Last Journal Entry

And so it comes, the time of finals and endings. And of the beginning of spring or summer (I've never ended a semester so early before). It's a good time, I would like to see more leaves, but I'll take what I can get with the weather. This semester has been really rough. I've been diagnosed with the most pointless and useless disease on the planet. One with no explanation or cure. It's called interstitial cystitis I've survived my first surgery and fortunately it was a noninvasive one. Although I call shoving various objects up your urethra pretty invasive.

Now on the mend to recovery, I can reflect on this class. Though I have to fully admit it took me a few days to realize that last project was canceled. I'm sorry it didn't work out, because I downloaded Dreamweaver 8 and now I have to teach myself how to use it. Hopefully it will go better than learning Flash did. I'm sure the only reason I couldn't learn Flash was because the project was due the next day. Procrastination: it's a killer. But, I think most people can't help it. Pressure is a motivator. So is fear.

I learned a lot in digital applications. I'm glad I have this journal, I hope that it will be a good reference this summer as I am doing a lot of work with digitizing and writing captions. It'll be a lot of learning and feeling my way around, but we'll see what I can do. I am glad I plunged head-first into my first ever cataloging project. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I don't know how well I did on it, but by the end, things made more sense. Sometimes indicators weren't defined very well, but that is my only complaint for MARC handbooks in the future.

It was my first taste with catalogs, so I hope that I get better in the future. It was also my first time using SQL and it was a good review of digital imaging. I learned more than what I'd already known and felt like I understood standards better. It's like math, I sort of get it the first time around, but the second time fills in the crucial gaps that I've missed.

In the future, I think that MARC should be the first project. We should jump headfirst into it. The sooner we start it, the more time we have to learn it. Then we can learn about digital imaging and write the proposal simlutaneously. And then finish off the last couple weeks with the SQL/website project. I just think then the semester would flow smoother and maybe everything would fit in. I feel bad because I missed most of the last few weeks being squeezed in at the urologist and the hospital. It's been one crazy semester. But I truly feel I still got something out of the class. That leaves me with some satisfaction.

Now, I will leave you and get ready to spend my last few weeks in Toronto. I have a to-do list of all the things I want to enjoy before I head home to Rochester before my internship. Then it's off, the next adventure. And I'll bring what I learned with me. Thank you.

A Little Comment

So, are you checking from your SQL database? Because I keep seeing imagearts.ryerson.ca showing up when I check who's visiting this page. I assume that's you. That's the only way you could access from that site this page.

I saw you on March 13th. You were a new visitor February 13th. Unless you check directly from blogger as well.

Just thought I'd let you know I was keeping track of you too. Very sneaky.

It makes me feel better knowing you actually check them. But I do miss the lack of comments. Because it would be really unfortunate if I was doing these "pertinent" points in every entry and you hated it. Most unfortunate.

Have a great day. Happy Spring Equinox!

Visit to the New Catholic Times Donation

Today I went to visit the New Catholic Times donation, which is stored in the library offices. Right now, the collection is sitting on a desk in seven different cardboard boxes with tops. I took notes for each individual box. I will transcribe them here, so they can easily be references for my digitization proposal, which is due in the following week,

BOX 1--

• photographs range from 1970's to 1990's- mostly gelatin silver
• some photos are in better shape than others--some are yellowing, staining, fading
• in Manila folders loosely by location or subject--they are stored vertically, causing the photographs to curl (they appear RC and this is bad for them)
• Some subjects: Israel, Ireland, Italy, El Salvador, Movements, Life Issues, etc.
• large subjects such as Latin American and Eastern Europe
• "Marriage" subject shows up in two boxes
• some subjects have LOTS of photos and some have only 2 or 3

BOX 2--

• negative and proofs
• DISORGANIZED--some have contact sheets, some don't-- contact sheet have negs stapled in an envelop next to it
• some sheets are marked with the ones that are going to be printed or that were probably favourites
• do any prints in the other boxes correspond to the negatives or contact sheets?
  
• SEVERAL envelops of loose negatives, they are not properly housed
• orange book at the bottom of negatives and contact sheet
• some have roll number on them such as #1463
• SO MESSY, needs organization, there stacks of loose contact sheets

BOX 3--

• Manila folders with gelatin silver photos
• in loose groups--not necessarily arranged by story
• subjects: Abortion, Church & State, Dance, Catholic Groups, Africa, Balkans, Human Life Research (Also Africa--Algeria, with 4 photos in it, why a separate group from Africa?)
• combine groups? organize better? House?
• digitize all? or only important ones?
• some are badly stained--be sure to consider digitizing or finding original of quickly deteriorating ones
• digitize negs first?
• if find photo essays, they should be kept together

BOX 4--

• First Section-- Film (all prints of movies stills) SEVERAL-- some grouped in envelops by film
• mostly bishops, priests, pop-- hierarchy Catholic Leaders
• Media/media Literature--can be the same? better group names?
• Several Bishop folders: American N-Z; Bishops- worlds; Canadian Bishops (better organization???)

