• Size of collection?
• How determine which images to digitize—what are selection criteria?
• What percentage of the overall collection are they planning to digitize, and what % have they digitized so far?

• Is digitization carried out in house or outsourced?
• If in house, is there dedicated staff on the project?
• How many hours a week are dedicated to digitization?
• If outsourced, how are issues of security/liability handled?
• Happy with vendors/products?

• Are images available online?
• Are images sold, rented, leased? What is the purchasing policy?
• What do they charge per image? How did they arrive at/determine specific cost?
• How control image use? (Watermarking, etc)

• Are there formal, standardized procedures or guidelines for digitization in place (and can we see them)?
• Is there a long-term maintenance & migration strategy?

• What does it cost to digitize an image?
• Lots of demand for digital images?
• Decrease in print orders since digitization?

• What has the feedback been from users?
• From Administrators?
• If they had to start the project again, what would they do differently?

http://sherman.bldr.net:8001

• Best image identifier (box with image name, ID #, and link to full record).
• Best documentation concerning conducting a digitization project
• Best illustration of watermarking technique

• http://www.cmstory.org/default.htm
• Best visual story and page design

http://gowest.coalliance.org

• Best photo sales example
• Best FAQ section
• Best example of the relationship of metadata the image

http://www.mnhs.org/library/search/vrdb/about.html

• Best and most complete descriptions of visual resources available to the public

http://www.providence.org/archives/Collections/collections_visual.htm

• Best narrative descriptions

http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~public/phot1.htm

• Best search method including a Thesaurus of search terms
• Best display of descriptive data about photographs

http://www.library.swt.edu/swwc/index.html

• Best added value with links out to other collections
• Russell Lee photographs

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/adv/nphoto/index.htm

• Best display of copyright policy
• Best image display for browsing (thumbnail and full image)
• Most descriptive purchasing, licensing, and pricing information

http://runyon.lib.utexas.edu/access.html

• Best project tracking mechanism

Contact: Jody Corruccini CorrucciniJ@ci.boulder.co.us

Carnegie Historical Images

I suggest you look at our development web site at http://sherman.bldr.net:8001, and particularly at the bottom of the page, the DEVELOPERS NOTES AND DEMOS. The Final Report to ACLIN for the RIP will answer many of your questions, and there is also the Carnegie - Directory of Image Reproduction Services that spells out our policies.

Size of collection? (200,000+ is what I read)

yes

How determine which images to digitize—what are selection criteria?

the most used first

What percentage of the overall collection are they planning to digitize, and what % have they digitized so far? 

100%, but 2,000 done so far

Is digitization carried out in house or outsourced? 

in house

If in house, is there dedicated staff on the project? 

scanning is done by volunteers

How many hours a week are dedicated to digitization?

presently about 10

If outsourced, how are issues of security/liability handled? 

n/a

Happy with vendors/products?

n/a

see http://sherman.bldr.net:8001 for answers

Are images available online?

Are images sold, rented, leased?  What is the purchasing policy?

What do they charge per image?  How did they arrive at/determine specific cost?

How control image use?  (Watermarking, etc)

see http://sherman.bldr.net:8001 for answers

Are there formal, standardized procedures or guidelines for digitization in place (and can we see them)?

Is there a long-term maintenance & migration strategy?

What does it cost to digitize an image?

about $15

Lots of demand for digital images? 

we have seen an increase in inquiries

Decrease in print orders since digitization?

presently, prints are all we make available

What has the feedback been from users?

most users poorly understand the technology

From Administrators?

they are enthusiastic

If they had to start the project again, what would they do differently?

we did start the project again, and what we did differently was scan at a higher resolution

4800 37 Ave. S.W. Seattle, WA 98126 206.937.4600

http://www.providence.org/archives/Collections/collections_visual.htm

Contact: Terri Mitchell, Assistant Archivist tmitchell@providence.org

The Providence Health Care visual resources are arranged in two main record groups. The Providence Health System record group reflects the health-care, education, housing, and long-term care institutions sponsored by the Health System. Series include buildings; personnel; departments; and subject files. (Refer to the description of Providence Health System manuscript and archival materials for a complete list of institutions and dates.) The second record group, the Sisters of Providence, includes three series: administration; religious life; and sister personnel. Photographs of sisters in health-care and education ministry are also found within the series of individual institutions.

Size of collection?

10,000 photographs spanning 1880s to present

How determine which images to digitize—what are selection criteria?

Selection is done informally, to select illustrations that complement the written content on the web site, in newsletters, collections, etc.

What percentage of the overall collection are they planning to digitize, and what % have they digitized so far?

So far, a few hundred have been done.

Is digitization carried out in house or outsourced?

Work is done in-house using a middle-line HP Scanjet supported by the corporate IS dept.

If in house, is there dedicated staff on the project?

In-house staff (2 people) took training and then got started. A third person is being hired.

How many hours a week are dedicated to digitization?

