Strategies for Building Successful Digital Initiatives:

Tools, Workflows and Ideas for Small to Medium Institutions

Rachel L. Frick & Andrew RounerUniversity of Richmond

University of Richmond‘s Digital Initiatives

• 2003 – Established a Task Force– Working Group Across IS and Libraries– Set Priorities – Repository vs. Digital Library– Identified existing technologies and expertise– Report drafted and published

• Beginning Projects– Open URL link resolver– Meta-searching– Local digital collections

Digital Initiative Collections• Digital Library Collections

– Publisher produced content: ejournals, images– E-reserves – Locally created digital collections

• WWII pamphlets• Student Newspaper• Art Image Collection

• Faculty Projects– Leptodactylus http://learning.richmond.edu/Leptodactylus/

– Electronic Journal of Disaster Management• http://www.richmond.edu/~wgreen/ejem.htm

Digital Initiative Collections• Digital Library Collections

– Publisher produced databases and Content– E-reserves – Locally created digital collections

• WWII pamphlets• Student Newspaper• Art Image Collection

• Faculty Projects– Electronic Journal of Disaster Management

• http://www.richmond.edu/~wgreen/ejem.htm– Leptodactylus

http://learning.richmond.edu/Leptodactylus/

DI Overdrive: IMLS Grant Project Details

• September 2003 – May 2006– Awarded IMLS funding

• One of 3 IMLS funded newspaper projects

• 2+ year grant

• Collaboration with experienced partner

• Digitizing 3 newspapers

IMLS Grant Project: Goals

• Create a digital collection of 3 newspapers: content & data

• Research cost beneficial strategies for imaging, tagging and accessing digital material

• Develop tools, workflows and strategies for like organizations starting or refining digital library activities

Today’s Focus: 3rd GoalStrategies, Workflows, & Tools

• Determine what is most important to you• Imaging• Text file creation: OCR vs. Double re-key• Metadata

• Expertise Inventory

• Buy, Borrow, & Create

Outsourcing Digital Creation: Vendor Relations

• Identify appropriate vendor partners and servicesCalifornia Digital Library http://cpc.stanford.edu/cndp/Colorado Digitization Program http://

www.cdpheritage.org/resource/introduction/index.html

• Communication Tools• Quality Control• Data Tracking

Outsourcing Digital Creation:Vendor Communication Tools

• Initial Proposals or Request for Information– Proof of Concept / Real Examples

• Master Service Agreements & Statements of Work– Dates, delivery, file formats and naming, etc.

• Agreement on Specifications– XML is not XML is not XML– Vendor Specifications Document

• http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/library/digital/IMLSdata/url_vendor_specs.htm

Outsourcing Digital Creation:Vendor Performance

• Quality Measurement & Assessment Standards:– Double Rekey – 99.9% accuracy rate– OCR – varies depending on image quality

– Confidence vs. accuracy/ Letter vs. Word accuracy – Get it in writing: performance penalties, ramifications

for missed deadlines, “return policy”

• Consider phasing data processing

Outsourcing Digital Creation:Tracking Data

• Image Files– Archival image– Delivery / surrogate image

• Text Files– Link to image– File naming

• Corrections & Versioning

Details

•Current state of affairs:•Over 10,589 image files – 1355 txt files processed

•1474 text files in the queue and 1266 more coming

•Data loading begins in November

•Opening day slated for January 2006

•Final report May 2006

Parting Shot

• Build on the success of others– Developers willing to share– Digital Registries – Great time to collaborate

• Standards and Best Practices

• Resources– IMLS -http://www.niso.org/framework/Framework2.html– NEDCC– DLF