The UCLA/Getty Summer Institute 2001 provided a forum for intensive
exploration of theoretical and practical applications in the field of
information management and knowledge-sharing by museums, libraries,
archives, and other cultural heritage institutions. The program included
sessions on digitization projects, organization and access to digital
resources, collaborating, and funding, all of which will be critical
to the success of the Library's 
Center
for Digital Initiatives.
Instructors felt that our Library has some unique opportunities and
faces some interesting challenges in regard to creation and delivery
digital products. As a member of the Digital Initiatives Group, and
based on my experience working on our African
American Sheet Music Project, I was happy to discuss my work on
that resource, as well as our upcoming plans. Participants were very
complimentary of our web site, our preparations to launch the Center,
and the sheet music site.
WThe Center's Planning Committee was formed last Fall and charged with
recruiting a Digital Initiatives Librarian, laying the groundwork for
the physical facility, and identifying possible programming. The group
began its work by identifying a number of potential projects, intending
to build staff expertise in preparing and managing digital projects
and to provide a basis for collaboration with faculty and consortial
partners. At the same time, we began to develop selection criteria,
a web page, and an interdisciplinary approach to the program. In August,
we welcomed our Digital Initiatives Librarian, Patrick Yott, formerly
of the University of Virginia, where he served as Director of Digital
Services Integration. So detailed preparations are underway for equipment,
staffing, collaboration, and funding.
One of the many lessons learned from the African American Sheet Music
Project was that digital imaging projects involve many issues not
encountered in building text-based resources. The audience has special
usability and access requirements. Considerations include user interfaces,
vocabulary, and methods of navigation. These should be dealt with prior
to the selection of materials and the determination of metadata standards
and method of digitization.
Other speakers outlined the essential elements for a successful digital
project: content, curation, cataloging, controlled vocabularies, and
copyright. This means having a critical mass of content that is somehow
thematically related; intellectual curation or shaping by a qualified
scholar; item-level cataloging by trained catalogers; the use of controlled
vocabularies; and, attention to copyright issues. In addition to many
technical issues, interdisciplinary teams led intellectually by a scholar
or curator and logistically by an experienced project manager must develop
high quality projects. Time, labor, workflow, storage, preservation,
and the impact on various departments and staff are more crucial elements
to be considered.
Presenters emphasized that digital projects, expensive and time- consuming,
cannot be online versions of analog resources, but must be conceptualized
in their own right. It is important to consider the condition of the
objects, institutional priorities, the interests and expectations of
both audience and supporters. Collaboration can be rewarding and helpful
in cost sharing and providing additional content and expertise, but
can also increase the logistical complications exponentially, and lead
to conflicts between various priorities. Leadership must provide, "A
compelling vision that is specific and conceived in long-range terms."
With all of this in mind, the Center's projects will support the primary
teaching and research needs of our faculty and students and will provide
easily accessed versions of rare and fragile works from our collections.
In collaboration with faculty, curators, and subject specialists, the
Center will develop a roster of demonstration projects, secure resources,
and will test feasibility and methodology. For more information, go
to:
Digital Projects
at Brown University Library.
-Robin Rao
