DCL History

In Summer 2004, the Visual Resource Center moved adminstratively out of the Department of Art History and into the Academic Technologies Unit of the College of Liberal Arts Office of Information Technology (CLA-OIT). This move helps us provide support for all departments and units within CLA. We've set up a lab and have begun the process of digitizing slides, video and audio materials to support teaching and reseaarch. Some of the participating departments and units include: Art History, Anthropology, Center for Medieval Studies, History, Geography, Art, Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Sociology, Political Science, and Classical and Near Eastern Studies. Some 50,000 total records have been created so far.

We have partnered with the College of Design and their Digital Collections + Archives Unit to combine our resources and provide a single, searchable database for use on campus. This Digital Content Library is a university-wide resource open to all faculty, staff, and students. The goal of the online merger is to provide greater access to teaching and research materials.

Establishing guidelines for scanning protocols and selecting an appropriate database for metadata entry has made it easier for all these departments and units to cooperate and combine their efforts. Changes may need to be made to collections already established in order to combine them seamlessly. Careful planning must take place so that the individual needs of each department are taken into consideration. Consistency among the contributors must be stressed so that the result is a Digital Content Library that is truly useful for all areas of the University.

Basic Components of a Digital Library

Questions to Answer About the Collection

What is the size of the collection?
Where does it reside?
Is it in a state of growth, or is it a discrete set?
What uses will the digital files serve?
How long is the anticipated need for the files?
Who will maintain the collection after its creation?
Who will provide the information for the files?
Who has the copyright to the files?
If not free of copyright restrictions, how will access be limited to comply with fair use?

Hardware Requirements

Computers with enough memory and power to run multiple software programs
Server space to store images and database and also serve on-line databases or web pages
Scanners able to capture scanned images at high resolution and bit depth
CD/DVD burners, tape back-up systems or extra hard drives to store the media for storage and archival purposes

Software Requirements

Imaging programs like Photoshop to crop, color correct, size and save scans in desired formats
Database with in-depth fielded information to allow for easy search and retrieval of images
Web interface to present images and information in fast return
Fetch, FTP or Appletalk as vehicle for moving images and text

Personnel

Database administrator
Web administrator
Server administrator
Scanning and cataloging staff

Physical Location

Secure environment
Sufficient electrical and networking outlets
Correct seating and lighting arrangements

Standards

Standard vocabularies like the Library of Congress Subject Headings should be used for keywords, titles and other descriptive fields.
Files should be given numeric and unique names (i.e. 00000001, 00000002 etc.)
File sizes for the original scan and all derivatives must be determined.
File formats such as TIFF, JPEG, Quicktime, etc. should be decided upon and then used consistently.

For Example

The file sizes and formats used in the Digital Content Library are:

Images

Thumb – 72 dpi, 150 pixels longest side, jpeg format
Screen – 72 dpi, 500 longest side, jpeg format
Projection – 72 dpi, 1280 longest side, jpeg format
Master – 3200 longest side, 16 bit depth, Adobe 1998 color space, TIFF format

Videos

Small – 320 x 240 – Flash 8 codec
Large – 640 x 480 – Flash 8 codec
Master – Quicktime H.264
Other file formats such as AVI and Windows Media will be re-processed to conform to the currently supported formats.

Audio

Metadata and Cataloging Standards

Metadata is loosely translated as "data about data". Metadata can be used to create a cataloging structure in which to describe an object or objects. Sometimes the object is the original work, sometimes it is the surrogate, analog or digital, that contains an image of the work. Metadata is most useful when it allows many different cataloging structures to be "mapped" to one another, allowing for unified search and retrieval.

Here are some useful web sites to learn more about metadata and digital information standards and practices:

VRA Core 4.0

Arts and Humanities Data Service

Dublin Core Metadata Initiative

The Getty's Introduction to Metadata