Austin History Center Business Case for Digitizing Photographs

In the summer semester 2000, the Austin History Center requested the Managing Electronic Records seminar at The University of Texas at Austin prepare a business case for the development of an electronic imaging program for the digitization of the Austin History Center's image collection. Existing practices require physical handling of images by users, thereby limiting access and contributing to media degradation. The seminar's examination of the problem generated the following recommendations to improve accessibility and preservation.

Develop comprehensive statements addressing key policy issues

• Appropriate resources
• Draft detailed communication, work, and technology plans
• Compile digital indices
• Implement digitization of the following three collections: Austin Biography Files, Austin Files, House/Building Files
• Outsource initial digitization
• Move toward web-enabled access

The objective of the business case, as stated by the Austin History Center, was to provide an outline of the steps necessary to achieve the following objectives.

• Scan the image collection into digital format,
• Make the scanned images available online, and
• Create a database of the scanned images that can be expanded as more images are added.

In preparing this business case, the class was divided into four groups, each responsible for a separate aspect of the project. The four aspects were:

• History of the Austin History Center and the project,
• Best practices used by other online image collections,
• Technical requirements, and
• User requirements, benefits, and challenges.

Each group researched its area independently and communicated with the other groups both in and out of class as the need arose. The final business case was then compiled during an in-class discussion session.

With the construction of the new central library in 1979, the building that previously housed the library was designated as the new home of the growing Austin-Travis County Collection. The new facility, the Austin History Center, was officially opened in 1983. The Austin History Center contained and collected materials in all media that related to the history of Austin.

Since its humble beginning, occupying just a few shelves in the main library in 1970, the Austin-Travis County Collection has grown to accommodate hundreds of thousands of items. Of particular interest to this project is the image collection. The Austin History Center's image archive, excluding video materials, consists of approximately one million photographs, daguerreotypes, negatives, and similar visual resources. The immense size of this collection, while making it an invaluable resource, makes searching for any particular image difficult.

The technology to duplicate images in digital format and store them on computers has existed for some time and, as with most technology, digitization has become more affordable and more reliable over time. With the advent of the World Wide Web, digitization has become a tool to vastly increase public access to image collections.

The Austin History Center, in an effort to increase public awareness of and access to its image collection, has sought and received funds to allow it to begin the lengthy process of duplicating that collection into digital format and to make it accessible over the Web. This business plan outlines a procedure for digitizing the "History to Go" collection of exhibits, which consists of 400 images, and then, as funds become available, the digitization project can be expanded to eventually include the rest of the image collection.

Information management is a way to effectively manage the information needed by employees in the process of conducting business. To properly manage information, an organization or business must examine the flow of information. What does the staff do with information? Who processes the information? What technology is used? The proposed project to digitize the Austin History Center photograph collection would change the information flow for the reference and use of this collection by employees and the public. Changes in information management would be necessary to coordinate the digital photographic images, their access, and the statistical data produced to record reference and reproduction requests. Document and records management systems would meet this need.

An electronic document management system (EDMS) uses software to manage electronic documents. Electronic images of photographs are a type of electronic document. An EDMS for the Austin History Center project should include a database of the scanned images, the descriptive information about the photographs, the accompanying metadata, access for users on-site or via the Internet, security measures to insure protection of the images using a backup system, and a long term strategy for preservation and migration of the electronic data.

A record is used by an organization as evidence of business activities. Records management applies controls to business records. Records that are initially generated electronically are best controlled by an electronic records management system. The Austin History Center collects data on reference requests and photographic reproduction. These statistics are business records that are reported to the Austin Public Library and the City of Austin. Once the photographs are available electronically, an electronic records management system for tracking and reporting the statistics can be developed for these records.

The use of electronic records and document management systems are the best way to meet the challenges introduced by the changes in the flow of information as a result of the project to digitize the photographic collection.

The project to digitize the photographic collection will help the Austin History Center better serve its users. An expanded Web presence on the Internet will enable the organization to serve a vast population by making the new digital image collection available to people outside the Austin area. People worldwide will be able to access, use, and purchase photographs from the Austin History Center. The digital versions of source or resource material will also help the Austin History Center achieve a portion of its mission to preserve the original photographs by creating digital versions of its images that will lessen the handling the originals images. Also, the new digital versions or surrogates will serve as an additional backup in case of a disaster that might destroy the original source material. The Austin History Center can also support the mission of the City of Austin to be the most livable community in the country by providing this information over the Internet so that Austinites do not have to drive to the Austin History Center, producing more air pollution in the process. Users are also more likely to use the resources if the information is accessible on the Internet.

Current practice at Austin History Center requires direct physical manipulation of the image collection, which leads to degradation of the media. Furthermore, access to physical images is limited to onsite-users.

• Photographs (color and black and white)
• Negatives (color and black and white)

The Austin History Center photography collection is estimated to contain about one million images. The images consist of photographs, slides, negatives, and film in both color and black and white formats. The one million images are divided into three broad categories by the types of the collections. These are then further divided into smaller collections.

Category I comprises images arranged by type. It has five smaller collections: rare processes, negative collections, slide collections, lantern-slide collections, and motion picture film.

Category II consists of collections arranged by donor. The two smaller collections are the archives photo collection and the discrete photo collection.

Category III contains collections arranged by subject, name, and address schemes. The further division includes three collections: the Austin File, the Austin File Biography, and the House/Building File. The photographs in category III have been slated as best suited for the proposed digitization project to scheduled to begin after the first 400 images are produced. This collection has been processed, is frequently requested by users, and conveys valuable information about the history of Austin. There are 97,000 images in the category III collection. Of these images, 75% or, 67,000 images, are deemed eligible, valuable, and unique enough for the digitization project.

Statistics provided by the Austin History Center show that the collection has grown by 12,746 images in the last five years, averaging 2,549 images added per year.

