Creating Content: Smithsonian Institution Libraries' Digital Library Program

Slide 1: Creating Content Smithsonian Institution Libraries' Digital Library Program Martin R. Kalfatovic New Media Office and Preservation Services Smithsonian Institution Libraries Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 2: Overview of Library Digitizing • Books are unique objects for scanning purposes • Differ from 2 dimensional works (e.g. Photographs) • Differ from 3 dimensional works (e.g. Artifacts) • Codex has been around for over 1600 years • The book format (title page, text, index, etc.) since the mid- 16th century • Web delivery of book objects has interesting challenges Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 3: Book Digitizing Process • Bound materials – Quality issues – Protects the material for future use • Disbound materials – Generally better scans – Destructive Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 4: SIL Imaging Center • Established 1999 • 2 digital scanning- back cameras – BetterLight – Phase I • Flatbed scanners • All Mac-based Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 5: Digitizing Vendors • SIL has used a variety of commercial vendors for non- and semi-rare materials – Kirtas Technologies (Robotic APT 2400 Scanner) – Preservation Resources – PTFS, Inc. – JJT – TechBooks Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 6: Digitizing Partners Internet Archive Scribe Book Scanner Internet Archive HQ San Francisco Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 7: Digitizing Standards: Page Images DLF Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials 300 dpi, 24-bit color uncompressed TIFF, or lossless compressed images (e.g. LZW, JPEG2000) Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 8: Digitizing Standards: Text Conversion Re-keying or OCR with correction to 99.997% accuracy Standard mark-up schema (e.g. flavors of XML like TEI or structured databases) Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 9: SIL Digitizing Statistics • Approximately 350,000 scanned pages • 700+ titles • 1,100 volumes Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 10: Who Is Using the SIL Digital Library? • Sewing machine enthusiasts • Researchers in Brazil • School kids around the country • Lepidopterists in Peru Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 11: Major Projects: Digital Editions • History of Science • Natural History • History and Culture • Art and Design Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 12: Major Projects: Trade Literature • Trade Literature Collections – Over 500,000 pieces, only a small fraction digitized – 30,000 images from two collections – Among SI Libraries’ most popular sites with over 15,000 visitors per month Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 13: Major Projects: Image Galaxy • SIL Image Galaxy – Over 9,000 of SI Libraries’ most interesting images – Serves as a gateway for product development and licensing – Assists students and teachers in locating images for use in the classroom and other projects Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 14: Major Projects: Scholarly Publications • Smithsonian Contributions and Studies Series – Collaboration with Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press – Currently over 65,000 pages online with another 80,000 in FY 2007 Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 15: National and International Partnerships • Aluka – African history and culture • Open Content Alliance Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 16: Internet Archive Scribe Scanner • Single Scribe Machine – Human operated – 200 volumes per shift per week – ~ 70,000 pages from a single machine per week Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 17: BHL Scribe Facilities • Boston Library Consortium (Boston Public Library) • New York Public Library • University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign • Natural History Museum (London) • Smithsonian Inst. Libraries • Missouri Botanical Garden (non-Scribe operation) Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 18: Digitizing Philosophy • Digital Curation – Just as libraries keep books, so do libraries have a mission to preserve “born digital” material – Digital Preservation through assisting in the transmission of digital content to future generations Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 19: Smithsonian Digital Repository • DSpace – Developed jointly by MIT and HP – Open source software used in hundreds of academic libraries – Preserves and makes available digital output of scientists, researchers, curators, historians, etc. Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 20: Needs for Enhancing the SIL Digital Library Program • Petabyte storage system for source files • Effective system for archiving of digital material (byte preservation) • Enhanced capacity for storing/delivering web- deliverable images • Central programming support for enhanced XML data delivery Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 21: Smithsonian Institution Libraries Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Slide 22: Special Topics in Librarianship / CUA School of Library and Information Science Martin R. Kalfatovic July 31, 2007 / Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution Libraries