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Roadmap to Library Publishing

First, I’ve determined that there is no one “roadmap” that will lead my library into digital publishing. So, instead of creating a map, I’m going to do the best I can to sketch out the terrain ahead and think about questions that can guide our path.

Broader Context

This section tries to address two main questions: What is happening in the world of scholarly publishing that is relevant to North Park? What is happening within the North Park setting that is relevant to a library published endeavor? Quick thoughts:

  • Continued movement toward Open Access. There is still work to be done in our local context but that is the clear movement. The Covenant Quarterly and Journal of Hip Hop Studies indicate this trend is taking root on campus.
  • Institutional branding. There is a renewed focus in institutional branding and online presence. There could be powerful connections to make here.
  • Publishing and the North Park mission. My sense is that North Park values diverse contributions to the academic community more than creating a specialized repository
  • Chicago. There might be some opportunities to promote North Park within the regional context through research and student projects.

Scope

We need to define the scope of this project. There are many different efforts that fall under the broad category of “digital publishing”, including:

  • Institutional Repositories
  • Digital Humanities
  • Data Repository
  • Open Educational Resources
  • Campus multimedia (lectures, performances, etc.)

Of these options, I think the most appropriate level and scope would be an institutional repository that contains simple/static documents such as PDFs. A next step would be to curate multimedia from across campus.

Even within this scope, the library will need to make editorial and collection development decisions to make sure that (1) we have a critical mass of content and (2) that there is some editorial scope. I think we should prioritize the following content areas and focus on building relationships with relevant parties.

Student Research

  • Honor’s Projects and Papers
  • Student Research
  • Master’s Thesis
  • NPPress Student Research
  • Covenant History Papers
  • Partnerships with different courses/programs.

Faculty/Staff Scholarship

  • Journal Articles
  • Faculty/Staff Presentations and other “gray” literature
  • Papers from campus symposiums
  • Offer hosting/support for existing campus projects

Political Realities/Soft Skills

We would need some strong support from across campus to take on this project and lead the campus here. Given the proposed scope of this project, here are the people I think it would be important to connect with:

  • The President
  • Provost
  • Campus Deans
  • The University Marketing and Communication Office
  • Honors Program
  • Seminary Faculty
  • Faculty/Tenure Committee
  • NPPRESS Leadership
  • Student Research Committee

Some of these needed connections blend into the next set of questions that seeks to define the scope of this project and effort. I think if we have 5 strong allies (willing to contribute the content they are responsible for) that would make a strong starting point.

Management

Do we have the technical and social workflows to produce, distribute and preserve this content? There are many overlapping questions here, but here is an attempt to list the important ones:

  • Do we have the rights/permissions to publish these materials? Who will work with each group to determine these permissions and who will maintain the paperwork?
  • Do we have the staff expertise, staff time, and faculty/staff connections to successfully manage this projects?
  • What is the ongoing cost of this project in terms of hosting costs, incentives and open access fees, etc.?
  • Where does this rank compared to other library/institutional priorities?
  • What are peer institutions doing? What can we learn from them?
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Personal Digital Archiving – Documents

I’m taking a Digital Preservation class and one of my assignments involves looking at my own personal digital archive. I usually pride myself on being organized and having a pretty minimal and clean digital presence…but formally looking at my stuff made me realize how much digital junk I really had!

So now I’m slowly working through my personal digital archive and am about to tackle my school documents. I thought I would post my thoughts and process on this blog for future reference.

Step 1 – Delete Stuff

I had a lot of junk lurking around from my school days. Old drafts, purely administrative documents, and other worthless things. Delete all of that stuff.

Step 2 – Copy Stuff

This is just an experiment so I’m planning on copying all of my school work (at least for the time being). Therefore I’ll be preserving the original file (in the original file format) as well as an archival master (as a PDF).

Step 3 – Rename Stuff

Right now, I use folders to sort and organize my files. This approach really works for me – but I wanted to explore an alternative way of describing and organizing files. So I’m going to embed more metadata in the filename itself. To do this bulk rename, I’m going use my Mac’s built in File Rename tool. Here is a video:

I’m going to re-work my folder structure into file names following these conventions:

SchoolSchoolYear-Semester#_CourseAbbreviation_FileName

So, for example,

  • NPU1-1_BTS1850_FinalPaper = North Park University, freshman year, first semester, BTS 1850, Final Paper.
  • NPTS2-2_BIBL5111_FinalPaper = North Park Theological Seminary, second year, second semester, BIBL 5111, Final Paper.

I’m planning on adding a readme to this folder – but the designated community for this project is just me and I think I can remember.

Step 4 – Migrate to PDF

I’m not dealing with ancient files here…but I am dealing with Word documents from 2002. So far, all of these files are still readable (and the Word format seems relatively safe for the foreseeable future…) but I wanted to get some experience bulk converting to PDF.

I’m going to use the Mac’s Automator feature again and run a custom AppleScript that I found online here: http://igikorn.com/batch-convert-word-documents-pdf/.