BOX 5--

• Mostly Persons folders, or icons
• many are staining or yellowing
• no organization to the folders
• another large film folder in the back--condense
• some persons are religious affiliated, ordinary or celebrity--NO DISTINCTION between folders
• mostly gelatin silver-- at least on B/W copier prints and 1 colour
• many prints have writing, stamps or captions

BOX 6--

• Less folders-- many aren't labeled or appear to be labeled wrong
• Subjects: Homelessness, Kenya, Christmas
• So much AFRICA--should there be one subject with sub categories
  
• not many photos, mostly gelatin silver (some are fading)
• what kind of organization could we have? Many of these are labeled on the wrong side or crossed out

BOX 7--

• more Manila folders of prints organized roughly by topic/subject
• SUBJECT: seniors, Phillipines, unemployment, Nuclear Power, Nicaragua, workers, New Foundland/Labrador, youth, United States
• poor categories redundant
• most in envelops are NOT part of an essay together
• staining, fading discoloration
• World Economic Protest 2002--color photos, latest envelops
• There are some color photos in this folder
• Poverty subject--no place names so can't add them to world places, very tricky and problematic with these subjects
• do we know any photographers???

This collection needs organization. This is the first and foremost problem that needs to be addressed with this collection. More issues and ideas will be addressed in this digitization plan.

Database Processing, Chapter 2 (Week 7)

Journeying deeper in database processing, including delving deeper into SQL and how it works. Some important points to note follow:

1. SQL is a data sublanguage. This means it is not a complete programing system, but rather it only creates and processes database data and metadata. These are called SQL statements and can be used in a number of ways. One of them is submitting them directly to the DBMS for processing.
   
2. The data extraction process selects only a few columns of the operational data. They use the example of Cape Codd Outdoor Sports and their database.
3. The framework for SQL query statements are SELECT/FROM/WHERE. For example SELECT Department, Buyer FROM SKU-DATA; These SQL statements transform tables. In the query results, they do not eliminate duplicate rows.
4. The DISTINCT keyword in query searches to remove duplicate rows, so there are less results to sift through. This is really important when there can be results of 100,000 or more to sift through
5. in order to SELECT ALL in a search use the * (asterisk) symbol. It will query all columns of a table.
6. The query to get specific rows from a specific table can use the WHERE in the query statement. For example:
   SELECT * FROM SKU-DATA WHERE Department = 'Water Sports';
7. In the WHERE section, if the column contain texts or date data, the comparison value must be contained within quotation marks (' '), for numeric data there doesn't need to be any notes EX. WHERE SKU > 200000;
8. You can also do a query for a single table and specified rows by changing how the SELECT section looks. For example: SELECT SKU-Description, Department
9. The Column used in the WHERE clause does not have to be the same as the column in the SELECT clause
10. In SQL queries, standard practice is to write SELECT, FROM, WHERE on separate lines
11. You cannot execute SQL queries unless your computer has Access installed. In Access you can create a "New Query" by clicking on the query tab on the left-hand side of the Access window.

This reading was a little confusing, but I know the SQL queries will get easier as time go on. Practice makes perfect. This much is true, especially for computers. If not, I can always call my older brother for help. He's known as the "computer prodigy."

Database Processing, Chapter 1 (Week 6)

This reading comes from D. Kroenke's Database Processing: Fundamentals, Design and Implementation (No link available), Chapter 1. The reading involved mostly different kinds of databases and different ways to create databases, all the easy technical overview to think about before getting started on a database project. Now on to the pertinent points of the reading:

1. The first kind of database applications available are SAP Applications. They are sometimes called client-server applications because the program is the client that connects to the database server. SAP applications connect to the database via a corporate network. These applications are written in Visual Basic, C++ or Java.
2. The second kind of applications are called e-commerce applications or any applications the run on a Web server. Users can connect to these applications from Web browsers like Explorer and Safari. Some common Web servers are Apache and Microsoft's Internet Information Server.
3. The third kind is Reporting Applications. They publish the results of database queries on corporate portals or a Web site.
4. The last kind of application is XML Web services. This application is on the leading edge of database processing. It uses a combination of XML markup language as well as other standards to create program-to-program communication. The code that comprises an application can then be distributed over several computers.
5. DBMS manages the database. The best DBMS available is Oracle from the Oracle corporation though it is much more difficult to use than the SQL server.
6. Database: a self-describing collection of integrated tables. Integrated tables are tables that store both data and the relationships among the data. Self-describing means that the collection contains a description itself.
7. Triggers are used to main database accuracy and consistency as well as to enforce any data restraints.
8. Stored Procedures are used for database administration tasks and are sometimes a part of database applications.
9. There are THREE types of Database design: Existing data, New Systems Development and Database redesign.
   