If outsourced, how are issues of security/liability handled?

Is not currently a problem, but they would address it if they were to outsource

Happy with vendors/products?

Would probably do their own web design if they did not have the corporate design patterns to follow.

Are images available online?

Just those that illustrate narratives to go along with the web pages and text

Are images sold, rented, leased? What is the purchasing policy?

Most of the image requests are internal to the corporation so no charge structure is in place yet

What do they charge per image? How did they arrive at/determine specific cost?

Prices for lab work are to recover costs and are set by the university laboratory that is used for this work

How control image use? (Watermarking, etc)

So far, they have not worried about the use of the image, but probably would if they had more external use

Are there formal, standardized procedures or guidelines for digitization in place (and can we see them)?

So far, the scheme for naming follows the scheme used for filing in the existing print collection and the extension is .bmp or.jpg. Everything is saved to the hard drive now.

Is there a long-term maintenance & migration strategy?

None in place.

What does it cost to digitize an image?

No cost figures calculated

Is there lots of demand for digital images?

No, but many comments about the web site that indicate people are enjoying the images

Decrease in print orders since digitization?

No response

What has the feedback been from users?

People enjoy the images

From Administrators?

No response

Would give some thought to establishing the website outside the corporate site because of the potential handicap of having to follow the corporate design, software, etc. used for the site

San Marcos Texas 78666

Connie Todd, Curator of Special Collections and Mandy Oates ct03@swt.edu

http://www.library.swt.edu/swwc/index.html

Size of collection?

How determine which images to digitize—what are selection criteria?

Plans are to continue to digitize selected items from the Writers Collection and to pursue digitizing a great deal of the Wittliff Gallery photos. A slide library creation project will enable this work, pending permissions from the artists. A copystand, lights, and camera are already on hand for this project

What percentage of the overall collection are they planning to digitize, and what % have they digitized so far?

Is digitization carried out in house or outsourced?

Scanning is done on the flatbed scanner in house and if the item is too large for the flatbed scanner, a slide is made and a scan is taken from the slide

If in house, is there dedicated staff on the project?

How many hours a week are dedicated to digitization?

If outsourced, how are issues of security/liability handled?

Happy with vendors/products?

Are images available online?

Yes, Web design was done by Steve Allen using the software package PageMill. The Russell Lee collection work was done using Mary Jane Appel and a designer who used Adobe GoLive and a programmer who worked on the complex search capabilities. A standardized scan plan is available for the Russell Lee work.

Are images sold, rented, leased? What is the purchasing policy?

What do they charge per image? How did they arrive at/determine specific cost?

Images for which the Center holds the rights (almost always for publication), we have been charging for the cost of the reproduction plus $10. If it is a transparency or print request, plus a use fee. If it is a digital copy the cost is absorbed with the use fee for the zip disk and the scanning cost. The use fee is set by the curator using a still to be formalized document.

How control image use? (Watermarking, etc)

No watermarking is used, but images are posted at 72dpi which limits what people can do with the images to an extent. This topic is about to be re-visited

Are there formal, standardized procedures or guidelines for digitization in place (and can we see them)?

A scan plan is available

Is there a long-term maintenance & migration strategy?

No migration strategy yet.

Because the technology is changing so rapidly, they generally try to cover both low and high-tech methodologies.

If they had to start the project again, what would they do differently?

The University of Texas at Austin

Digital Library Services Division

Austin, TX

http://www.lib.utexas.edu

Contact: Ellen Cunningham-Kruppa, e.cunnk@mail.utexas.edu

512-495-4384

The General Libraries maintains a digital libraries section with eighteen employees that support imaging and metadata projects for the libraries in the system. Projects implemented with various libraries in the university include Library Exhibits, Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, The Robert Runyon Photograph Collection of the South Texas Border Area, and Blake’s Choice: Alexander Architectural Archives

Size of collection?

Very large. The Runyon collection included 8000 images

How determine which images to digitize—what are selection criteria?

Grant criteria and interest of the libraries lead to project definition. General Libraries feels it can contribute unique collections in the Border area and Texas materials area. They also consider the bulk of material and what is in demand

What percentage of the overall collection are they planning to digitize, and what % have they digitized so far?

No response

Is digitization carried out in house or outsourced?

Work is outsourced to JJT, Inc., an experience local vendor with 25 years of photographic experience, 4 digital cameras, insurance, and facilities equipped to meet security requirements

If in house, is there dedicated staff on the project?

Eighteen staff members support the General Libraries from the digital libraries section under the direction of Mark MacFarland

How many hours a week are dedicated to digitization?

If outsourced, how are issues of security/liability handled?

The contract specifies terms and conditions that the contractor must meet including a fire proof vault, insurance, climate control, monitoring devices, and appropriate care and handling of the images

Happy with vendors/products?

Extremely happy

Would suggest that the library purchase a Fujix 3000 photographic printer and learn how to properly calibrate it

Are images available online?