In the first eight months of the year 1999/2000, 2,470 images were produced in the photographic laboratory at the Austin History Center. The total production consisted of 40 internal scans, 401 internal prints, 125 external scans, 1,369 external prints, 354 copy negatives, and 181 transparencies/slides. Items sent out to copy were not included in total (59). These production figures represent a slight increase in the requests for reproductions from previous years. If production continues at the same rate, the total for the year will be 3,293 images produced. The average for the last five years has been 2,795 per year.

The Austin Public Library has a component that maintains the history of the City of Austin, Texas. That component is the Austin History Center. The organization and management of information at the History Center is the responsibility of the Center's Curator. A photograph collection of the size that the Center manages is arranged in an orderly and systematic way according to librarianship processes. The collection is controlled by the authority file. This file uses a subject-heading list for all of their collections.

Procedures used to classify, retrieve and access the photo and vertical files consist of three different formats.

• The AF or Austin File is arranged by the Library of Congress (LOC), or local subject headings.
• The AF-Biography File is arranged by name.
• The HB or House/Building File is arranged by address.

When customers need access to a file, the process involves filling out a call slip that identifies the particular file. A member of the staff can then retrieve the file based on the information on the call slip. The accessed file will be brought to the reading room for the customer to search through.

Customers that are not able to come into the Austin History Center are still able to acquire any particular photograph they might need. Mail is processed for photograph requests in the following manner. A customer can place reprints of any photo in the collection by filling out an order request and mailing it to the Center. Customers then have the option of picking up the reprint order themselves, or they can have it mailed to them. There is a nominal fee for processing a mail request. The fee for mailing a photographic reprint is usually $4.00; this includes postage and handling.

Security of the photographic records is of the utmost importance at the AHC. It's photograph and vertical file collections are only available at the reading room. Members of the AHC always staff this room. One reason is the security of the records and the other reason is that the cash register is located in this room. The Austin History Center is a non-circulating closed-stack facility. The call slip procedure is a security measure, which insures only those records that a customer needs are brought outside of their storage area. Security measures, such as the preservation of the records, are achieved through proper storage methods. Two environmentally controlled vaults house the most fragile records of the Center.

Training for staff at the AHC is done in both internal and external forums. An example of external training is a security-training seminar being conducted by AMIGOS staff. The City of Austin conducts internal training for all of its departments. Classes are taught by the Department of Organizational Development, a section of the City of Austin, in conjunction with the Austin Public Library. Some of the staff training is mandatory. Customer training is usually done on a mandatory basis.

Staff members of the Center utilize standard archival methods and practices. The staff also continues their education and training by attending seminars, symposia and workshops. These workshops are sponsored by professional organizations like the Society of American Archivists and the Society of Southwest Archivists.

The Austin History Center has managed its information exceptionally well as far as internal organizations are concerned. Their brochure lists quite a bit of information to attract the readers' attention. However, even in this small information device the organization could have provided more information for the public. The major criticism is the "contact" information. Other than a telephone number and a sentence with three words identifying it as a part of the Austin Public Library, not much else is included. A reader could not identify the Austin History Center as an entity of the city of Austin. Another concern is that readers like to know who is in charge of a place. Simply providing a telephone number without attaching some kind of identification such as the names of people in charge would provide the reader with information they could use. Electronic communication is absent in the brochure. When the photography collection is digitized, more in-depth information will be required so that their product will be a viable one that will meet their goals and objectives.

Marketing plans are an integral component of any organization for the distribution of their product.

Managing information is essential in a marketing plan. For the Austin History Center to reach their goals, they will have to develop a plan to systematically organize and manage information. Information regarding their history, mission, projects, and services that are available for the public, needs to be conveyed.

The Austin History Center should be more clearly defined as a component of the Austin Public Library.

• The General Collection should be identified in further detail.
• The Photography Collection should indicate a range of decades that are covered.
• The Austin and Biography Files should identify names and relevant features that are covered.
• A cost list should be included.
• Identification and methods of communication for the primary staff members, i.e. (director, curator, archivist, staff, etc) of the Austin History Center is essential.

An excellent public relations plan should market the Austin History Center statewide and nationwide as well. As the digitizing plan of their photography collection is set in motion, a marketing plan will need to be expanded to cover areas and regions outside the city of Austin.

• Current access of photos

• Prioritization

• Photographic Quality

• Workflow Increase

• Training

• On Hand Staff

• Advertisement

• Maintenance and Migration

The Austin History Center should consider a number of national, state, and local initiatives that will potentially impact this project from inception through launch. This list of initiatives and Web URLs was compiled through interviews with employees of the Austin History Center, suggestions from professionals in the field of records management, and primary research.

Copyright infringement can occur any time information or images are posted on the Web. Any entity that publishes information or images on the Internet should be aware of copyright issues and how these issues affect their material. Following is a brief overview of copyright issues that should be considered before the Center's digitization project is undertaken.

Copyright Law http://www.loc.gov/copyright/title17/

• Digital Millennium Act http://www.loc.gov/copyright/legislation/dmca.pdf
• Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:HR03456:|TOM:/bss/d106query.html|
• Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ15.pdf
• Intellectual Property and Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c106:S.1948
• UCITA (The Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act) http://www.txla.org/html/legislation/ucita.html

• http://www.nara.gov/nara/vision/eap/eapspec.html

• Library Services and Technology Act http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/ld/pubs/lstaplan/summary.html
• Electronic Records and Standards

• State Bulletin 1: Electronics Records Standards and Procedures http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/slrm/recordspubs/stbull01.html
• Local Bulletin B: Electronic Records Standards and Procedures http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/slrm/recordspubs/lgbullb.html
• Texas State Records Management Manual for State Agencies - Electronic Records http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/slrm/recordspubs/erpdf.pdf
• Texas State Records Management Manual for State Agencies - Document Imaging Manual http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/slrm/recordspubs/dipdf.pdf

4. Texas State Microfilming Rules

• State Bulletin 2: Microfilming Standards and Procedures http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/slrm/recordspubs/stbull02.html
• Local Bulletin A: Microfilming Standards and Procedures http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/slrm/recordspubs/lgbulla.html

This initiative from the State of Texas will allow open use of resources between academic and public libraries for library patrons from both types of institutions. This is expected to increase the volume of requests for photographs in the Austin History Center.

