Presented at the 2013 British Columbia Library Association annual conference in Richmond, BC May 10, by Michael Conroy, Community Digital Projects Analyst & Coordinator, BC Digitization Coalition, and Simon Neame, Director, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.

1. Building Strong Community
Connections through Digital
Collections
Mike Conroy, Community Digital Projects Analyst & Coordinator, BC
Digitization Coalition
Simon Neame, Director, Irving K Barber Learning Centre
Jillian Povarchook, Collections Associate, Museum of Vancouver

2. BC Digitization Coalition
• Multi-sector partnership
• Goal: to build an infrastructure that
supports the access and discovery of
digitized content from BC’s cultural
and memory institutions
• Steering Committee
• Technical Sub-committee
• Collaborative funding model,
additional support from IKBLC Photography by Jean-François Lanzarone

3. Archives Association of BC | BC Electronic Library Network|
BC Libraries Cooperative | BC Historical Federation | BC
Libraries Federations | BC Museums Association |BC Teacher
Librarians’ Association | Canadiana.org | Irving K. Barber
Learning Centre | Simon Fraser University | Vancouver Public
Library | University of Northern British Columbia | University
of Victoria | Union of BC Indian Chiefs | University of British
Columbia Library

4. BC Bibliography Project
• Goal: build a single searchable database of the bibliography of
BC, based on searchable digital versions of the books from
volumes 1-3 (1849 – 1950)
• Phase 1 pilot – 166 items
• Phase 2 – 4,000 items from UBC holdings
• 7293 items in all three volumes
• High res, high quality scans
• http://bcbib.library.ubc.ca/
• West Beyond the West: Books
• Potential to integrate other themed collections e.g.
newspapers, videos

5. West Beyond the West Hosting
West Beyond the West Search Portal

6. Problem #1
Searching through digital
collections takes a lot of time
• You mean I have to go to
each library’s digital
collections?!

7. Problem #2
Searchers don’t always think about
visiting your digital collection.
Guys, have you checked out my
website yet?

8. Problem #3 – Everything!
How many FTEs do you think we
have anyway?

9. “There’s an app
for that”
Projects:
West Beyond the West Hosting
West Beyond the West Search Portal
- Metadata Wrangling

10. West Beyond the West
Hosting
June 2013

11. Powered by AtoM

12. WBTW Hosting Features
– Branded institution page [Coalition sponsored]
– Text, image, audio, video
– Full text search
– Exports to Canadiana & West Beyond the West Search
Portal [Coalition sponsored]
– Remote back-up protects against equipment
failure/disaster
– Ability to select metadata schema at the collection level
[Coalition Sponsored]
– Priced for small to medium sized institutions
http://collections.westbeyondthewest.ca

13. West Beyond the West
Search Portal

14. West Beyond the West
Search Portal Features
You mean I have to go to each
library’s digital collections?!
When Data meets DataSolving Problem #1

15. West Beyond the West
Search Portal Features
Solving Problem # 2
• Find and be found…
– Aids users in discovery
– Aids institutions in visibility

16. West Beyond the West
Search Portal Features
• Getting Social

17. westbeyondthewest.ca

18. Metadata Wrangling
•

19. How it all works
West Beyond the West
• Search and browse across
BC digital Collections
• Relies on Canadiana
metadata
Digital Collection Hosting
Service with
enhancements to AtoM
• Hosts digital collections
for small institutions
• Institutional branding
• CMR Metadata Export
Metadata Wrangling Service
• Transformation of
metadata from smaller
institutions with existing
digital collections to CMR
Canadiana
• Central
metadata
repository for
WBTW
AtoM
2.0
AtoM
2.0
AtoM
2.0
community instances

20. Participate!
Michael.Conroy@ubc.ca
604-827-4960