The many charts in the reading, made understanding these notes much easier. They were comprehensive and drawn out to show steps and relationships. For copyright reasons, I cannot copy them here, but attest to their usefulness.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

The following annotated bibliography is on creating good metadata for visual images--practices, standards and methodologies. I began my search for articles on Wilson Web, found through the Library Literature and Information Science Full Text journal at Ryerson University.


1. "Cataloging Cultural Objects: Toward a Metadata Content Standard for Libraries, Archives,
and Museums." Technical Services Quarterly 24, no. 1 (2006): 73-5. Library and
Information Science, via Wilson Web, click here for link.

This article is a report of the ALCTS CCS Program from the American Library Association Annual Conference, Chicago, June, 2005. It contains valuable information on Metadata standards for all digital collections, including image-based ones in museums. This report in the article explains new found data about what the American Library Association things should be a standard for metadata in today's changing world.

2.Attig, John et al. "Context and Meaning: The Challenges of Metadata for a Digital Image
Library within the University." College and Research Libraries 65, no. 3 (May
2004):251-61. Library and Information Science, via Wilson Web, click here for link.

This article tackles the challenges and needs for strong, rich metadata in digital collections in the university environment. The article also discusses three metadata schemas, VRA, Dublin Core and MRS as well as about the Mellon-funded project, the Visual Image User Study at Penn State and how it has created a centralized image delivery service. It also discusses the use of discipline-specific vocabularies for metadata.

3. Murphy, James L. "Link It or Lump It: Basic Access Strategies for Digital Art
Representation." Journal of Library Administration 39, no. 2/3 (2003): 139-60. Library
and Information Science, via Wilson Web, click here for link.

This article discusses how to represent digital art as metadata. It includes suggestions for picking certain standards such as MARC21 and why it is important to maintain standards for metadata as well as cataloguing these metadata pieces. While it talks about operating digital art collections as a whole, it does discuss the uses and purposes as well as standards for metadata. Since digital art is a new concern, this article addresses the best way to approach creating metadata for these new art objects.

4. Huithwaite, Ann. "AACR2 and Other Metadata Standards: The Way Forward." Cataloging and Classification Quarterly 36, no. 3/4 (2003):87-100. Library and Information Science, via Wilson Web, click here for link.

This article discusses several important popular metadata standards in use today such as Dublin Core and the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, which are both very popular today. Not only does it go over what they are, but gives suggestion as to what type of collections they are used for and what they're strengths are. This is important to check out what types of metadata standards are used in different types of collections and how they are used before picking one for a digital collection.

5.Ercegovac, Zorana. "Special topic issue: integrating multiple overlapping metadata
standards." Journal of the American Society for Information Science 50, no. 13 (1999):
1165-223. Library and Information Science, via Wilson Web, click here for link.

This article discusses how to deal with a potential complicated issue when there are several different metadata standards in use and how to deal with it. Ideally, one collection should use only one standard, but in some smaller institutions, this might not be the case. This is how to deal with these kind of problems and how to troubleshoot going forward to change the metadata to the same standards so they are compatible in collections.

6. Ahronheim, Judith R. "Descriptive metadata: emerging standards." Journal of Academic
Librarianship 24, no. 5 (1998): 395-403. Library and Information Science, via Wilson
Web, click on here for link.

he writer discusses standards for the creation and sharing of metadata that aim to allow better specification of resource content and enhance the use of Web resources. She reviews cross-disciplinary metadata activity and considers individual communities that are developing standards that will be of interest to the academic library community. Moreover, she provides a basic resource list that should supply up-to-date information on the standards discussed.

7. Campbell, D. Grant. "Metadata, Metaphor, and Metonymy."Cataloging and Classification
Quarterly 40, no. 3/4 (2005): 57-73. Library and Information Sciences, via Wilson Web,
click here for link.

This articles discusses a distinction common in literary studies that is used here to distinguish between metadata applications for discovery and metadata applications for use. Metadata systems for resource discovery, such as the Dublin Core, are continuous with the traditions of bibliographic description, and rely on a principle of metonymy: the use of a surrogate or adjunct object to represent another. Metadata systems for resource use, such as semantic markup languages, are continuous with the traditions of database design, and rely on a principle of metaphor: the use of a paradigmatic image or design that conditions how the user will respond to and interact with the data.

8.. Baca, Murtha. "Fear of Authority? Authority Control and Thesaurus Building for Art and Material Culture Information." Cataloging and Classification Quarterly 38, no. 3/4 (2004): 143-51. Library and Information Sciences, via Wilson Web, click here for link.