• http://www.texshare.edu/

6. City of Austin E-Commerce Initiative

The City of Austin is considering enabling e-commerce technology throughout city Web sites, which will allow online payments through one portal. This may make the purchase of photographs from the Web site much easier.

7. Uniform Electronic Transmission Act

This act will affect the legality of electronic records and transactions and may have an impact on future e-commerce aspects of the digitized image collections.

• http://www.law.upenn.edu/bll/ulc/uecicta/eta1299.htm

The Austin History Center's proposed photograph digitization project will create a Web-based, searchable database of selected images and descriptive data from the Austin History Center's collections.

This section presents the two types of user requirements for this project. Minimum Requirements (5.1) detail the efforts necessary to create a system able to provide basic search and delivery of images. Preferred Requirements (5.2) express the characteristics of a system able to deliver the greatest level of service and convenience for both patrons and center staff.

• Appoint a project manager.
• Create the image database and provide public searchable access via the Internet. The database should be searchable by subject, personal and family name, address, photographer, original photographic process, and date. Staff should also be able to search by donor, PICA, PICH or PICB numbers (image numbers), and file structure number.
• Scan 400 images from "History to Go" exhibits and a feasible number of high-interest photographs from the Austin File (AF), Austin File Biography (AF-Bio), and House/Building (HB) files for inclusion in the database.
• Outsource requiring the vendor to provide three types of scanned images: TIFF (Tagged Image File Format), JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), and low-resolution thumbnail.
• Devise standards for evaluation of quality of scanned images and functionality of database.
• Ensure security and integrity of the images and the collection by offering only low to medium resolution images online and including a citation statement with each image.
• Provide a printable order form online that patrons can mail in with payment. On the website site clearly present the options for reproduction: archival copy print or TIFF image.
• Dedicate a server to housing the Austin History Center images.
• Create a long-term preservation and migration plan for both the images and the database records.
• Store a digital backup copy of the files offsite for disaster recovery.
• Devise a system to monitor use of the collection.

• Hire an outside consultant as project manager and an additional full-time staff member to assist with the initial project and to manage the database thereafter.
• Enter records into DRA, the Austin Public Library's online public access catalog.
• Scan all eligible, valuable, and unique photographs (estimated at 75 percent) of the AF, AF-Bio, and HB files.
• Create thematic browse files of more popular images (e.g. Barton Springs, Capitol Building, The University of Texas, Mount Bonnell, Colorado River, Floods, and Tornadoes).
• Allow online ordering of images with payment by credit card.
• Purchase one or two Internet-ready computers to serve as in-house terminals dedicated exclusively to searching and viewing images.
• Require microfilm backup of scanned images.

6. Interface of New System with Existing Systems

Below is an overview of the equipment and technology currently in place at the Austin History Center (6.1) and suggestions for new acquisitions and upgrades that will help facilitate the digitization project that the Center is about to embark on (6.2). Most of these suggestions are necessary in order to produce a high-quality product in a timely fashion. The few optional items are labeled as such. The final section gives an outline of the final product: the Web site (6.3).

6.1 Equipment Currently Available

• Computers
• Dell (www.dell.com)

• Pentium II 400 MHz
• 128 m RAM (memory)
• 6 G hard drive
• Zip 100 drive (2)

• Scanners

• Microtek ScanMaker 6 (without transparency adapter)
• Microtek ScanMaker 4

• Printers

• HP Laser Jet 6L (4)

• Server (acquiring through grant)

• Dell PowerEdge 4400
• Pentium III 600 MHz
• 512 m RAM (memory)
• 72 G hard drive

• Software

• Photoshop
• MS Office Suite
• Oracle
• Coldfusion Server & Studio

• Copy Stand
• Light kit

• Computers
• Dell (www.dell.com)

• Pentium III 600 MHz
• 21-inch Monitor (for viewing center only)
• 256 m RAM (memory) (additionally, recommended upgrade for all computers in the Center)
• CD-RW drive (in photo lab)
• Zip 250 drives (3) (1 in photo lab, 1 in exhibits room, 1 in Margaret's office)

• Scanners

• Epson Expression® 836XL: Large flatbed with a transparency adapter that handles at least 8x10s (http://www.epson.com/cam_scan/scanners/expression836/)
• Stand alone Nikon Coolscan III (LS-30) Negative scanner (http://www.nikonusa.com/products/detail.cfm?id=271)

• Printers

• Epson 1200 color printer with archival ink (http://www.epson.com/printer/inkjet/styphoto1200/)
• Laser printer

• Digital Camera
• Server

• At least 700G storage (97,000 TIFF images @ 6 MB per Image= 582 GB; + 97,000 medium resolution JPG @ 24KB= 2.3 GB; 97,000 GIF Thumbnails; Database(s))
• Near line storage (i.e. CD tower)
• Back-ups (one or more of the following)
• Microfiche
• Offsite non-networked hard drive
• Magnetic tape

• Software

• Maintain & update current software
• Adobe Acrobat (full version) (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/main.html)
• Image viewing software for quality control (i.e. http://www.acdsystems.com/products/acdsee/acdsee300.htm)
• Project Management Software
• Server Statistic Software

6.3 Additions to existing Austin History Center Website

• Front End (user interface)

• Opening Web Page
• Policies and Procedures
• Copyright Statement page
• Thumbnail interface (includes price & search engine)
• Direct access to JPG format
• Price List
• Order form for TIFF (current option)
• E-mail
• Fax
• Print
• Purchase page (future option)
• Password to TIFF image
• Help page
• Contact page

• Middle (HTML/ Database)

• Coldfusion (http://www.allaire.com/products/coldfusion/index.cfm)

• Backend (Database)

• Oracle based index (http://www.oracle.com/database/index.html)
• Photos incorporated into index

6. Options and Cost Analysis

Digital image projects produce products that provide the user with 24 hour access seven days a week, ensure careful handling of the image, and lead to greater use of the research material. School children, their families, and their teachers are expected to be large users of archival and original source material in the next five years (Smith, 2000) and expanding public access to these audiences is an improvement in service that the Austin History Center can offer to the Austin community. To serve this welcome base of new users, the Austin History Center and Austin Public Library staff needs to anticipate new costs and potential reallocation of resources to support the digital image projects over the next several years.

