The document outlines the contrasting methodologies for the digital curation and preservation of two distinct collections at UCD Digital Library: the analogue letters of Nano Nagle and the entirely digital Minor Harbours of Ireland. It details the technical processes, cataloguing efforts, and access mechanisms employed for both collections, including challenges in storage and preservation. Additionally, the document emphasizes the importance of digital curation, highlighting the unique characteristics and preservation needs of each collection.

1. Data
NN: A collection of 17 geographically-distributed
letters - entirely analogue.
MHI: A collection of LiDAR scans, images and
videos of 6 harbours around Ireland - entirely
'born digital'.
Digital
Curation
Data
Breakdown
Access
Digital
Preservation
NN: All letters scanned to TIFF and edited. Initial
cataloguing completed by archivists. Additional
cataloguing, including EAD, performed by
Metadata Librarian. Digital curation and ingest
performed by DL team.
MHI: Collection is born digital. JPG images
converted to TIFF. Cataloguing performed by
Metadata Librarian. Digital curation and ingest
performed by DL team.
NN: Collection comprises 38 high-resolution,
preservation TIFFs along with associated
metadata and derivative images for access.
MHI: Completely born digital. Comprises 6 large
laser scans (.LAS) of harbours, video and JPG
images.
NN: High resolution images can be viewed and
manipulated through Mirador and Universal
Viewer by employing the IIIF framework.
Transciptions added using FromThePage
augment discoverability.
MHI: Embedded, interactive visualisations, using
the POtree viewer will be available through UCD
Digital Library. Access restrictions to be placed on
data at request of researcher.
NN: Well-understood procedures to back up and
preserve cultural heritage images and metadata.
New workflow developed for capture and
preservation of transcriptions.
MHI: LOC recommends preservation of LiDAR
scans in LAS format.
1
2
3
4
5
Preservation is never done4
"Every collection is a snowflake"3
(Good) Digital Curation takes time2
Storage capacity is a concern1
80%
2%
2%
4%
4%
LAS
XML
JPG
TIF
MOV
5%
5%
2%
79%
9%
XML
JP2
JPG
TIF
PDF
Bespoke visualisations
February 2016 -
June 2018
5.35GB 197GB~20GB
Start End Start End
~1.2TB
Peter Clarke, UCD Digital Library @brndgtl
November 2017 -
June 2018
This poster demonstrates how the curation and preservation of cultural heritage and research data collections differ within
UCD Digital Library, identifying the challenges and opportunities faced daily.
The Collected Letters of Nano Nagle
(Cultural Heritage)
Minor Harbours of the East Coast of Ireland
(Research Collection)