From Mary Willoughby, a DLG staff member who has worked on several of DLG's "Troup" method projects.
"The folder level digitization method used for the NHPRC Civil War grant project relies on the collation of tens of thousands of scans into separate folders of items. These are transformed into pdf and djvu files that are linked with the existing finding aid for each collection at the folder level. How do we make sure that the right scans end up in the right folders? We use a strict naming system to recreate the collection, box, and folder hierarchy within the file name of each scan. The name also conveys information about the institution, item, and scan number (usually, but not always equivalent to the page number) of an item.
To state the rules generally:
Master tif image file names consist of a combination of five elements that reflect the structure of the collection. They are:
1. A collection identifier consisting of an institutional prefix and the existing numeric portion of the collection ID.
2. The box number (where applicable) padded with zeros to three digits.
3. The folder number (where applicable) padded with zeros to three digits.
4. The item number (numbered according to position in folder) padded with zeros to three digits.
5. The scan number (numbered according to how many scans it takes to present an item) padded with zeros to three digits.
These segments are separated with hyphens to enhance readability and aid in visual evaluation of file lists for quality control purposes.
Derivative names (which will be used to link the presentation images to the EAD) omit the item and scan numbers since they will be one per folder.
To give a specific example:
Considering the Francis Marion Coker papers from the Hargrett Library (ms15) the fourth page of the third item of folder 2 of box 1 would be:
harg15-001-002-003-004.tif
The derivative file for this folder would be:
harg15-001-002.pdf
It would be linked to the EAD at the section identifying folder 2 of box 1.
It’s a little confusing at first, but once you learn what the different parts mean you can immediately identify where the original object that corresponds to a scan is located. This is essential for quality control purposes in case we need to rescan an item or verify its location. It also is the means by which the files are divided up for derivative creation so that the correct images for a collection folder all ultimately appear in the same pdf or djvu file."
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Ramping up at UGA
Staff at DLG and Hargrett Library began ramping up for the project in early February. The first collections will arrive from the Atlanta History Center in mid-March.
Since all the imaging work will be done in two different buildings (the Main Library and the new Special Collections Library), staff in both locations are keeping in close contact. As project needs change, the students may change their home base from one unit to another. As such, the three student supervisors are working collaboratively to hire our student scanners. They've advertised the position on DawgTrak, UGA's student job bulletin board, drawn up expectation documents, and fine-tuned training documents. Student interviews are being scheduled, and we'll be doing a mock training session next week.
On the equipment front, we've rearranged DLG's workspace to accommodate our additional five scanning students. Given the volume of imaging work, we needed to ensure that we had enough working files and archival storage.
We're looking forward to the project and welcoming our new student assistants.
Since all the imaging work will be done in two different buildings (the Main Library and the new Special Collections Library), staff in both locations are keeping in close contact. As project needs change, the students may change their home base from one unit to another. As such, the three student supervisors are working collaboratively to hire our student scanners. They've advertised the position on DawgTrak, UGA's student job bulletin board, drawn up expectation documents, and fine-tuned training documents. Student interviews are being scheduled, and we'll be doing a mock training session next week.
On the equipment front, we've rearranged DLG's workspace to accommodate our additional five scanning students. Given the volume of imaging work, we needed to ensure that we had enough working files and archival storage.
We're looking forward to the project and welcoming our new student assistants.
Monday, February 20, 2012
We've been funded!
After many months of (not so) patiently waiting, we are thrilled to announce that the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) has agreed to fund a project that will result in free online access to over 81,000 digital surrogates of letters, diaries, military records, account books, poetry, photographs, and maps that document the American Civil War in Georgia!
NHPRC February 2012 Newsletter
In June of 2011, the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center, in partnership with the Digital Library of Georgia, the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library of the University of Georgia, and the Georgia Historical Society. submitted a grant proposal to the NHPRC for funding to incorporate economical solutions to create, preserve, and provide free online access to these extraordinary materials.
Staff at each of the partnering libraries selected collections based on the strengths of their institution. These include the Atlanta Campaign and the defense of Savannah; the Eastern Theater and Western Theater outside of Georgia; Confederate government records and correspondence of its prominent officials; life on the homefront; slavery; and the Civil War in memory. The records include the diverse experiences and perspectives of military leaders, soldiers, and civilians whose lives were directly impacted by the Civil War. Thousands of first-hand accounts of Union and Confederate soldiers and officers document their hardships and opinions of the war and national politics. Military documents, including orders issued by William T. Sherman, describe the strategy of the Atlanta Campaign. Letters and diaries from Georgia civilians, young and old, male and female, describe in compelling detail the anxiety leading up to the war, the blockade of Georgia’s coast, the siege of Atlanta, and General Sherman’s subsequent march through Georgia. Financial and military documents reveal details of the buying and selling of slaves by private parties and by governments in the defense of the Confederacy. Letters, questionnaires, and 20th-century photograph collections capture the memories of Civil War veterans and document important Georgia Civil War landmarks a few decades after the conflict.
Now that we've got the official go-ahead, we'll be posting about the process in hopes that our experience will help other repositories as they seek to make their collections more accessible. We look forward to the journey--stay tuned to America's Turning Point: Documenting the Civil War Experience in Georgia!
NHPRC February 2012 Newsletter
In June of 2011, the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center, in partnership with the Digital Library of Georgia, the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library of the University of Georgia, and the Georgia Historical Society. submitted a grant proposal to the NHPRC for funding to incorporate economical solutions to create, preserve, and provide free online access to these extraordinary materials.
Staff at each of the partnering libraries selected collections based on the strengths of their institution. These include the Atlanta Campaign and the defense of Savannah; the Eastern Theater and Western Theater outside of Georgia; Confederate government records and correspondence of its prominent officials; life on the homefront; slavery; and the Civil War in memory. The records include the diverse experiences and perspectives of military leaders, soldiers, and civilians whose lives were directly impacted by the Civil War. Thousands of first-hand accounts of Union and Confederate soldiers and officers document their hardships and opinions of the war and national politics. Military documents, including orders issued by William T. Sherman, describe the strategy of the Atlanta Campaign. Letters and diaries from Georgia civilians, young and old, male and female, describe in compelling detail the anxiety leading up to the war, the blockade of Georgia’s coast, the siege of Atlanta, and General Sherman’s subsequent march through Georgia. Financial and military documents reveal details of the buying and selling of slaves by private parties and by governments in the defense of the Confederacy. Letters, questionnaires, and 20th-century photograph collections capture the memories of Civil War veterans and document important Georgia Civil War landmarks a few decades after the conflict.
Now that we've got the official go-ahead, we'll be posting about the process in hopes that our experience will help other repositories as they seek to make their collections more accessible. We look forward to the journey--stay tuned to America's Turning Point: Documenting the Civil War Experience in Georgia!
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