Digitizing the image collection comes with a price tag. Digital assets require perpetual care, and that care requires an ongoing financial resource commitment from the Austin Public Library and the City of Austin. The costs include:

• An investment in the technological infrastructure,

• The immediate costs associated with the selection and preparation of images for digitization,

• Preparation and capture of metadata,

• Scanning the images to capture multiple file types,

• Quality control of the images and metadata,

• Storage of the electronic data,

• Planning for disaster recovery of the data,

• Web design and preparation,

• Finding aid design and preparation,

• Staff training and communication, and

• The long-term costs of preservation and migration of the data as well as the costs associated with avoiding technological obsolescence.

Perusal of the literature gives us the following rules of thumb to follow at this early stage of development in image creation projects nationwide:

• Imaging projects can move slowly-Scanning and editing 20-70 photographic images a day is reported to be an acceptable level of work,
• Cost figures currently available vary tremendously, depending on the types of material being scanned, the image conversion requirements, the hardware and software used, and the range of functions covered in the calculations,
• Digital conversion represents about one-third of the project cost; two-thirds of the cost is attributed to metadata work that will describe and allow images to be accessed,
• The cost to maintain digital material for ten years is four to seven times the cost of creation of the digital image,
• Plan on migrating images every three to five years at a cost equivalent of 50-100% of the costs associated with the original digital image project, and
• The cost of film scanning remain equal to or higher than the costs of paper scanning at the same resolution and bit depth (Smith, 2000).

Steven Puglia from the National Archives and Records Administration provides us with the following average cost figures he has calculated using data from the Library of Congress' National Digital Library/Ameritech Competition Round One and Round Three, the National Archives and Records Administration Electronic Access Project, and projects included in the Museum Educational Site Licensing project.

As these charts illustrate, costs vary greatly. This is attributed to the fact that libraries and organizations are in the early stages of benchmarking and comparative activity with their digital imaging projects. Measurement has not yet been standardized across institutions and standards for benchmarking costs are not yet in place for digitizing projects. The Austin Public Library Technology Benchmarking partners Cleveland, Phoenix, Seattle, Multnomah, Dallas, Denver, and Houston all are approaching digital projects, but the early collection of data indicates that only Denver has information to report.

Students visited website locations for several libraries, archives, and special collections to select the best industry practices and examples available on the Internet. In some cases, detailed interviews were conducted with members of the library or organization using a set of questions designed to provide information about (1) selection criteria used in the projects, (2) outsourcing, (3) sales of images, (4) standards of practice formed, (5) statistics and metrics used, and (6) feedback from users. Complete results of the interviews and examples of the websites visited are attached in the Appendices section of the report. A brief listing of the best features of the sites is offered here.

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://photoswest.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

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/hrc/photography/

• Best project tracking mechanism

Throughout the project planning process decisions need to be weighed. This section of the report outlines findings related to some of the key decision areas. It points out the pros and cons associated with choices to be made.

• Collection Selection and Preparation Options
• Production Options and Costs
• Data Capture Options and Costs
• Data Storehouse Options and Costs
• Web Presentation Considerations
• Training
• Marketing

Before starting the project, four collection development areas need to be addressed by staff:

• Develop selection criteria for prioritizing images to be digitized in the development of the digitized image collection,
• Establish intellectual rights (copyright and permissions) to digitize the images and publish on the Web,
• Select metadata to be used to provide administrative, structural, and content information about the images and their production, and
• Develop a file-naming scheme for multiple image file types so that the surrogate image files can be easily identified and migrated over time.

Most projects begin by choosing entire collections of materials for the project and then further divide the whole into manageable portion. Some project managers select content or collections to digitize based on public interest, popular demand from users, the unique contribution the collection can provide to the community, suitability of the original images for handling, and on the availability of the full intellectual rights to the collection. Some of the most common criteria used in evaluating the individual images to include in a project are:

• Image has intrinsic value to ensure ongoing use by the community,
• Image represent a unique contribution to collective memory of the community,
• Intellectual property rights belong to the Library or institution,
• Source image can withstand handling,
• Source image quality will scan well, and
• Source image can be authenticated and described fully for retrieval.

Other options for selection exist, however, such as systematically moving through an entire collection one file-drawer at a time. Manageable chunks in the case of the Austin History Center may include high demand topic areas from the Austin File, Austin File Biography images as they are requested by the public, and House/Building files one file drawer at a time starting with the numbered streets and progressing to the end of the alphabet. Costs related to selection appear to be the same regardless of method or criteria used for selection.

Digital projects are as much about arranging, describing, and cataloging as they are about creating the digital version or surrogate of the image. Two-thirds of the project cost can be expected to accrue in the descriptive indexing and naming portions of the project. To have value to the community, users need to be able to fully search and accurately retrieve from the image database, to access the full descriptions of the image once it is retrieved, and to be able to search for images using subjects and terms they are familiar with or can reference easily in a thesaurus. It is the metadata and the finding aids that describe and help users locate the images that have been digitized. This metadata, or data about data, needs to be captured in a standardized and uniform manner for each scan of each image. Creating metadata is a labor intensive and intellectual task that requires quality control checks and strong attention to uniformity of practice.