Yes

Are images sold, rented, leased? What is the purchasing policy?

What do they charge per image? How did they arrive at/determine specific cost?

How control image use? (Watermarking, etc)

So far, they have not implemented a watermarking scheme, but they have discussed watermarking TIFF images as they are produced for customers in the future

Are there formal, standardized procedures or guidelines for digitization in place (and can we see them)?

Several types of images are saved: medium resolution JPEG, TIFF, low-resolution JPEG. No one is really wanting to use JPEG resolutions for publishing, but the images are adequate for classroom use and printing.

Is there a long-term maintenance & migration strategy?

None in place at present, however, a backup system has been purchased, plans to keep copies off-site, and robotic methods of keeping low use images in nearline storage are in place

A file-tracker system is essential for handling the movement of images from on-site areas to the contractor. Staff training issues need to be planned for. Training costs money.

Metadata issues are important. UT has metadata librarians and they consider the item level data and searchability. They have an administrative interface for the entry of the Dublin Core metadata so that students can do the input. Metadata is stored separately from the image data. Another alternative is to link the images to the finding aids.

What does it cost to digitize an image?

No cost figures calculated yet, but a project that is underway currently is measuring costs

Lots of demand for digital images?

There is a demand and print orders are increasing at the Center for American History as a result of the Runyon collection project. Hit statistic logs are used. Links are encouraged and help promote use of the site.

Decrease in print orders since digitization?

No, an increase is taking place

What has the feedback been from users?

From Administrators?

Administration has been a sponsor for the work

If they had to start the project again, what would they do differently?

your list of questions are great—you guys touch on all the key points.

here’s  what i can offer y’all:

first and foremost, the Austin History Center must be certain that they have authority to reproduce (digitize) these images. if they have permission or the pix are in the public domain, then the project can move forward (I would think that they already know that, but for the purposes of your assignment, you GOTTA include the intellectual property factor).

Next, they should divide the 90K images into workable chunks. after the first phase of digitization, the Austin History Center should plan on evaluating the entire process to see what is working and what isn’t (good project management practice).

similarly, the entire process should be planned before one ounce of it is started. know your goals before you try and get there—more likely to succeed. a migration strategy must be in place as well (e.g.. written policy that the files will be migrated to new media every few years and that system configurations and changes to the system will be documented in detail).

a major question is whether the images are black/white or color: color files, as I am sure you know, are vastly larger than b/w, and therefore more expensive to make, print, store, migrate, etc.

common practice dictates that in the scanning process, several files are generated: the master (sometimes called "archive" or "preservation") file, a service file, a reference file, and a thumbnail file. The master file is the highest res. in TIFF format (600 dpi, 1 bit TIFF for color and grayscale images or 400 dpi, 1 bit G4 TIFF for black/white) -- this is the one that is uncompressed and has ALL the information in it. JPEGs are loss-less compressed files great for electronic delivery. Use 20 dpi for thumbnails (for browsing purposes) and 72 dpi for your "reading" or "reference" file (the one you get when you click on the thumbnail, conventionally). The service file is the one that people print out—these can be 300 dpi or 600 dpi, if you can get away with storing that size file (and these can be jpegs or tiffs, i think). Of course, you can modify this plan and generate fewer kinds of files if money is tight.

also—any plan must (the preservation student in me comes out) reflect that the condition of the original materials will be considered during the digitization process. in other words, can’t just let some joe schmo handle the unique negatives. precautions must be taken to not damage the originals. for example, wear gloves (cotton or latex?) and no food  or drink at the scanning station.

yeah, a file naming convention should be determined before you start. take a look at the accession numbers of all images to be scanned and see if incorporating them into the file name makes sense. it may not make sense to do so if the collections have wildly different formats for accession numbers (which is often the case when orgs. acquire things over long periods of time, and change their naming scheme over time). i might be wiser to make a database for which tracks the orig. access. number with the new digital file name for each image.

as far as outsourcing goes—a good move if they  determine that setting up the facilities to do it in-house is more costly (which it probably is, unless they get a grant to fund the equipment purchasing and a project manager/scanner). they say that setting up the production and getting the workflow going ALWAYS takes way longer than anyone anticipates, which can cost $$ and frustration (from higher up administrators).

I think that for most institutions (especially public ones), providing access to digitized images is a great thing to do, but in moderation. If they hope to make money from people ordering copies, they should use the Web as a catalog (low res images) and have people place orders (by mail, telephone, email) for high res digital files or old-fashioned prints. I don’t know a lot about encryption, watermarking, etc. so can’t speak much about that.

wow—does that help? i hope so! here’s a web site that might be useful:

http://gowest.coalliance.org/faqs.htm (denver public library’s project).

also, I work at a digital imaging lab:

http://www.jjt.com/imaging_frames.htm. They have a pretty sophisticated

system, but their web site is probably worth checking out to give you a

sense of what can be done . . .

The five methods listed above can be seen as strategic methods.

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