? A simple spreadsheet would work., by using: o Not yet Have those involved discussed expectations with the project manager to eliminate any confusion? o Not yet Maintenance & Storage: Have you created a long term plan for maintenance of your digital images, including: o General and backup storage? o Data migration (to new file formats/platforms)? o Metadata (as standards evolve)? o Funding (including staff, ongoing costs like the platform)? to all, described briefly here: _ o Not yet What will you do with your physical items after they have been digitized? o Keep o Discard o Donate to: o Move off-site o Not sure

9 What type(s) of storage will house your digital items? This may be partially determined by your organization (if applicable) or by your budget. It is always good to store digital items in two or more places. Remember LOCKSS. o Cloud storage (Amazon s3, icloud, Google Drive, etc.) o Hard drive o Institutional server o CD/DVD Are you able to back up your digital images in multiple geographic locations?, at and o No/ Not sure In what file format will your digital images be stored? o TIFF o JPEG o JPEG 2000 o Other: Have you created the following recommended folders for your images? o Archival folder for uncompressed TIFF or JPEG2000 images for preservation o No o Access folder for uncompressed, edited TIFF or JPEG images for web display o No o Derivatives folder for compressed, edited JPEG images for easy everyday use (optional) o No Limitations: Almost any person or organization will encounter limitations during a digitization project. Often these limitations are tied to funding, and will affect your project output in some manner. Some examples include the available equipment for scanning, expertise and quality control, or staff time and output. What limitations can you identify in your project and how will they affect your project? o o o o