Print to PixelsDigitizing in Your Library

Martin R. Kalfatovic

Head, New Media Office

Smithsonian Institution Libraries

The Institute for Federal Library Technicians

July 23, 2003

Overview

• Why?• What?• How?• Who?• Where?

Why?

• Access to Materials

• Preservation

• Increased Modulation of End User Cerebral Cortex Stimulation Potential

Why: It’s Cool!

Why: Preservation (?)Well, not yet … the current state of technology does not allow for the projection of the longevity of digital assets at the same levels as is possible for print and microfilm.

Any conversion from analog (e.g. print) to digital will have some level of loss of fidelity.

However, potential decreased reference to print copies, will reduce wear and tear on the originals.

Why: Preservation?

Why: Access

• Enhanced intellectual control;• Increased and enriched use through

searching and manipulation of objects;• New uses through increased dissemination

of materials;• Enhancements of images (e.g. faded or

stained documents)• Creation of “virtual collections” of

dispersed collections and materials» Adapted from Abby Smith, Why Digitize? 1999

Why: Access

• Enhanced intellectual control– Digitized collections allow for the creation

of finding aids, links to online catalogs, full-text searching capabilities, structured metadata, and other methods of providing “content control” of the collections.

Why: Access

• Increased and enriched use through searching and manipulation of objects– The ability to create collections that

have metadata access to previously inaccessible points allows for increased use.

Why: Access

• New uses through increased dissemination of materials– Rare collections are

generally not accessible to the general public without special assistance or in person visits.

Why: Access

• Enhancements of images (e.g. faded or stained documents)– The ability to “enhance” images,

removing stains, modifying contrast, etc. allows for closer examination of documents that might otherwise be illegible.

Why: Access

• Creation of “virtual collections” of dispersed collections and materials– Materials from different collections,

physical locations, and even different institutions can be brought together in an “online workspace”.

What

• What is meant by “digitization”?– Conversion from an analog format (text, graphic,

analog audio/video, etc.) to a digital format based on a binary series of “1’s” and “0’s”

– To translate into a digital form. For example, optical scanners digitize images by translating them into bit maps. It is also possible to digitize sound, video, and any type of movement. In all these cases, digitization is performed by sampling at discrete intervals. To digitize sound, for example, a device measures a sound wave's amplitude many times per second. These numeric values can then be recorded digitally.

» Webopedia

What

10:10 a.m.

What

• What’s Digitized: Print• What’s Digitized: Graphics• What’s Digitized: Audio• What’s Digitized: Video• What’s Digitized: Born

Digital

What: Print

• Color• Grayscale• Black and White

(bi-tonal)• Full page• Cropped Page

What: Graphics

• Color (usually)• Grayscale

What: Graphics

What: Audio• Wave (.wav)• .mp3• .midi• .aif• Real Media (.rm)• .au• etc.

What: Video

• .mpg• .avi• .mov• .rm• .wmv• Etc.

What: Video"Doratopsis" paralarvae of Chiroteuthis. These specimens, the first with complete tails, show remarkable interspecific differences in tail morphology but little intraspecific variability. Eleven Pacific specimens had very long rigid tails characterized by pairs of large, fluid-inflated lateral pouches separated by 4-6 flat, rounded, lateral lobes of tissue (referred to

here as flaps, not finlets).

What: Born Digital

An increasing number of resources are now “born digital”, that is having no other existence than the online environment. These resources, often composed of elements of the materials just mentioned, share the same problems and benefits.

What: Born Digital

Born Digital

• Electronic only journals

• Citation Databases• Scholarly

Reference database

• Websites

• Version control• Migration of

formats• Authenticity• Keeping up to date

How

• Digital Cameras• Scanning Digital

Cameras• Flatbed Scanners• Direct Conversion

(audio/video)• Metadata

Capture/Conversion

How

• Digital Cameras– Pixel size (1.3 – 5

megapixels)– CCD capture means

the camera takes a “snapshot” of the target

How

• Scanning Digital Cameras– Works like a mini-

flatbed scanner with a row of sensors that “scan” over the image seen through a standard optical lens

– Extremely high resolution possible

How

• Flatbed Scanners– Uses an array of

sensors to scan or slide over the image (much like a photocopier)

– High resolutions possible

– Material must lay flat and face down

How

• Direct Conversion (audio/video)– Analog audio and

video can be fed through various software programs that will re-record it at varying levels in a digital format.

How

• Metadata Types/Capture/Conversion

How: Metadata Types

• Preservation– Describes the “how” of capture of the

image• Administrative

– Describes the use (e.g. “rights management” of the image

• Content– Describes the “what” of the image

(e.g. what it is and what it means)

How

• Metadata Capture/Conversion– Formats like MARC or Dublin Core– Homegrown formats– Capture tools like MS Access

databases or Excel– Wide array of post-processing

database systems to manage these, “Digital Asset Management Systems”

Who

• Library Staff• Outside Contractors

Who: Library Staff

• Benefits– On site– On staff– Materials handling

• Drawbacks– Throughput– Cost

Who: Outside Contractors

• Benefits– Throughput– Cost

• Drawbacks– Off site– Handling of

materials

Where

• Imaging Centers or Labs• Outside Contractors

Where: Imaging Centers or Labs

• Benefits– Library managed– On site– Staffed by the Library

• Drawbacks– Cost of setup– Maintenance of

technology

Where: Outside Contractors

• Benefits– Up to date

technology– 24/7 staffing

• Drawbacks– Materials handling– Rush requests

and special orders

Skills Useful in Digital Libraries

• Metadata (i.e. CATALOGING!)• Photography• Web design• Database design• GS Series: GS-1001 “Imaging

Specialist”• Apple Computing platform• Rare book handling

Conclusion

• Resources for Further Research– List of links on website:

http://www.sil.si.edu/staff/flicc-2003/