Step 5 – Back Up

At this stage, I have a folder – currently called “Personal Digital Archive” that has all of my school documents with uniform file names in the PDF format. Looks great! I’m planning on backing up these files using my standard back-up method (external hard drive) and I’m also exploring a cloud storage solution that is not DropBox or Google Drive.

 

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Center for Railroad Photography & Art Internship!

I’m excited to start an internship working with the Center for Railroad Photography & Art and the Lake Forest College Archives! I want to use this space to write up a bit about the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, the collection I’ll be working with, and the some initial thoughts and goals for my particular project.

About the Center

The Center for Railroad Photography & Art is a organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of railroad art as it intersects with American life. There website provides much greater detail about their mission: http://www.railphoto-art.org/about/. They are involved in publication – including the journal “Railroad Heritage” – and maintain an online web portal that serves as a digital collection of railroad photography.

About the Collection

I’ll be working directly with one of the Center’s collections – The Fred M. Springer Collection.  The Center for Railroad photography & Art has compiled a relatively complete biographic section – and he seems like a pretty interesting guy! I’m particularly fascinated by his interest in narrow gauge trains. I’m working with his collection of black and white negatives that are currently housed and curated by the Lake Forest College Archives.

The Project

Preservation

The collection is roughly 7,500 Cellulose Acetate Film Base negatives – most seem to be “Kodak Safety” negatives. Most of the negatives are 3.5 inches wide and 2.25 inches tall. These negatives are currently housed in sleeves and envelopes of various sizes and materials (paper, plastic, etc.) and I do not know if they are archival quality of not. These sleeves contain critical metadata for the collection. The collection seems in very good shape – no signs of deterioration at this point.

Options/Recommendations

  • Invest in A-D strips to check for deterioration (
    http://www.hollingermetaledge.com/modules/store/index.html?dept=27&cat=846&cart=1421953411839179)
  • Re-housing material in archival quality envelopes ($1,500) and boxes ($100) would be expensive – determine if there is need for this.

Organization

The physical negatives are currently arranged alphabetically by railroad (and possibly by train number following that) in what is presumed to be the Springer’s original organization. The collection is also physically divided into 6 boxes. Digital files are currently named used a locally devised scheme of Collection_Box#_Envelope# and seems to correspond closely to the existing physical arrangement.

Options/Recommendations

  • Gather all digital files in one folder and confirm that digital file naming standards match physical arrangement.
  • Add additional dividers within the boxes to reflect envelope numbering (current system makes discovery difficult).
  • Consider writing the unique identifier directly on each envelope/sleeve.
  • Standardize practice when envelopes contain multiple negatives (re-house in new envelopes/sleeves, change file naming structure?)

Metadata and Access

Implement metadata standards that relate to the intended purpose and audience of this collection. Existing metadata is written on the envelope and often includes: train, train number, location, date, and sometimes a short description.

Options/Recommendations

  • Transcribe existing metadata to a spreadsheet – apply controlled vocabulary and standards – and add other descriptive and technical metadata (collection and collector information, original format, digital format, size, color)
  • Create new descriptive metadata (classifications, titles, longer descriptions)

Questions for the Center

To organize my thoughts and get a better sense of the project I wanted to compile a list of questions for the Center for Railroad Photography & Art. Here is a quick list.

  1. What is the intended purpose of digitizing this collection? Who is the intended audience? Where will this live online?
  2. What level of metadata is required for this collection?
    1. Is associating digital files with unique identifiers sufficient for this collection?
    2. Should the unique identifiers be associated with descriptive metadata and – if so – what level of metadata is required?
  3. What is the best way to store this collection?
    1. Preserve existing organization and structure – would it be okay to add additional marking and structure?
    2. Are the current storage systems of archival quality? Are there funds to invest in other storage systems?
  4. Small Questions
    1. The orientation of some of the photos is wrong (i.e. letter/numbers are backwards) – is that something we should fix?
    2. Should I change basic orientation?
    3. One file per photo – extend file naming to be Collection_Box#_Envelope#_A if we continue using the current file naming convention or assign new unique identifier if it is replaced.

Background Information

I’m new to the area and wanted to begin building a body of knowledge and resources as it relates to this project. Here are some helpful resources I’ve found so far.

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Omeka updates

In the very little spare time I manage to find, I still try and update my personal family archive project. Again, it’s been a great experience working with a wonderful (and very personal collection!) and I’ve learned so much. I feel like I should write a little about that project here to show what I’ve learned.

People – This was surprisingly difficult and I dithered on this for quite sometime. First, I created a controlled vocabulary of sorts using the person’s official birth (therefore maiden) name. Then I decided to use the tagging system within Omeka to describe the people in the resource. For the intended audience, this is perhaps the most important piece of metadata and I wanted it featured prominently.

Date – trying hard to use the international standard yyyy-mm-dd consistently through out this project. Inferred dates are entered in square brackets [] and partial dates are left incomplete.

Language – for the few items I’m including that have a language component, I’m using a controlled vocabulary (via the Simple Vocab plugin) to describe the language of these resources. Right now it’s just English and Dutch.