This article discusses the tools used in authority control of metadata and how they have evolved over the years. It also gives examples how metadata without authority control and give bad results for end-users. Collection-specific thesauri and subject indexes, and vocabulary-assisted searching and query expansion are also discussed.

9. McCallum, Sally. "MARC/XML Sampler." International Cataloguing and Bibliographic
Control 35, no. 1 (2006): 4-6. Library and Information Sciences, via Wilson Web, click
here for link.

The close relationship of MARC/XML to the recent ISO standards work associated with MARC in XML is described. Sketches of interesting applications follow with uses that range from MARC/XML as a switching format to a maintenance tool to a record communication format for new XML-based protocols.

10.Dean, Rebecca J. "FAST: Development of Simplified Headings for Metadata." Cataloging and Classifcation Quarterly 39, no. 1/2 (2004): 331-52. Library and Information Sciences, va Wilson Web, click here for link.

This article discusses the use of Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) and their use. In recent trends, driven to a large extent by the rapid growth of the Web, are forcing changes in bibliographic control systems to make them easier to use, understand, and apply, and subject headings are no exception. The purpose of adapting the LCSH with a simplified syntax to create FAST (Faceted Application of Subject Terminology) headings is to retain the very rich vocabulary of LCSH while making the schema easier to understand, control, apply, and use

"It all Begins with a Cataloguer" (Week 5)

And I do like that they spell it the British way. This chapter, "It all begins with a Cataloguer" is from Introduction to Art Image Access from the Getty Institute. It was a dense reading and a lot on how cataloguers must think and work and how they must develop a methodical way of researching and describing art in order to make it accessible to the end-user. The cataloguer and the end-user are closely linked in the process of cataloguing art. What the cataloguer does will inevitably affect how the end-user searches the catalogue and what results they will have within their searches.

There were several key points in the reading involving the cataloguer and tips on how the calaloguer can do their job:

1. Two elements which good cataloguing depends on are structure and methodology. Structure centers on what the cataloguer knows about the general practices and rules of analysis/classification along with his/her knowledge and experience. Methodology is dependent on a good cataloguing structure as well as the cataloguer's ability to apply metadata standards, controlled vocabularies and classification systems.
2. The cataloguer's "perspective" must be that of a professional viewer/analyst so that all subjective elements are ignored and only structure and consistency are followed when viewing an image for the first time.
3. The FIRST STAGE in the cataloguing process is initial exposure to the work--a formal analysis and interpretation. It is important that the cataloguer does not view subjectively, because emotions can affect how the image is described. There must be a degree of formality when viewing these images because the end-users may very well view the work differently and therefore the cataloguer's description is obsolete.--There must be a structure when viewing a work to be catalogued.
4. The first stage in the cataloguing process corresponds with Erwin Panofsky's "three levels of image description." Structure in viewing an image is a learned process that involves training the brain both to slow its natural inclination to focus on selected subjective elements and to see the entirety of the work with all of its constituent parts.
5. After viewing, the critical stage of analysis and interpretation follows. Cataloguers who are best at this stage are those with good generalists and have knowledge of most subjects. Cataloguers with highly specialized knowledge will often produce records with too narrow of a focus that lack access points that end-users would likely use. The is bad for cataloguing
6. Cataloguers also do not use only the work of art of their analysis and interpretation, they draw on external sources about the work as well. They can come from wall labels, reference works, literary works and so on. But formal education is the most important external source a cataloguer can bring to the process of analysis and interpretation.
7. DO NOT FORGET TO RECORD SEEMINGLY OBSOLETE INFORMATION. relationships change over time and things can become important in time.
8. CONTEXT also adds to understanding of the subject matter. When works are from a narrative sequence this is especially important.
   
9. Three additional indirect sources of information for the cataloguer involve the ARTIST, DATE and STYLER of the work of art. Sometimes in image classification it is hard to distinguish subject matter and what tangentially related to content (ie. style, date)
10. When classifying a work of art in a catalogue, STANDARDS ARE IMPORTANT. They are infact, the most important part. Some standards such as the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules are often used in classification.
11. Free-text descriptions in catalogue system enable the cataloguer to give a very detailed mental image of the subject matter of the work of art...BUT they give inconsistency. It is better to use controlled descriptors, such as the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), which make it easier to search for end-users.

Overall, a good cataloguer has knowledge and expertise in this field and structure will lead to a useful catalogue for the end-user. A cataloguer must always have the end user in mine.