It is more costly to collect, enter, and maintain complex metadata sets than to enter minimal data, however, there is a continuing long term price that is paid for not collecting full data and developing a full tool set at the outset. Careful crafting of the metadata provides ease of information management in both the short and long term. Re-handling of the images, re-entry of data, and re-work can be avoided by carefully selecting metadata elements before the project begins. For staff and volunteers that may become involved in the project over the long term, clear and precise written instructions about the choice and entry of metadata need to be provided. Liked the scanning data, metadata needs to be maintained and migrated from format to format and standard to standard, independently of the images it describes.

Metadata choices frequently mentioned in digital image project planning literature include:

• Use of EAD (Encoded Archival Description) for finding aid development and presentation of the finding aid on the Web. This will provide descriptive information about the creator of the image, the image, and its relationship with the entire collection,
• Use of Dublin Core elements that will provide standardized description of 15 key elements in the Dublin Core set. This will help assure increased accessibility of the collection,
• Use of USMARC to make the web based presentations accessible through library public access catalogs and allow for access through larger sets of bibliographic records such as OCLC, and
• Use of standard elements at the time of scan to name the unique object, record the technical elements of the process used, and record other administrative data critical to future migration and use of the images.

Examples of the types of digital elements that can be captured to describe the image could include:

• Digital image physical characteristics: size, compression, resolution, etc.
• Digital image capture information: date/time, responsibility, camera type, lighting adjustments, color correction, image editing, etc.
• Digital image subject analysis: image genre, content, style, time period, etc. This can overlap with description of the original.
• Intellectual Property information: copyright owner(s), permission status, terms governing reproduction, etc.

File naming schemes are also an important part of collection preparation. If more than one file type or size is used for each image, a file naming scheme is needed that will continue to use the base unique identifier for the image and will, in addition, identify the file type. When there are multiple versions of each image a character should be reserved to differentiate between a thumbnail, a compressed, a higher resolution or an uncompressed image. A means of maintaining the relationship between the image and its descriptive information needs to be thought through before beginning scanning process. For Web presentation, use of the URN (Unique Resource Name) provides the advantage of being a permanent or persistent identifier element. Naming schemes need to be provided in clear and precise written form so that volunteers, vendors, and staff all can easily follow the same scheme and quality control checks can be conducted to assure that the scheme is followed.

Other decisions are needed in advance of beginning the scanning. Some of these include:

• Retrieval and rehousing of selected images,
• Selection of packaging materials and transport mechanisms,
• Database preparation for logging descriptive data (that can also contribute to metadata) chosen by those who will be using the data for Web presentation, cataloging, and the development of retrieval mechanisms,
• Preparation of descriptive data for each image,
• Preparation of transmittal forms and tracking systems so that images can be tracked while moving through the digitizing process, statistics can be gathered, responsibility for images can be tracked, and costs calculated, and
• Contingency handling procedures and assigned authority for making decisions when those special items, anomalies, and exceptions appear unexpectedly.

Source: adapted from Colorado Digitization Project (CDP) http://coloradodigital.coalliance.org/

• Who will be responsible at different stages of the project?
• What areas and levels of staff expertise are available to you?
• Who will be responsible for selection and physical evaluation of the materials?
• Who will be responsible for preparation of materials prior to scanning?
• Who will be responsible for image capture, quality control, and post-scanning manipulation of images (if any)?
• Who will be responsible for indexing and cataloging of image records?
• Who will determine the best way to make the images accessible to users?

All of these responsibilities could involve the collaboration of subject experts/bibliographers, curators, librarians, archivists, imaging technicians, indexers/catalogers, conservators, computer network and system folks, webmasters...etc.

• How will you perform the actual digitization?
• Where will the digitizing take place-in a central location or off-site? If off-site, does the vendor have adequate, safe storage facilities?
• What is the level of image quality (resolution) you hope to obtain (according to user needs and the quality of originals you are digitizing)?
• Will you perform any manipulation of the images post-scanning (faithful reproduction vs. image optimized for presentation)?
• What is your criteria for an "acceptable image" when performing quality control?
• How will you store copies of the digitized images? CD-ROM, magnetic tape?
• Are there specific image guidelines specified by your funding source that you must adhere to?
• Will you create an "archival image" as well as derivative files for viewing and downloading?
• What are the limitations of your hardware and software (file size, file format standards, proprietary file formats, interoperability, scanner limitations, etc.)?

Source: adapted from the Colorado Digitization Project (CDP Guidelines for Scanning)

Every organization should carefully consider the pros and cons of outsourcing digitization projects or conducting them in-house. Following are some points to consider for both strategies:

• Development of digital imaging project experience by "doing it" (project management, familiarity with technology, scanning, levels of access, etc.),
• More control over the entire imaging process as well as proper handling, security, storage, and control over original source images,
• Requirements for image quality, access, and scanning can be adjusted as you go instead of defined up front and consistent and high quality assurance requirements can be enforced,
• Direct participation in development of image collections that best suit your organization and users, including refinement of requirements to meet user needs, and direct control of the project, and
• Cultivate relationships with hardware/software manufacturers;

• Requires large initial and ongoing financial investment in equipment, staff and technical infrastructure,
• Longer time needed to implement imaging process and technical infrastructure,
• Limited production capabilities and levels can be achieved,
• Staffing expertise not always available in the range of skill and experience required,
• Institution must accept costs and risks of network downtime, data loss, equipment failure, selection and training of staff, maintenance, and ongoing personnel costs,
• General lack of standards and best practices and no set cost per image,
• Risk of injuries from Repetitive Motion Syndrome, and
• Less staff time to allocate to development of other new services;

• Pay for cost of scanning the image only, not equipment or staffing,
• High production levels and volume are achievable,
• On-site expertise can be used including a broad range of options and services,
• Less risk to the organization,
• Vendor absorbs costs of technology obsolescence, failure, downtime, etc.,
• Set per-image cost can be negotiated based on volume and services to be performed,
• Project planning and budgeting facilitated,
• Expertise provided and training costs incurred by vendor,
• Library/archives can reduce on-the-job injuries from Repetitive Motion Syndrome, and
• Turnaround time can be reduced and users better served;

• Organization has less control over imaging process, quality control, and range of imaging functions,
• Complex contractual process:

