The workshop on managing digitisation programs focused on best practices for digitising collections, emphasizing the importance of increased access, preservation, and the use of digital assets for research and education. Topics covered included the selection of materials for digitisation, copyright considerations, project planning, and the technological processes involved in digitisation. Key discussions highlighted the need for collaboration, effective management strategies, and adapting to the evolving demands of digital preservation.

1. Managing DigitisationProgramsWorkshopSydney, 16 July 2009Mal Booth – DERSU

2. My background?The Australian War Memorial’s Research Centre functions as a library and an archive. It develops, manages and provides public access to Australia’s official, personal, & published records of war.

3. Global trends in digitisationFaster, better, cheaper equipment & storage

4. Better DAMS & CMS software

5. Institutional & shared repositories

6. More audio & film

7. Collaboration

8. Shared collections (eg. Picture Australia)

9. Mass digitisation programs: Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Open Content Alliance (OCA), Internet Archive

10. Pressure for online access & pressures on real storage spaceI’m not sure what these are, but they are important!Dynamism

11. Preservation (as a benefit & obligation where necessary)

12. Playing

13. Management & planning

14. Compromise

15. AccessRecent Examples - AWMWW1, WW2, Korea & Vietnam unit war diaries260k+ images of our collectionsOfficial histories (published works)Digitisation on demand

16. Digitisation for Accessc90,000 ppper year

17. Recent Examples – UTS LibrarySupporting Teaching & LearningDigital Resource Register

18. Alternative Format Service

19. Exam PapersAccess onlySupporting Research eScholarship (UTS ePress, iResearch, eData)

20. Australian Digital Theses CollectionAccess & Preservation (data curation)

21. About one fifth of these images

22. What we will cover today1. GETTING STARTEDa. Why and what to digitise?b. How (preservation/access) & Principlesc. Copyright and IP considerations (briefly)d. Resources needed; in-house or outsource?e. Process outline: from planning to long term maintenance (life-cycle)2. METHODS, CONTENT & STORAGEa. Production: file formats & standards, scanners & cameras, softwareb. Output: indexing, access, search optimisation, delivery optionsc. Storage, ongoing maintenance & management requirementsd. Just doing it, lessons learned & key issues

23. Why and what to digitise?WHYIncrease & broaden access (remote & 24/7)Fragile, valuable &/or unique materials (loss or damage would be catastrophic)Support research & educationAnticipating future use or re-useImproved search, retrieval & storagePromoting knowledge, understanding & recognition of collectionsRelationships to other collectionsPreservation of at-risk collections by risk reduction & conservationWHAT: popular collections; fragile/unique; at-risk; significant priorities; relationships (corporate or collaborative); & what you have the right to digitise!

24. How: some Principles* - Collections(organised groups of objects)Agreed collection development policySound descriptionLifecycle curationBroad access to allRespect for IPEvaluation for use & usefulnessInteroperabilityIntegration of staff & user workflowsSustainability & continued usability* NISO Framework of Guidance for the Building of Good Digital Collections

25. How: some Principles - Objects(digital assets)Production ensures collection priorities & maintains interoperability and re-usePreservability: persistence & accessibility over time; across evolving media, software & formatsMeaningful outside its context: portable, reusable, interoperablePersistent identifiers: URLs or URIsAuthentication: veracity, accuracy & authenticityInclusion of associated metadata: descriptive, administrative & structural

26. How: some Principles - Metadata(selection and implementation of information about objects: descriptive; administrative; technical; structural; & preservation)Appropriate to materials, users and useSupport for interoperability: mappings & crosswalks between schemesUse of authority control and content standardsIncludes a clear statement on conditions of use for the objects (eg. fair use)Support for long term management, eg. PREMISMetadata records are treated as digital objectsRUBRIC overview:http://cairss.caul.edu.au/packages/RUBRIC_Toolkit/docs/Metadata_lite.htm

27. How: some Principles - Initiatives(the creation & management of collections)A substantial design and planning componentAppropriate staffing and expertiseBest practice project managementAn evaluation planA project report that documents the process & outcomesConsideration of the entire lifecycle (ongoing management)

28. Copyright & Intellectual Property (1)Concerns:What sort of items are protected by copyright? What is the duration of copyright protection? What sorts of activities infringe copyright? When is a copyright licence required?Understanding the “exceptions” to copyright infringementSee: Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Short Guidelines for Digitisation by Emily Hudson and Andrew Kenyon& ACC’s Special case exception: education, libraries, collections(deals with the new section 200AB)

29. IFLA/IPA Statement on Orphaned Works

33. Resources required (1)Hardware – scanners, cameras, computers, monitors, digital storage, memory & processing powerSoftware – scanning, OCR, office apps, image editing & management, DAM?, video/audio capture, metadata capture?, file conversion, calibrationFurnishings – for staff, computers, scanners, storageFacility space – scanning, preparation & storage, QASpecialist staff – curatorial, cataloguers, IT/DBA, web, scanning, project management, conservatorsTraining needsConservation needs – archival supplies & consultanciesBudget funds – salaries, hardware/software purchases & lease, licenses, running/ongoing costs, contingencyCorporate support – context within corporate or other priorities and strategies

34. WW1 Diaries scanning facilitiesApproximately 200,000 high res. images per year

35. Outsource or Inhouse?Contractor responsible for capital equipment, training and technology obsolescence costs costsNo need to find scanning spaceLess need for digitisation knowledgeEconomies of scale (& capability for large volumes & throughput)The bureau may be able to achieve a better quality result & have a broader range of servicesA better fix on costs and timescales (but these can vary widely)Better institutional knowledge, understanding & capacity

