Digitization and Hosting of Digital Collections at Winnefox

Is your library digitizing collections or thinking about it? To put it simply, there are four parts to any digitization project:
1. Scanning / Digitizing
2. Document Storage
3. Document Identification (Metadata)
4. Patron Access

Winnefox is here to help guide you through ALL the steps of the process!

1. Scanning / Digitizing

If your library wants to scan your own materials, you may borrow, through the WCTS rotating collection, a digitization kit. The kit includes a flatbed scanner, laptop, and external hard drives that work for scanning two-dimensional photos and documents.  Funding for the kits was provided by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, which supported these equipment purchases as part of the WISELearn budget for FY19.  There is printed documentation included within the kit (and more information available at https://recollectionwisconsin.org/kits) but we have two minor updates to their documentation:

a) for typed documents with images (seen on page 3 of the documentation): the kit recommends 8-bit grayscale OR 24-bit color at 300 dpi, while we recommend 8-bit greyscale at 400 dpi or 24-bit color at 300 dpi.
b) there is NO requirement to create the .jpg access files as detailed on pages 7-9 of their documentation for ResCarta. Our software prefers the TIFF format recommended on page 5 of their documentation as input.

Please download Winnefox's amended "Using the Epson Perfection V600 scanner" documentation here.

If you decide to outsource your scanning, we recommend the following vendor:

They will produce images that meet the requirements of our access software. (If working with another vendor besides the one listed above, please share these requirements with them.)  For a cost, they can produce "ResCarta-ready" output.  This is a HIGHLY preferred option if within your budget. 
The vendor will ask you to complete a metadata spreadsheet.  If you work with a vendor, I would very much appreciate your running your spreadsheet by me *before* you send it off completed. 

2. Document Storage ("Hosting")

Winnefox now offers a space on which you can store your digital collections.  Once you have your scanned images, please contact Pete Hodge and he will take care of transferring your files to this server.  While we will maintain backups of this server, we do recommend you keep a copy of the files on hardware within your library. 

3. Document Identification (Metadata)

If outsourcing your scanning to obtain ResCarta-ready output, you will be provided with a spreadsheet from the vendor to fill out. Please ensure at minimum, you complete the four fields below as specified.  Additional information is encouraged for the best patron experience.  If doing your own scanning or working with another vendor, you will be expected to provide metadata for the materials you have digitized. Keetra Baker will help you install the required software tools and provide documentation and training on this process. The absolute minimum required metadata elements include:

  • Title, a DISTINCT name given to the resource
    Capitalize only the first word and proper names (place, personal and corporate names). Do not enter content in all capital letters except in the case of acronyms. If the resource has been published, such as a book or article, transcribe the title exactly as it appears in its published form. For resources without published titles, such as most historic photographs, assign a brief descriptive title.
    Example: DiVall barber shop, Middleton, 1925
    If digitizing multiple items with the same title (for example, issues of a newspaper all named the same), append a qualifier such as a publication date to the end to make the title distinct
  • Subject, the topic of the resource
    Use of a controlled vocabulary such as Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), Library of Congress Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (LCTGM), Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) or Nomenclature 4.0 is strongly encouraged. For multi-word subject terms, capitalize just the first word, unless other words are proper nouns. Enter multiple subject terms in separate fields, or separate multiple subject terms with a semicolon and space. If subject headings are being newly created, uncoordinated subject headings are recommended. For instance, instead of the coordinated heading “Veterans--Medical care--Wisconsin--Montello,” use of the uncoordinated terms “Veterans” and “Medical care” would be preferred.
    Example: Sailing ships; Rowboats; Pirates
  • Type, a broad characterization of the type of resource being described
    Choose the appropriate term from the DCMI Type vocabulary.
    Examples: Still Image (for photographs, postcards, maps, paintings), Text (for books, articles, letters, diaries, yearbooks), Moving Image (for movies, television programs, animation), Sound (for oral history audio recordings, music, etc.)
  • Rights, the copyright status of the resource
    Please use the rights statements URL listed below that corresponds to your copyright status:
    1. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/ (public domain items, including items published before 1927 or items published between 1927 and 1977 with no copyright notice)
    2. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ (items within copyright)
    3. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/ (copyright undetermined)
    4. http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/ (copyright not evaluated)
    Additional information regarding copyright status, terms of use, permissions, etc. may be provided in separate, optional Rights fields.

When entering:

  • Avoid abbreviations. Use "Mount Calvary," not "Mt. Calvary" and "Wisconsin," not "WI." Exceptions where the use of abbreviations is acceptable include terms used with dates (such as “b.” for “born”), distinguishing terms added to names of persons (such as "Mrs."), or abbreviations prescribed by controlled vocabularies for use in the Subject field, (e.g. “Oshkosh (Wis.)” from Library of Congress Subject Headings).
  • Capitalize all proper names, but capitalize only the first word in titles and subjects. Do not enter content in all capital letters except in the case of acronyms. 
  • Avoid characters including ampersands (&) or ellipses (...) and do not use HTML tags.
  • Avoid using "unknown," or "anonymous", etc. Instead, leave blank.

4. Patron Access

Winnefox will add your collections to our ResCarta server and provide you with links to add to your website / advertise to your patrons.