Digital Reformatting and File Management Public Library Partnerships Project Sheila A. McAlister Director, Digital Library of Georgia and Sandra McIntyre Director, Mountain West Digital Library September 2015

This Presentation What is Reformatting? Reformatting Process Hub, In House, or Outsource?

WHAT IS REFORMATTING?

What is Reformatting? Usually called “digitization”: Taking a tangible object (analog) and turning it into a computer file (digital) Reformatting also includes: Taking a digital file in one format (digital) and converting it into another format (digital), usually for better access

Philosophy of Reformatting Reformat once – Less handling = less wear – Do it right the first time – Digitize for the future: high quality Reformatting costs money! – Equipment – Time – Storage space Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration

Not Rocket Science, but... Many considerations Lots of variables Differences in materials No “Digitization for Dummies” book! Pursue all support options before doing it yourself

Digitization and Preservation Digitization ≠ preservation Digital preservation is a long-term, active process Digital preservation is a complicated process, still in early stages Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration

Digitization does not replace proper physical preservation of analog content Disposing of physical content once digitized: bad idea Digitization and Preservation Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration

REFORMATTING PROCESS

Reformatting: Basic Process 1.Create master (uncompressed) file. a.For analog content: Scan/sample b.For born-digital content: Convert 2.Name the file in a consistent way. 3.Perform quality control; edit as needed. 4.Save master on stable, long-term storage. 5.Create derivative or access file. 6.Share access files as needed.

Courtesy of W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library, University of Alabama The Master (Archival) File

Equipment Scanners (flatbed) Adapters for using negatives or slides Specialized scanners – Overhead scanners – High-speed book scanners – Microfilm scanners – Slide scanners Computers with adjustable monitors Courtesy of Mountain West Digital Library

Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative (FADGI), Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Cultural Heritage Materials, Standards and Best Practices Spatial Resolution Bit depth Compression Sampling Rate File Formats Color calibration

BCR’s CDP Digital Imaging Best Practices Working Group, BCR's CDP Digital Imaging Best Practices Version 2.0, Standards and Best Practices Spatial Resolution Bit depth Compression Sampling Rate File Formats Color calibration

Resolution Scan at best resolution you can afford to store. Manuscripts and other text 300 ppi minimum Photographs ppi Graphic materials ppi Maps 600 ppi ( 36")

Color Considerations Calibrate monitor and scanner Final scan should look like exact duplicate of original object on screen

Archival Images Save all types in TIFF format Use 3-letter extension: *.tif Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration

Audio 96,000 kHz minimum resolution 24-bit minimum bit depth Save in WAV/AIFF format Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois, Guidelines for the Creation of Digital Collections: Digitization Best Practices for Audio,

Video FADGI Audio-Visual Working Group, Digitization Motion Picture Film FADGI Audio-Visual Working Group, Creating and Archiving Born Digital Video See: audio-visual/

Courtesy of Indianapolis Museum of Art File Naming

Three-letter extensions Use only lower-case alphanumeric + underscore + hyphen (no spaces!) The shorter, the better Think about order of display Keep same number of characters in each filename Be consistent! Work with your Hub’s system Courtesy of University of Minnesota Libraries, Special Collections and Rare Books

Method 1: Use an Existing Identifier Use the identifier or number already associated with the file. Examples: 55-jbc-2.tif Accn_ pdf archivaltape65.wav

Method 2: Create a New Scheme 2-4 lowercase letters digits (at least as many digits as the highest number expected) + underscores or hyphens as desired for readability Example: “Georgia Railroad Photographs” files: grp-001.tif grp-002.tif grp-003.tif

Method 2: Create a New Scheme F or multi-page documents like letters, add a letter at the end file name, e.g.: br035a.tif br035b.tif br035c.tif

Quality Control and Storage Courtesy of David Rumsey

Reviewing Files Check over your own work Have someone else check over your work

Media Editing Photoshop and batch editing software: –De-skewing –De-speckling –Color adjustments –Sharpening image Audio editing –Distortions and drop-outs Video editing –Artifacts and moires

File Storage Place in secure storage Create multiple backups, at least one in a different location Do not access archival files unless necessary Plan for long-term digital preservation of files

Creating the Access File

Files that are created from the master file (i.e., they are derived from original) Purpose: quick viewing Used for web access, thumbnails, easy printing, low-quality or informal publications Also known as “access copies” Derivative Files

Several common types of derivative files: –GIF: used for thumbnails –JPG: used for medium- and high-resolution images for web delivery –PDF: allows for resizing on screen and easy printing of documents

Upload Access File Digital assets management system –Local installation –Installation in the cloud HTML web pages Online exhibits

USE A HUB, KEEP IN-HOUSE, OR OUTSOURCE?

When to Use a DPLA Service Hub In most cases, your Hub has what you need: Staff with experience in managing digital libraries and archives Digitization equipment and software for most common reformatting needs Access to special services File storage and backup Workflows according to best practices Reasonable prices or help with finding funding

When to Stay In-House Consider reformatting in-house when you need: To develop staff skills To maintain close control over materials To maintain close control over operations To adjust project specifications and goals during process

When to Outsource to a Vendor Consider outsourcing when you need: High-volume production operation Quick turnaround Lower prices (on high volume)

Questions for Vendor Hardware and software used? Quality control procedures? Turnaround time? Delivery and pick-up? Environmental controls? Qualifications of project manager? References for similar work? Prices?

Working with a Vendor Be flexible Have one person be the vendor contact Respond quickly Have a plan for quality control Communicate issues early Analyze errors for future improvement

QUESTIONS?