• Image specifications must be clearly defined up front,
• Solutions to problems must be negotiated,
• Communication must be open,
• Problems must be accommodated,
• Lack of vendor experience with specialized jobs may lead to price padding, and
• Fair market value not yet established,

• Vendor many know more than client or may presume a level of understanding on part of library/museum/archives that they may not have,
• Lack of standards with which to negotiate services and to measure quality against or standards used for business market not appropriate for the library/archive,
• Possible inexperience of vendor with library/archival/museum/historical society communities and their needs,
• Vulnerable due to vendor financial instability,
• Challenges in communication (needs must be clearly defined at outset, presumes level of understanding on part of library/archives that it may not have,
• Transporting and handling fragile and/or rare material introduces risk; originals must be transported, shipped, and then also handled by vendor staff, and
• Staff morale may be lowered, requiring more time from management to address problems. (Kenney & Chapman, 1996)

When to Outsource: As institutions develop a firm sense of their requirements and a confidence in what vendors can provide, outsourcing imaging services becomes a viable option. Outsourcing may represent the only option for those institutions that take ambitious imaging programs with demanding production and scheduling requirements and limited resources (Kenney & Chapman, 1996).

It is critical for institutions to understand the value and uses of digital technology and to work with vendors and service bureaus to ensure that they can understand and meet needs. Few institutions will be able to make an in-house system economically viable, considering the flux association with changing hardware and software requirements (Kenney and Conway, 1994).

• Saffady, W. (1996). Electronic document imaging: A state of the art report. Prairie Village, Kansas: ARMA International.

• Digital Library Federation. Imaging Guides.

http://www.clir.org/diglib/initfuncimage.htm

American Library Association Past-President Sarah Long sum up the pros and cons of outsourcing in general:

Pros: Outsourcing particular services can save money and time and improve quality of services. A private vendor focuses on certain services and therefore, can do them faster, better and cheaper. Outsourcing can also free up internal library staff to provide more and better services within the library. Using a vendor can give a library a certain added flexibility because the library may be able to tailor services based on changing needs or the library can choose a new vendor.

Cons: Quality control can be hard to maintain because those providing the services are no longer directly held accountable by the internal library administration. To enforce changes in services, the library has to go through vendor layers. Vendors are motivated by profits and this can negatively affect quality (cutting corners, etc.). Loss of local control over services can also result in local needs not being met or met as well (depersonalization). Outsourcing can also result in downsizing local library staff, which can cause lower staff morale, etc.

(Wilson, K. Planning and Implementing an Outsourcing Program, 1997 http://www.ala.org/alcts/now/outsourc.html )

The costs associated with the in-house performance would include the purchase of equipment and salary for staff who would perform the scanning and related procedures and/or supervise and train volunteers who might participate in some aspects of the process. The equipment recommended for maximum cost-effectiveness, longevity and efficiency is detailed in Section 6.2.

The costs associated with outsourcing the scanning and related procedures would likely range from $19.30 to $26.90 per image. This cost would include the necessary component of migration to ensure preservation of the collection. (See Section 7.1)

• Digital Capture

• Contractor captures images directly
• Contractor creates analog intermediate format (film, microfilm) for later digital capture

File Types

• 3 files per image: thumbnail GIF or low resolution JPEG, medium resolution JPEG, high resolution TIFF
• High resolution TIFF can be created by vendor and delivered, and Austin History Center can create other formats from this image.
• File sizes: 6MB TIFF, 18-24 KB JPEG, @ 1KB GIF thumbnail (sized @ 1" x 1")

• Delivery

• Item-level verification: know exactly which images are out, which are pending
• Group-level: less specific, send out a file drawer at a time, with no item-level control

• Inspection

• Ensure that technical requirements are being met in terms of file naming scheme, file sizes, resolutions, etc.
• Verify 100%: check every image in and out
• Verify only the TIFF version of image.

• Give feedback to contractor
• Inspect re-work

The following five criteria must be determined before the design of the website can begin:

• Copyright placement,
• Use of watermarks,
• Search and retrieval strategies,
• Image purchasing procedure, and
• Accessibility to the site.

Each of these five criteria address an issue which will facilitate or inhibit the ease of accessing the website.

In determining the copyright placement it will be necessary to decide whether the copyright information will be placed prior to entry into the site, at the point that the selected image is chosen for viewing, or at the bottom of the sales information page.

The cost differences relative to this decision are minimal to non-existent, as it only deals with a visual placement of text and hyperlinks.

In determining the use of watermarks, it will be necessary to decide if and when watermarks will be used. If it is decided that all photographs will be watermarked, then decisions must be made regarding the size and placement of the watermark on the image. Another option is to watermark only those images that are purchased in a digital format.

The cost differences relative to this decision range from the highest cost associated with a watermark on each digitized image and the lowest cost associated with a watermark placed only upon images purchased in a digital format (www.digimarc.com).

In determining search and retrieval strategies it will be necessary to decide whether a browse strategy, Boolean strategy, or keyword search strategy will be most compliant with the predetermined indexing software.

The cost differences relative to this decision will need to be determined once the choice of indexing software has been made.

In determining the image purchasing procedure it will be necessary to decide whether a form should be provided on the site that is completed and mailed in by the user, or whether an e-commerce system will be established for these business transactions and the handling of charges. This decision must take into account the present system's capabilities.

The cost differences relative to this decision range from the highest cost associated with the development of an e-commerce plan and the lowest cost being associated with the online form that is completed and mailed in by the user.

Finally, the decision of accessibility to the site must be made. There are three possible alternatives including; in-house access only at dedicated terminals, an intranet that can be accessed throughout the Austin Public Library system, and access for the world at large via the World Wide Web.

The cost differences relative to this decision range from the highest cost associated with creating an intranet (see training section) and the lowest cost associated with placement of the digital project products on the World Wide Web.

There are three user groups who must be considered when determining training costs and procedures: the staff at the Austin History Center, selected staff of the Austin Public Library, and the general public end users.