The second half of this week's reading was " A Framework of Guidance for Building Good Digital Collections" from NISO. This .PDF file was a good 38 pages of reading and a lot to go over. It includes case studies from Illinois State Library, New Jersey Digital Highway Project and from the University of Oregon. They also have early chapters on COLLECTIONS, OBJECTS, METADATA and PROJECTS. I didn't read through the entire file, but did a broad general overview. There are several useful links to go to in the file for more information and research if going into creating your own digital collection. There are principles and guidelines to follow in each chapter as well.

It's a very in-depth and useful guideline for the future. If there is no need for it now, I recommend saving the file and using it in the future.

Understanding MARC Bibliographic (Week 4)

This reading was very heavy on definitions of the MARC 21 code--all of which is new to me. I had some trouble completely understanding and remember the number for tags and what the indicator was used for from tag to tag. That was the biggest challenge. However, I will list the top ten points that I gathered from the reading in hopes that I will be able to look back on this as a quick notes instead of always having to refer to the Library of Congress's Understanding MARC Bibliographic. But, if you're going to jump into using the MARC 21 system--as I am about to--it does give you a heads up on the basics of MARC 21 and what it looks like written.

And the most important points that I think will help me when working with MARC 21:

1. TAGS: Tags are 3-digit numbers that are followed by the names of the fields they represent. Some are repeatable and some are not.
2. INDICATORS: Indicators explain in fields where they are used. They are one-digit numbers. They follow the tag and there are two character positions, one for Indicator 1 and Indicator 2. It is possible that one will be undefined for that specific tag, in which case, it will be marked with the character #.
3. SUBFIELD CODES: all the data in each field (starting with 010) is divided into subfields. These subfields are preceded by a delimiter code combination. The delimiter shown in the LOC exercise is the character $. EVERY FIELD HAS A SUBFIELD "a" (shown "$a"). The subfields are usually represented by a letter, rarely by a number.
4. Examples of most frequently used tags in a MARC 21 record: 010 Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN), 020 International Standard Book Number (ISBN), 100 personal name entry or Author, 245 title information, 250 edition, 260 publication information, 300 physical description, 440 series statement/added entry, 520 annotation or summary note, 650 topical subject heading, 700 personal name added entry (joint author, editor or illustrator)
5. Tags divided into hundreds are quick ways to tell what the entry is about: 0xx control information, numbers, codes; 1xx main entry; 2xx titles, editions, imprint; 3xx physical description; 4xx series statements as shown in the book; 5xx notes; 6xx subject added entries; 7xx added entires other than subject or series; 8xx series added entries
6. Access points are headings where a user or librarian can search in an online catalog for a record. Most access points are found in: main entries, series statements, subject headings, added entries that aren't subject or series and series entries.
7. Authority Control means to follow the recognized or established form. The best authority is the Library of Congress Name Authority File.
8. Parallel Content is found in fields that require authority control and in fields that use parallel tag construction, such as the 6xx field, the subject heading field. The parallel content is as follows: x00 personal names; x10 corporate names; x11 meeting names; x30 uniform titles; x40 bibliographic titles; x50 topical forms; x51 geographic names.
9. Leaders are the first 24 characters of a record. They are important and have assigned meaning, but they are only meant for the computer to use.
10. MARC records are now available for distribution through file transfer (FTP). This is what is important about using MARC 21 in libraries and not developing an in-house system. Using MARC 21 allows for information sharing between libraries and ensuring that the "tagged" records are correct and full of strong information that follow all rules and guidelines.

Much of the rest of the read was full of what each tag means and what the two indicator characters mean for each tag. And also what each subfield means for each tag. It was a lot of good information, but best to be read over and understood while doing. As I have learned, sometimes doing is the best way of learning. Now that I have some background information, I can continue on. I have the ability to read a MARC record and now I am going to learn to write a coherent record.

The Contents of the Package from New Catholic Times

The Following is a list of the contents of the package I received in class of materials from the New Catholic Times. There were three books and ten photographs in the package. The photographs were in a manila envelop entitled: Crime. On the verso side of each photograph was also the handwritten word: Crime.

Books

1. "Issac Applebaum"--Text: Andrea Kunard and Richard Rhods. Design: Julie Gibb and Christian Morrison, GreenStreet. Translation: Francoise Espie-Bourseau. Text (English text Proofing): Elizabeth Willing. Printing: CJ Graphics. Photography: Isaac Applebaum. Printed in Canada. Centre Saidye Bronfman, 1991.
2. "Roy DeCarava: Photographs." The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. September 12- October 26, 1975. Printing in USA, 1976. Introduction by: Alvia Wardlaw Short.
3. "Print Finishing" by William Mortensen. Printed in San Franscico, California by Camera Craft Publishing Company. First Edition: November 1938.