36. Less risk than working with external parties

37. Better ability to meet specific needs and deadlines?

38. Cheaper costs for oversized or non-standard materials?

39. QA may be more efficient

40. Saving on transport and insurance and less risk with onsite scanning

41. Assured staff and expertise Dealing with an external bureauClear contracts are important

42. Choosing a bureau – check with reference sites

43. Range and scope of material - non-standard materials

44. Collaboration with others to achieve further economies of scale may be possible

45. QA can be a project killer

46. Metadata – what will the bureau record?

47. Consider partial outsourcing or bringing a specialist partner onsiteSome funding optionsProgram funding – dependent on corporate priorities

48. User pays – but will they?

49. Grants - eg. http://www.nla.gov.au/chg/

50. Donors or sponsors -from or associated with a web presence

51. Collection Depreciation – depends on valuation and an accounting standard

52. As a training activity – can be viable learning experience for a small team & project

53. New policy proposals“Investing in an Intangible Asset”The benefits of long term preservation of digital assets are difficult to value (reliably and objectively), but the costs of not doing so are high if action isn’t taken. More information on costs and benefits is needed.Digital preservation is still new, so there is scope for market creation & development, research and experimentation.Information managers know why such programs are important, but find it hard to communicate this to those who control our finances. Business cases based on empirical evidence need something like the balanced scorecard approach to bridge the gap between us and decision makers.Digital preservation is still an organisational innovation and must be managed effectively as it is dependent on independently driven technological developments.From DCC’sInvestment in an Intangible Asset

54. The AWM Document Digitisation Process

55. Cornell’s digital imaging process mapRadiating out from the goals and deliverables of the project are the institutional resources

56. The outer wheel represents the processes or stages of digital imaging initiatives – clockwise from Selection

57. PRODUCTION: file formats and standardsCommonly used formats:TIFF

58. JPEG

59. GIF

60. PDF (accessible text!)Contemporary & future formats:JPEG 2000

61. PNG

62. DNGPRODUCTION: file formats – how and where they are used

63. PRODUCTION: scanners & camerasFlatbed scanners

64. Map/plan scanners

65. Overhead scanners

66. Digital cameras

67. Book scanners

68. Book-edge scanners

69. Microfilm and slide scannersPRODUCTION: softwareImage editing software Consider: cost; hardware requirements; usability; functionality

70. Options : Adobe Photoshop CS3 (expensive/best) & Photoshop Elements (cheap); Gimp (free); + prop. software for RAW files

71. Derivative, OCR and pdf production: Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro; OmniPage; ImageMagick (conversion software); Ghostscript (pdf interpreter); & pdftk (pdf toolkit)Other useful open source software:JHOVE object validation

72. FedoraCommons object repository management system

73. ebXML e-business suite

74. Xena digital document preservation software (from NAA)

75. DSpace institutional repository system

76. DROID automated batch identification of file formats (from TNA UK)

77. OpenEdit ; Razuna ; ResourceSpace - Open source & free DAM softwareOUTPUTIndexing Most descriptive metadata will come from your MARC records

78. If a separate database is needed: Access, SQL & OracleAccess options (also part of just doing it)Collection OPACs, databases, Zoomify, EAD, DVDs, CDs

79. Other: Blogs, Facebook ArtShare, Flickr, Flickr Commons, Facebook pageSearch engine optimisationHow can I create a Google-friendly site? STORAGE & MAINTENANCEStorageConsider: Speed (read/write, data transfer); Capacity; Reliability (stability, redundancy); Standardization; Cost; & Fitness to taskManagement, maintenance & preservation Digital preservation practices

80. Preservation metadata

81. Trusted digital repositories?LessonsWhat we wantWhat we are findingAccuracy / authenticity

82. Accessibility

83. Searchability

84. Easy navigation & download

85. Cost effectiveness

86. Good quality product

87. Text capture and search (OCR) where poss.

88. Integration

89. Scalability

90. Web interactivity

91. Simple solutions

92. Costs estimates escalate

93. Technology has limits, but is improving

94. You learn with new technology by doing

95. There is more to copyright than owning it

96. Anticipate needs & increasing expectations

97. $ hard to find for access (sponsorship?)

98. Better management & storage of assets

99. A need to educate managers & suppliers!

100. Keeping trained staff is a challenge

101. Costs/benefits of new technologies (risk?)

102. Importance of QA in projects!

103. Need for a strategic plan(s)

104. Be prepared to compromiseEnterprise Content Management: management, search & web facilities for digital assets and servicesExtensive digital asset management featuresExcellent electronic document & record managementIntuitive web content management featuresFacilitate simple and complex workflow processesExtensive and unified searching constructsScaleableCompliant with all government recordkeeping requirements & emerging digital preservation standardsIntegrate easily with existing systemsSimple to administer in terms of security, auditing & storage management

105. implementing user-friendly technologiesmake sure they are findable and useable

106. pick a few “winners” & lead by example

107. collaborate & network

108. get involved in your core business

109. don't leave it just to IT-staff (get involved)

110. learn to compromise (the 80:20 rule)‏

111. experiment

112. start now! it is sometimes easier to seek forgiveness than gain permissionJISC 2007 – five key issues for digitisationRe-focus on the user (simple, easily found & used output) Aggregate and present content that can resonate with multiple communities Learn from Google & YouTube but keep your valuesNew business models are needed, collaborating with and without the private sectorMore collaboration between publishers, curators, funders, users, vendors and standards bodies