The entire staff at the Austin History Center, as well as select members of the Austin Public Library system, will need to be trained in search and retrieval strategy for this project's database. A few select staff members of the Austin History Center (including possible temporary employees, contractors, and volunteers) will need to be trained in indexing, metadata formation, and imaging techniques, as well as established quality control procedures.

The general public end users will need training in search and retrieval strategies and the easiest and least costly way to instruct them would most likely be with an online tutorial, or a very well defined guide of search techniques on the website.

If the intranet option is chosen as an access alternative, then staff throughout the Austin Public Library system will need training in search and retrieval techniques. There may be a need to teach the original indexing scheme used in this project.

The most costly training alternative would be to create an intranet for the website. This alternative would incur the cost of all other training options as well as include training for members of the Austin Public Library staff. The lowest cost alternative would be to develop the project for the World Wide Web and include a user tutorial for the general public.

All alternatives would include the cost of training the staff at the Austin History Center, but creating a World Wide Web site would reduce the cost of training the entire staff at the Austin Public Library as well.

There are many options to aid in the marketing of this project. Marketing could be outsourced to the City of Austin's Public Information Office, the Austin History Center Association, or contracted with an independent marketing firm.

Marketing vehicles could include:

• Press releases,
• Chamber of Commerce links to the Austin History Center website,
• University of Texas links to the Austin History Center website,
• Fliers within library,
• Presentations by Austin History Center staff members at conferences*,
• Presentations by Austin History Center staff members at community association meetings*,
• Announcements on listservs, and
• Journal articles.

*The presentations by the Austin History Center staff members would include a real time demonstration of search and retrieval techniques and demonstration of the website features.

6. Benefits

The benefits are the expected positive effects of the proposed photograph digitization project on the operation of the Austin History Center and on the cultural development of the City of Austin.

• Advance the City of Austin's mission to be the most livable city in the United States by:

• Informing native, new, and potential residents about the history and culture of Austin and Travis County,
• Contributing to Austin's environmental quality by offering distance access to the Austin History Center's image collection in place of in-house use, thereby reducing automobile traffic and emissions caused by patron visits,
• Educating the public on the developments of local history to allow more informed participation in addressing present and future issues,
• Preserving the collective memory of the City of Austin and its environs in a time of rapid and dramatic civic change, and
• Assisting restoration of historic buildings, which is a primary environmental and cultural concern of many communities
• Provide easily accessible learning resources to the fast growing population of educators, parents, and students,
• Facilitate access and delivery of images to scholars of Texas history and culture worldwide

Advance the Austin History Center's mission of public service by presenting a popular medium of record through a familiar tool of access

• Improve the presence of the Austin History Center on the World Wide Web
• Increase efficiency and productivity by:

• Providing greater access to the image collection,
• Reducing staff time spent retrieving photographs,
• Serving more patrons with a minimum of effort,
• Reducing repetition of scanning,
• Streamlining the image order process,
• Automating statistical record keeping for the image collection,

• Heighten morale by helping staff improve their efficiency and productivity,
• Improve customer service,
• Prolong life of original prints and negatives by reducing handling,
• Increase revenue due to enhanced accessibility of images, and
• Augment disaster recovery plan by providing off-site digital backup of images.

6. Recommendations/Implementation Plan

Digitization will provide unprecedented access to the photographic collections of the Austin History Center (AHC) during a period of significant civic transformation. It will employ the past in making Austin more livable in the present by inviting native, new, and potential residents to appreciate the distinctive history of the city. Such knowledge will:

Cultivate communal identity,

• Give insight to addressing present and future issues,
• Maintain Austin's collective memory,
• Provide patrons an accessibility unconstrained by locale or time of day, and
• Assist preservation by reducing handling of the original images.

These digital images will improve the visibility of the AHC among archivists, scholars, educators, students, and casual patrons.

The creators of the digital image collection will be confronted by the complexity of its initial construction, the demands of continuous stewardship, and the unforeseen obstacles inevitably present in such an unfamiliar project. The following demands of the project are expected to create the greatest challenge for the staff of the AHC:

• Securing financial, physical, and human resources,
• Determining the priority of images for scanning,
• Deciding on the quantity and format of descriptive metadata,
• Integrating new technologies into the center's existing infrastructure,
• Establishing tracking systems to ensure physical security of the original images during the scanning process,
• Devising safeguards to prevent the misuse of images, and
• Committing to the regular and costly migration of images to new formats.

The digitization of the AHC's collections will prompt the archives' administrators to make several new decisions about its policies and procedures. They must:

• Develop criteria to prioritize images for scanning,
• Create a filing scheme for the database,
• Incorporate a metadata indexing system,
• Secure copyrights and permissions for Web publication,
• Determine how they will respond to unauthorized use of images,
• Prepare and efficient delivery system for images, and
• Decide on a pricing structure for their services.

The preservation benefits of viewing images online may motivate the center to restrict handling of prints and negatives, thus requiring new guidelines to govern their use.

These challenges must be addressed at the beginning of the digitization project's execution when a project manager is chosen, management is won over, communication, work, and technology plans are drafted, and risks are assessed. The project requirements necessitate a long and demanding process, which is outlined in the Implementation Plan.

This project should be thought of as a continuing, long-term effort. Buy-in from upper management is extremely helpful, if not crucial, for any project to succeed over the long term; effort should be made to find someone in upper management to champion digitization program.

A project manager should be appointed to this endeavor immediately. This person will oversee the project from inception to launch and will be the main contact person for everyone involved. This person will also make sure that all aspects of the project are completed successfully and on-time.

The communication plan defines the participants, content, procedures, and frequency of communication during the implementation of the program. Although its development occurs during the first phase, the communication plan guides interaction throughout all stages of project execution. It prepares the project administrators for effective dialogue with their staff by setting training standards, the vendor by dictating specific instructions, upper management by submitting periodic progress reports, the community by crafting public relations strategies, and municipal government by requesting cooperative action.