Photographs
The following photographs are Press Photos. Each of them contain captions underneath that give a description of the photograph, the orientation of the photograph (horizontal or vertical), the number of images on the page (1 or 2), the photographer or location of the photograph, the date it was made and if available the date of the story it was in.

1. "On Death Row"--Frank Coppola (1978 photo), a former seminarian convicted in the torture slaying of Muriel Hatchell, is scheduled to die in the electric chair in Virginia's Mecklenburg State Prison on August 10. Bishop Walter F. Sullivan of Richmond, Va., and other religious leader have appealed to Gov. Charles Robb to stop the execution which would be Virginia's first in twenty years. (NC Photos from UPI) (Two Verticals 8-9-82) EDITORS: See Story 12-8-5-82
2. "Washington Riot"-Looters carry off bicycles from a Washington store during a disturbance which broke out after an anti-Ku Klux Klan rally in a park a few blocks from the White House. Windows in several stores, restaurants and a bank were smashed before police could re-establish order. (NC Photo from UPI) (Vertical 11-29-82)
3. "Clean Record"--Young men who have committed minor offenses scrub away graffiti on a New York subway car under a new program that officials hope will give offenders a way of paying their debts to society in a positive manner. "This program has a double benefit, "said Brooklyn District Attorney Elizabeth Holtzman, whose office initiated the program, "Farebeater and graffiti writers will receive meaningful punishment and the public will get cleaner subway cars." (NC Photo from Wide World) (Horizontal 5-24-82)
4. "Prints of a Guy"--George Slook, third grader at Holy Rosary School in Claymont, Del., grudgingly relinquishes fingerprints to principal Sister Ellen Murphy with help from classmate Kelly Buckley. The fingerprinting is a part of a national campaign to aid in locating missing and runaway children. After the ritual (below) George decides it wasn't so bad after all. (NC photos by Jimmy Grant) (Two Horizontals 2-13-84)
5. "Execution Stayed"--Lemuel Morrison and a dozen other demonstrators opposed to capital punishment stage a candlelight prayer vigil outside the Holman Prison where convicted murderer John Lewis Evans was scheduled to be executed. After receiving the last rites from Father Kevin Duignan (right), Evans was granted a temporary stay by a federal judge only three hours before his appointment with the electric chair. (NC Photos from UPI) (Two Verticals 4-22-83) EDITORS: see story to come
6. "Anger and Hope"--Jesuit Father Terrance Sweeney is pictured with some of the Los Angeles street gang members who appear with him in a documentary he wrote and produced, "Streets of Anger, Streets of Hope." In the film, which aired recently on Los Angeles television, Father Sweeney examines the causes of gangs and suggests was that street killings can be halted. (NC Photo) (Horizontal 8-24-81) EDITORS: See story to come
7. "Death Sentence"--Leron Williams, 32, is escorted from a courtroom in Columbia, Tenn. by two Maury County Sheriff's detectives after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting of Father John Jay Jackson in Jackson, Tenn. Williams was sentenced to die in the electric chair next July 27. (NC Photo from Wide World) (Vertical 12-18-81) EDITORS: see story 15-12-15-81
8. "Pleads Guilty"--Pallotine Father Guido John Carcich, charged with misappropriation of $2.2 million in donations to the Pallotine order, arrives at Baltimore Criminal Court where he agreed to plead guilty to one count of the 61-count indictment against him in exchange for the state dropping the other counts. Her was sentenced to 18 months probation on condition that he spends a year on a full-time basis ministering to the needs of prisoners in state prisons. (NC Photo) (Horizontal 5-11-78) EDITORS: unreadable
9. "Churches Vandalized"--vandals broke in and smashed this statue of Jesus at St. Augustine's Church in Honolulu, Hawaii. A group of vandals on a two-night rampage marauded a total of nine houses of worship causing damage estimated at more than $100,000. (NC Photos from UPI) (Vertical 8-25-82)
10. "Returns to Court"--Flanked by attorneys, Father Bernard Pagano walks toward US District Court in Wilmington, Del. Father Pagano is suing four state police officers for a false arrest in the "Gentlemen Bandit" case (NC photo from Wide World) (Horizontal 3-21-84) EDITORS: see story 3-21-84

This comprehensive list contains the exact printed captions at the bottom of of the photograph. These look as though they are copy photos of the original and a few of them show signs of staining or abrasion. One appears to have food particles stuck to it.

I look forward to starting a MARC catalog for these objects in the future. It is an interesting collection with a rich history to uncover and preserve.

Cataloger's Learning Workshop (Week 3)

The Library of Congress in Washington, DC put out an article on Metadata entitled Metadata Basics: Metadata Development Overview. The definition of Metadata according to NISO is: structured information that describes, explains, locates, or otherwise makes it easier to retrieve, use or manage an information resource. Metadata is often called data about data or information about information.

