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Digital Library Center: Sample Workflow

This sample workflow from the Special Collections Everglades Project Proposal is provided for reference and other samples will be added as they become available. Existing grants have different types of workflows already available for reference.

Workflow

Workflow

Selection, preparation and conservation review

Once materials are selected, the selecting unit completes a pre-imaging checklist. The selecting unit staff physically examines each archival container to identify potential special-needs materials such as fragile documents, photographic images, etc. The staff will ensure that the physical arrangement of the folders in each box is identical to the arrangement described in the EAD finding aid. Special Collections staff will include written notes and instructions for the DLC staff when delivering materials for digitization. Special Collections staff will use the checklist to “check out” each archival container prior to imaging. Boxes will be transported to the DLC from Special Collections after they have been checked out. If a patron requests use of a box while it is in the DLC, the box can be temporarily retrieved for the patron to use in the Special Collections Reading Room. Prior to digitization, any items of particular concern will be reviewed by members of the Preservation Department and handling requirements will be noted. The Digital Library Center (DLC) is located in the same building and floor as the Department of Special and Area Studies Collections.

Digitization Actions

Tracking

Once a collection is received by the DLC, the existing EAD finding aid data will be imported into the Digital Library Tracking Database (DLC Tracking) and repurposed from existing collection-, series-, and folder-level descriptions for the collections. In a few instances, where individual items are described in the EAD finding aids, item-level descriptions will be available for use with the digital objects. Descriptive metadata elements in the existing EAD finding aids that will be repurposed include: Collection Title, Collection Dates, Collection Originator, Series Title , Series Date, Folder Title, Folder Date(s). For all digitized materials, national Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard (METS) metadata will be created. The basic METS files are created and enhanced automatically as an individual folder moves through the digitization chain from this point on.

The DLC Tracking database assigns a unique eight digit Bibliographic Identifier (BibID) to each folder processed and that BibID will be used to track the item throughout the digitization process, e.g., Business Correspondence. Feb. 13, 1908-Nov.25, 1910 folder from the Thomas E. Will Papers will be assigned UF00096543. Folders will be retained in their original numbered boxes, temporary BibIDs will be attached to each folder, and the box will be moved to the digitizing unit.

Imaging

The imaging unit is supervised by Lourdes Santamaria-Wheeler, assisted by imaging technician Traveler Wendell. Both Lourdes and Traveler have extensive experience in hiring, training, and supervising student scanners for image capture and enhancement. Scanning technicians will be hired from grant funds. Technicians will be hired based on their skills and understanding of digital image capture and color correction. The Production Imaging Unit Head will supervise and as necessary provide advanced training to the imaging technicians. All items within folders will be digitized to meet the requirements of the item’s physical format. Photographs will be scanned at 600 dpi, 8 bit grayscale. Individual pages will be scanned on Copibook or flatbed scanners at minimum of 300 dpi, 24 bit color. The letterbooks will be scanned on Copibooks at 300 dpi, 24 bit color. The production imaging unit performs initial image review adjusting the image quality as necessary, but minimally levels, skew, and contrast. Images will be captured as uncompressed TIFF files (ITU6.0) at 100% scale; the current de facto standard for electronic image archives.

A key aspect in this grant will be the color correction of the images. All of the documents are handwritten on very thin paper. Capturing letterbook pages will necessitate that each page is backed with a blank white sheet to minimize bleed through.  Additionally the handwritten pages are of various sizes and some may also require individual backing. The production imaging unit performs initial image review of all pages adjusting the image quality as necessary, including adjustment of levels, skew, and contrast. Advanced image manipulation will be performed as needed and includes level adjustment and color replacement to minimize the appearance of aging and foxing.

Imaging equipment will be maintained by the production imaging unit. Both flatbed and CopiBook scanners will be calibrated regularly in order to maintain color fidelity and optimum image results.

Quality Control

After initial scanning and image enhancement discussed above, all aspects of image control and digital package creation are controlled by the UFDC Toolkit, an integrated software package that controls derivative image formation, quality control review at the package level, and deployment to the UFDC server. Jane Pen, head of the Quality Control Unit, hires, trains, and supervises a staff of quality control technicans. Her staff use Toolkit Pre-QC function which creates jpg, jpg2, and jpg thumbnail images. A second program, the Quality Control tool displays thumbnails of each image in sequential order. These images are reviewed. Errors are noted and returned to the imaging unit for scan/rescan of the pages. If there are no errors, the files go to the Metadata Control Unit.

At this point, the initial METS file contains basic structural, descriptive, and administrative metadata.

Digital Package Markup & Deployment

Once quality control is final, the digital package moves on to the Markup Unit. For this project, Matt Mariner, the Unit head will train digital package technicians in procedures that ensure all package level metadata will conform to the national METS, our local extension schemas, and to requirements for serving in UFDC, preservation in the Florida Digital Archive, and integrating of packages into the Everglades Online Library. As appropriate, other project and resource specific extension schemas may be created.

The METS file for any item loaded in UFDC can be viewed by selecting METS Metadata under the Technical Data menu on the navigation bar to the left of an item being viewed.

With final package approval, the Metadata Control Unit uses the GoUFD module of the DLC toolkit to initiate the FTPing of the package to the UFDC server for public access and metadata harvesting, sends the package to the Florida Digital Archive for preservation archiving, and burns the package to gold-based DVDs for local archival storage. A fuller explanation of the archiving and preservation is given in the supplementary section “Archiving, Maintenance, and Protection of Digital Objects.”

These procedures have been used successfully to process more than 1.7 million pages into the UFDC collections, available at http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ufdc

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