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Updating to Omeka 2.0

I’ve written about my personal project using the Omeka tool in the past, but wanted to provide an update that I recently updated to Omeka 2.0. Here is the news piece from the Omeka blog: http://omeka.org/blog/2013/01/24/omeka-2-0-drops-today/

However, updating from my previous install to the brand new 2.0 version took a little work – especially because I made a relatively major mistake in (somehow) deleting one of the thumbnail files that Omeka requires. The site is working, but I learned a few valuable lessons in the process.

  1. Back up all files. I had to rely on the back up service that bluehost provides. Well that worked just fine in this case, it was scary to think that data might have been lost. Lesson learned.
  2. Open source rocks. I had to post a question on the Omeka help forum and was amazed at the quick and helpful response. Also, reading through the other postings was extremely helpful in seeing what the problems are and seeing what others are trying to do. It was great.
  3. DYI is the way to go. Even though I had a few hours of fear and confusion, doing this myself has taught me so much about websites work and are built. Even without changing the files, I’m getting a better sense of how things like SQL, PHP, and CSS all relate to each other.

I could offer a more technical version of how to do this install – but following the steps they have posted eventually worked for me. I’ll update more as a I play around in Omeka 2.0, but wanted to share my progress so far.

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Review of “Metadata for digital collections: a how-to-do-it manual”

Miller, Steven J. Metadata for digital collections : a how-to-do-it manual. Facet Publishing, 2011.

Over the weekend, I read Steven Miller’s book “Metadata for digital collections : a how-to-do-it manual.” Overall, the book was a perfect introduction to the fascinating (and still developing!) field of metadata in the context of digital collections. The book found a very nice balance between abstract theory and practical advice and was easily readable by someone with no professional training in the field.

In particular, his explanations and examples of the Dublin Core set of metadata in actual digital collections was a strength of this book. It provided a strong overview of some of the more nuanced elements of the Dublin Core – type vs. format, for example – as well as some other principles relevant to creating digital collections within a broad metadata framework.

Moving forward, I plan to continue reviewing and revisiting this book as a I begin to plan and explore the joys and challenges of creating my own digital collections within the Dublin Core framework using Omeka. I think that will be the best way to really comprehend the subtle differences among the elements and see how a universal set of standards can be adapted to describe a unique set of digital objects.

I thought this book was very readable and very worthwhile. I clearly accomplished the goals set out in the preface: “[to guide] students and working professionals through the basics of digital resource description, raising their awareness of commonly encountered challenges, along with common solutions” for a variety of different metadata schemes and to leave readers with “a solid working knowledge of metadata for digital resources that they can put to use in their jobs or take with them into today’s professional marketplace.” (xvii and xxi, respectively)

I plan on keeping it on my shelf and will likely reference it frequently in the days and months ahead. Highly recommended.

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Turning Tweets into Stories

I work in the technical services department of my library and I spend most of my time ordering and invoicing all the books for the Brandel Library at North Park University. It’s quite enjoyable (most of the time…) and most entries will be about my work and interest in the technical details of the library.

But, in addition to being the Acquisitions Coordinator, I’m also one of the library’s tweeters.

I (@ameyer24) began tweeting in 2008, but my library (@brandellibrary) started tweeting in March of 2012. I really love  tweeting for the library and am quite proud of the small following we’ve built and the conversations that we’ve entered into. In many ways, tweeting for the library is much easier than tweeting about my own life – mainly because I know the library can make big contributions to the conversations happening on twitter. It’s been great.

For this post, I wanted to share a tool I used that really encapsulated the value and importance of twitter. I used Storify to tell the story “Brandel Library, Finals Week, 2012“. Storify is a web service that “helps its users tell stories by curating social media.” I focused on just twitter, but Storify can also pull from facebook, youtube, flickr, instagram, google plus, and other websites. This flexibility and ease of use makes it an extremely valuable way to collect bits of social media and weave them into a compelling story.

I think this is especially important in an academic library setting. Storify can help libraries:

  1. Demonstrate the value of social media. I hear that many libraries have a difficult time demonstrating the value of social media. I think a carefully curated story shows (to a wary director, to the administration, to the wider campus community) the value and importance of entering those conversations. I think our story provides concrete examples about how twitter can benefit the community. Our story reveals how other patrons actively answered questions about the library. It tells us something about how people use the library space. It shows the pride some people have for the library. Twitter is no longer a ‘waste of time’ – it’s a new way we can demonstrate our value to the broader campus community.
  2. Thank their community. After creating and publishing the story, I sent out tweets thanking each person who contributed something to the story. Along with retweeting and responding, this was another way to show individuals how much their voices mattered to the library. Twitter is great because of the conversations it can create. I am careful not to use twitter as a place to post announcements – I want to use twitter as a way to engage patrons and communities in conversation. I want to have public conversations through twitter, not shout library announcements.

I’m surprised that I haven’t seen more academic libraries create and curate stories to Storify. It seems like a perfect way to weave discrete bits of media into a compelling story that demonstrates the value of social media and that rewards library patrons for sharing their experiences.

I’d love to hear or see how other libraries are using Storify to tell different stories. I’d also love to hear any one speak to whether/how Storify could be used to archive and preserve these digital conversations.