The American Library Association (ALA) gives another definition about Metadata: structured, encoded data that describe characteristics of information-bearing entities to aid in the identification, discovery, assessment, and management of the described entities.

Here are a few points taken from the Metadata Basics reading:

1. MARC was developed by the Library of Congress in the 1960's to represent bibliographic descriptions and relationship among data. It does not do well with management needs or evaluative needs.
2. Electronic metadata can be used for "any area that shows a demand for electronic resource discovery and sharing, a metadata standard can be developed or proposed." The resources used to describe electronic metadata consist of: bibliographical objects (MARC), archival inventories and registers (EAD), geospatial objects (FGDC), museum and visual resources (CDWA, VRA, CIMI), education materials (LOM), software implementation (COBRA). There are many other forms of metadata and different standards to follow for each--they are not limited to these.
   
3. These are some examples of what metadata looks like in different online collections. The first one is a library bibliographic catalog from KentLINK OPAC, which displayed the metadata in a MARC format. Two digital collections display their collections in different metadata databases: The Worthington Memory collection in Ohio operates a Dublin Core record and the Alexandria Digital Library (go to the bullet about the ADL and click on the standard XML, it is a cached PDF file) uses standard XML.
4. CDWA (Categories for the Description of Workd of Art) is a metadata standard avaible for research on the Getty. To View: under "catalog examples" click on any item. Compare the user-view record with the fielded format record. It is a good example of how many fields need to be filled in and how many seemingly redundant fields. Note that there are five or so under the "Photograph" example of variations of the artist name.
5. Metadata performs several functions. It is a resource discovery allowing searches to be performed to find sources by relevant criteria, give location information of objects and to identify resources. It is a way of organizing e-resources as well as a way to facilitate interoperability between systems allowing for cross-system searches. It is also for digital identification by giving standard number to the digital object (ie. ISBN) as well as useful for archiving and preservation, which ensures resources will survive and be accessible in the future.
6. It is important in metadata to use standardized vocabularies such as the DCMI type supplied by Dublin Core. It is a general list of approved term that can be used as the RESOURCE TYPE element. It is used to identify the genre of a specific resource.
7. There are also thesauri available to aid with the creation of metadata. The Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) is a particularly relevant source for my field. These are also particularly helpful in order to aid in data retrieval.
   
8. The Best Practice Guides aid with guidelines to create field definitions, how to best catalog metadata and are a vital source for those working with digital metadata. The Consortium for the Computer Interchange of Museum Information (CIMI) has a Guide to Best Practice: Dublin Core, which is considered a standard of information for museum professionals dealing with digital metadata.

Metadata is complicated and there are several different schemas and standards to approach creating a database full of metadata. Some of these examples have proved helpful with showing examples of the field, but the best way to learn is to practice and to make sure to always pay close attention to detail. Good metadata is useful; bad metadata is lost forever.

Part II: Digital Imaging (Week 2)

This week's reading consisted of the second half of Howard Besser's Introduction to Imaging released from the Getty Institute online. This half stressed the importance of careful planning of all aspects before undertaking a project in digitizing a collection. Improper planning could result in a disorganized project and running out of funds before the project is even completed. One of the most important pieces in the planning stage is confirming the legal status of the object being scanned. It is vital to know if legal clearances are required to " reproduce the originals or to modify and display the reproductions"-- also check that we have those clearances if they are necessary. Severe repercussions could come from illegally reproducing and display the digital reproduction.

There are several other points made throughout the second half of Besser's writing and research. Some of them are:

