A one-day event, Friday, January 22, 2016.
The Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books, and Manuscripts
University of Pennsylvania Libraries – Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center
For PACSCL member libraries, the creation and maintenance of digital collections is becoming an integral part of library operations. In this one-day event, members will share information on how they move from a collection of discrete digitization projects to integrating considerations of digitacollections into every aspect of operation, from acquisition through preservation and sustainability.
This event is intended to be the first in a series of PACSCL-wide conversations on ways PACSCL can support member goals and help to build a Philadelphia-area digital collection.
EVENT PROGRAM
Welcome and introductions
Ronald Brashear, Chair, PACSCL Board of Directors/Chemical Heritage Foundation
Keynote address
Forward Into the Past: The Digital Middle Ages and Open Data
William G. Noel, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts and Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, Penn Libraries
Discussion: Eric Pumroy, Bryn Mawr College, discussion leader
Session 1: From Project to Plan (10:45 a.m. – noon) [view on YouTube]
Discrete digitization projects have much to recommend them, not least of which is that they are fundable. But it takes a well thought-out digital collections plan to gain institutional buy-in on providing the resources necessary to sustain and move beyond the project-based work many PACSCL members have been doing. In this session, PACSCL members will offer further information on the elements of planning for a digital collections program, based on their own experiences building out from a project-based approach. They will also touch on other considerations that have informed their planning such as safeguarding the data and securing the resources to sustain the assets.
Presider
Margery Sly, Temple University
Speakers
Beth Lander, College of Physicians of Philadelphia
Matt Shoemaker, Temple University
Michelle DiMeo, Chemical Heritage Foundation
DiMeo presentation slides
Session 2: From Plan to Program – Considerations and Tools (1:30-2:30 pm) [view on YouTube]
Developing a digital collections program, in additional to planning, can draw on elements of and lessons learned from specific projects – and funded projects can be structured so that they contribute to building institutional capability and the realization of the program. Drawing on their own experiences as well as best practices from the profession, speakers will discuss the ways in which planning contributes to the evolution of a robust digital collections program.
Presider
Rebecca Johnson Melvin, University of Delaware Library
Speakers:
Scott Ziegler, American Philosophical Society
Michael Foight, Villanova University
Ilhan Citak and Rob Weidman, Lehigh University
Ziegler presentation slides | Citak/Weidman presentation slides
Brief Reports and Case Studies (2:30-3:15 pm) [View on YouTube]
Presider: Heather Willever-Farr, Historical Society of Pennsylvania
- Digital African Americana at the Library Company of Philadelphia— Krystal Appiah, Library Company of Philadelphia [presentation slides]
- E-records workflow and dark archives–Tammi Kim, University of Delaware [presentation slides]
- Hydra and oral histories–Margery Sly, Temple University [presentation slides]
- Metadata and web archiving–Katy Rawdon, Temple University [presentation slides]
- Tools for visualizing digitized content–Scott Ziegler, American Philosophical Society [presentation slides]
- DPLA-PA–Doreva Belfiore and Delphine Khanna, Temple University [presentation slides]
Breakout Sessions (concurrent) (3:30-4:30 pm)
The Digital Public Library of America: What DPLA can do for PACSCL and how PACSCL members can participate: PACSCL and its members can expose their digital collections to a broad audience through this nationwide platform; can use it to aggregate PACSCL-wide collections; and can use it to curate subject-specific presentations. The Pennsylvania DPLA hub prototype is operational; Delphine Khanna and Doreva Belfiore of the planning team will offer an overview, with emphasis on getting metadata DPLA-ready to derive maximum benefit from the resource. [presentation slides]
Discovery and interoperability: A look at discovery strategies ranging from metadata to interpretation, plus the use of Wikipedia, social media, and new tools in development and deployment such as IIIF and linked data. Sarah Horowitz and Laurie Allen, Haverford College (beyond discovery – value-added materials); Jaime Margalotti, University of Delaware (accessing content in multiple systems); Mitch Fraas, Penn Libraries (what he learned from the Rocket Cat and other social media tales). [View on YouTube]
Margalotti presentation slides | Link: How to destroy your collections with social media (cited by Mitch Fraas)
Collaboration: Funders love it, but that’s not the only reason — collaborations allow institutions to participate in building collections that transcend institutional boundaries. A look at three collaborations, two that move beyond PACSCL, and suggest ways that many institutions can work together. Projects include the Biodiversity Heritage Library (Cathy Buckwalter, Academy of Natural Sciences), the Bryn Mawr College / Seven Sisters Women’s Project (Eric Pumroy, Bryn Mawr), and PACSCL’s own diaries project (Holly Mengel, Penn Libraries)
Buckwalter presentation slides | Mengel presentation slides
Final discussion and wrap-up, next steps (4:30 pm)
Ronald Brashear, Presider