Work plan development includes an overall plan of action for the subsequent steps of the project, including the general development of the technology plan. It will also include a timeline for completion of the entire project as well as for the individual steps of the project. All project participants will develop the work plan collaboratively.

A technology plan lays out the hardware, software, and technical needs for this project.

This process will consist of an analysis of a variety of issues affecting the implementation of the project, including but not limited to: copyright considerations, legal issues, and the potential effects upon the History Center and the photographic collection.

Funding Procurement exercises responsibility for resource development in the form of funding for an intended special project. Funding would need to be an ongoing project.

The purpose of this RFP will be to solicit bids for the performance of the scanning of images. This document should contain an introductory section describing the purpose of the RFP. Some components of this RFP might include, but not be limited to, Purpose, Definitions, Points of Contact, Offer or Responses, Term of Contract, Detailed Requirements, Cost Proposal, and Evaluation and Award.

In this phase of the project, the AHC will contact and interview scanning service providers to determine which one is most suitable to entrust with this project. The criteria used in selection will range from cost, to location with respect to the Center, to the reputation of the service provider. Communication with former clients of the various vendors will be an invaluable resource in selecting the vendor for the Center.

The digitization project will be extremely computer intensive, and so the selection of the hardware and software that will support the image database is very important. The AHC should by very selective in its choice, comparing as wide a range of equipment and software as possible. These components will not only have to work well together, but they must also mesh with the existing information infrastructure available to the Center and the Library, and be acceptable to the City of Austin's technology policies. Furthermore, this equipment will have to be capable of supporting indefinite expansion as more images are scanned in the future. The selection process may require the addition of a second RFP to the project.

Staffing considerations will include interns, volunteers and possibly the addition of a full time position to the Austin History Center staff. This dedicated position will be responsible for the majority of the indexing necessary for the search and retrieval of the images within the database. They will also be required to assist in the scanning of the digitized images and quality control. The volunteers and interns will be responsible for assisting in the indexing, scanning of digitized images and quality control.

This portion of the implementation plan will define the process of scanning and indexing the photographic collection. It will determine vendor and AHC staff interaction, work assignments for AHC staff and volunteers, steps for database indexing and Web site integration, and procedures for safeguarding the images in transit between the vendor and AHC.

Training of the Austin History Center staff is crucial for this project to succeed. The training will begin in the earliest phase of the project and continue throughout its development. The project manager will be responsible for creating and overseeing the training schedule.

• The first phase of training will begin with the new staff position. It will be necessary for this person to be familiar with the AHC and its resources, before beginning their new assignment.
• The second phase will be training of the selected members of the AHC staff in the indexing and scanning processes. This phase will be on going throughout the project.
• The third phase will be the training of the users of the website in search and retrieval strategies.

Refers to the creation of a database of selected keywords from a controlled vocabulary that describes and identifies each image. For the project, the indexing will be a two-step process. The vendor will be responsible for combining the descriptive indexing to the scanned images in one step. In the second step the staff at Austin History Center will expand the descriptive vocabulary to the database. The indexed terms in the database are then linked to the corresponding images. This makes search capabilities possible for the end user. To search for a desired image, the end user enters the descriptive term and the link connects to the image and displays it on the screen for viewing.

Vendor begins scanning of images in this phase. Original photographs will be brought to scanning site via AHC staff, vendor staff, or courier, and, once imaged, returned to the AHC. Quality control of scanned images will be performed at the AHC, by AHC staff. Completed scans will be quality checked individually for the first month, after which they will be spot-checked at regular intervals. In addition, scans may quality controlled individually as they are added to the database.

Consists of the creation of a graphical interface that will enable people using the World Wide Web to access the digital database of photos.

The first of two pilots, this will allow the staff of the History Center to see a prototype of what the finished product. Ideally, a small number of images will have been scanned, indexed and integrated with the preliminary web interface. Staff will be able to comment on web pages design and layout, the quality of images that have been scanned, and the information provided in the database. This will give the project team a chance to make changes before they get too far into the project.

After a brief pilot within the AHC, comments and input from staff will we gathered to assess the established goals and objectives of the project. Modifications and adjustments may be made as necessary prior to moving forward to the next phase of the project.

Test phase for the site rollout, internal to APL. This will include testing all aspects of site design (the index, image quality, retrieval) before making the site available to the general public.

After a brief pilot within the APL, comments and input from staff will be gathered to assess the established goals and objectives of the project. Modifications and adjustments may be made as necessary prior to final external launch of the system.

Launch system refers to the process of implementing the system so that the users are able to access the new digital images. The History Center now allows the patrons to view the photographs and images in their digital form either via the web or selected stations in the History Center. The users will also now be able to search for and order the new digital images using the selected database and ordering forms.

Evaluation implies that goals and targets are established for the project so that each phase of the project can be measured against those targets and adjustments can be made as necessary to keep the project moving toward successful completion of its goals. Evaluation will include defining timelines for the project, establishing quality control criteria for metadata production and scanned image production, solicitation of customer response to piloted products, and gathering of reactions and input from staff about how the product should best be delivered.

After product is launched, orders will be received from patrons via the Web (as well as conventionally via phone, mail or fax). AHC staff will track, fill, and ship orders as they arrive. Completed orders may be shipped via conventional mail or be authorized by AHC staff for download in digital format by the patron.

Consists of the gradual addition of digital photographs to the digital collection over the span of the project. Initially the project should launch with a large percentage of photos already located in the accessible database

Maintenance has two meanings in this project. (1) Up-keep of software, hardware, and infrastructure components in order to continuously deliver product and meet customer demand for accurate, timely, and accessible information. (2) Up-keep of the digital assets so that the total investment is protected for the long term. This maintenance involves systematically moving to better forms of media as they become standard, refreshing bits routinely as a standard practice, migrating content to maintain standards and improve functionality, and annual upgrading of disaster and preservation planning documents.

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Last Updated 09/17/2000

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