1. Scanning is either done in-house or contracted out. If done in-house, there are four different types of scanners that can be used: drum, flatbed, film or transparency and a digital camera set on a copy stand. Drums scanners offer the highest quality scan (up to 8,000 samples per inch, spi) but that material scanned must be flexible and durable. Mounted or fragile objects could not be scanned. A flatbed scanners can scan between 1200 and 5000 spi, and are very affordable, but can only scan the object so long as it fits within the glass. A film or transparency scanner can scan negatives or slides and are are comparable quality to flatbed scanners. For the fragile or over-sized objects, the digital camera on a copy stand is the best choice. Digital cameras also allow control over the lighting conditions and can document 3-D objects.
2. Before image capture, it is important to decide exactly what has to be digitized and what wouldn't be important. Highly fragile objects should only be copied if it is necessary. Black and white negatives can last over 200 years in the right conditions and color negatives over 50--better copies can be made from them than from a digital copy of them. It would be better to avoid digitizing them. Be sure that the scanning parameters are also set. Besser recommends to "use-neutral" which means the master files are created of high quality so they can be used for any future purpose. Scan at the highest spi the scanner allows for.
3. There are several metadata schemas available for use. Some of them are: MARC (Machine-Readable Cataloging), EAS (Encoded Archival Description), CDWA (Categories for the Description of Works of Art), and MPEG-7 (Multimedia Content Description Interface). MARC has long been used to create bibliographic records. EAS is a set of rules "for creating finding aids for archival collections" in which, there is a specified intellectual and physical arrangement of the collection as a whole. CDWA is used to describe artworks and their visual "surrogates." MPEG-7 is used to describe multimedia and audiovisual works and is growing in importance.
4. XML is a code that is used to describe data unlike the better known HTML, which is used merely to present data. XML can make semantic parts (like "author" or "title") machine-readable, meaning they can be understood and "acted upon" by computer programs. XML also gives users uniformly created metadata packages that can easily be shared, migrated, published to the Web--in other words, XML is extremely versatile.
5. In quality control, checksums should be documented and periodically compared. Checksums are the exact number of bits in a specific file, or actual values and pattern of data using slightly more complex checksum algorithms.
6. When testing access to digital collections via the internet, be sure to check how the site looks when opened with various browsers as well as both Macintosh and PCs. That way, the site can be made to look uniform on all of them.
7. Digital Preservation is an important concern as hardware obsolescence is constantly occurring and files need to be saved on new hardware or as different types of files so new programs can read them. It is also important to run periodic checks on a digital collection to be sure that files have not corrupted over time and that they still open properly. It important that vigilance is taken with watching data conditions and technological trends to manage the collection accordingly.
8. Be sure to make multiple copies of the assets stored on different formats and then at different geographic locations in case of fire, water damage or other atmospheric inferences. If one is destroyed there are other copies saved in other locations.
9. Migration is the updating of files by resaving them in new formats so that new software can read them. This is problematic because transforming data can cause corruption or loss of information. This could destroy the digital copy completely. Technology Preservation is one suggestion to solve this problem, by which the institution would preserve the technological conditions in order to keep the older formats from becoming obsolete and needing updates.
   
10. Emulation is a tool used for "digital archeology" or the method and processes to recover data from obsolete hardware, defunct format or corrupted files if preservation strategies fail. It has been used to recreate arcade games by using software that gives the "look and feel" of the original, but without the original hardware.
    

The problem with digital collections and born-digital images is that there is no best preservation method developed and no one is sure of what strategies would be correct at this point. It is important to afford the most protection to Master Files and to keep up with technological trends and to manage the digital collection with care and diligence. The need for digital collections is growing as the amount of born-digital images and media are being created. They also give a wider access to the world's cultural heritage than ever before, which opens possibilities for learning, sharing and gaining an appreciation for photographs and other cultural objects.

Part I: Digital Imaging (Week 1)

The reading was Part One found at the Getty Institute online. It was a basic overview of digital imaging and terminology based around imaging systems. I'll list some of the pertinent points in the following:

1. Master files should always be in a high quality format for an image, such as .TIFF files
2. Metadata is defined as "data about data" and is known as digital documentation about the digital image
3. Metadata should be "persistant, authoritative, and verifiable"--bad metadata in a sophisticated database is less valuable than good metadata in a simple desktop excel spreadsheet
4. There are three kinds of Metadata: Descriptive (describes that content and is most like traditional cataloging), Administrative (tells context and form and gives the how and why the file was created), Structural (gives relationships between parts and other digital files or objects...a way to link files)
5. Computer monitors use the additive or RBG system, BUT printers use the subtractive CMYK system--colours will not transfer from monitor to monitor the same way without using an ICC color profile, which acts as a translator between devices
6. 16-bit colour sees over 65,000 colours, which is called "true colour." However, the eyes sees millions of colours. 24-bit colour on a monitor is now the highest obtainable on affordable monitors, though many institutions are moving towards using 48-bit capture for archival purposes
7. Resolution is defined as the density of pixels within a specified area--for example, ppi is how many pixels per inch, the higher the ppi in a photograph, the higher the resolution. It is important to note what guidelines and institution has for their image resolution
8. .JPG files are what is called lossy compression because they temporarily sacrifice the quality of stored images by discarding some of the data. .JPG files are used for access files only as seen on Internet sites. NOT FOR MASTER FILES. Master files should always be of the highest quality so not to loss and image data over time
9. Since there are many forms of storing digital files, it is recommended that there are several different back up files in different formats--there is no information on the life of these digital forms or the best preservation strategy
10. Digital files can be kept three different ways: online (connected to a network or computer), offline (where they are stored one CD-ROMS, DVD-ROMS and are not accessed online), nearline (objects are stored offline but can be easily accessed such as on "jukebox" systems)

It was full of good information and several definition of technical digital aspects from pixels to People-to-people networks. It was a reading worth keeping for reference in the future. Access the websites for more reading and information on digital imaging.