MassDigitization and Special Collections

1. MassDigitization andSpecial Collections Jim Michalko Vice President RLG Programs Keio University Symposium Mita Campus

2. Overview • Current information context • What our users expect • Where we are investing our effort • State of mass digitization projects • Opportunity for digitization of Special Collections • A radical change in our approach

3. Current Expectations • Information consumer behaviors • Network-level aggregation of supply and demand • Patterns of learning, research, information production and consumption • Personal collections and data production • Social networking

4. Rank 4 9 14 31 2006 2007 2005 Social networking - explosion 1,750 in Japan 54,978 overall traffic rank National Diet Library

5. Top sites by traffic rank Japan United States

6. The 200 most successful web sites

7. Then: Resources were scarce, attention was abundant Now: Attention is scarce, resources are abundant Then: The user built workflow around the library’s services Now: The library must build its services around user workflow

8. This creates the expectation that you can have it all BUT we do not make it accessible the way it is wanted

9. The Collective Collection stewardship HIGH LOW digital LOW print uniqueness HIGH Collections GridA framework for representing content Published Content • Books • Journals • Newspapers • Gov. docs • CD, DVD • Maps • Scores Open Web Content • Freely-available web resources • Open source software • Newspaper archives • Images Special Collections • Rare books • Local/Historical newspapers • Local history materials • Photographs • Archives & Manuscripts • Theses & Dissertations Institutional Content • ePrints/tech reports • Learning objects • Courseware • Local government reports • Training manuals • Research data Source: OCLC Office of Research 2003

10. Internet Archive Institutional projects Public – Private Digitization Partnerships stewardship HIGH LOW digital LOW print uniqueness Institutional Repositories HIGH Published Content • Books • Journals • Newspapers • Gov. docs • CD, DVD • Maps • Scores Open Web Content • Freely-available web resources • Open source software • Newspaper archives • Images Special Collections • Rare books • Local/Historical newspapers • Local history materials • Photographs • Archives & Manuscripts • Theses & Dissertations Institutional Content • ePrints/tech reports • Learning objects • Courseware • Local government reports • Training manuals • Research data Source: OCLC Office of Research 2003

11. Public-Private Mass DigitizationAppearance vs. reality • They are non-exclusive deals – • not really • The private partner bears all the costs • not really • Institutions are free to serve the content to users • not really • They are only limited term deals • not really

12. “There’s an illusion being created that all the world’s knowledge is on the web, but we haven’t begun to glimpse what is out there in local archives and libraries. Material that is not digitized risks being neglected as it would not have been in the past, virtually lost to the great majority of potential users.” - Ed Ayers Professor of History and Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia – a leading authority on digital scholarship

13. stewardship HIGH LOW digital LOW print uniqueness HIGH THE OPPORTUNITY Internet Archive Institutional projects Public – Private Partnerships Published Content • Books • Journals • Newspapers • Gov. docs • CD, DVD • Maps • Scores Open Web Content • Freely-available web resources • Open source software • Newspaper archives • Images Institutional Repositories Special Collections • Rare books • Local/Historical newspapers • Local history materials • Photographs • Archives & Manuscripts • Theses & Dissertations Institutional Content • ePrints/tech reports • Learning objects • Courseware • Local government reports • Training manuals • Research data Source: OCLC Office of Research 2003

14. Focus on special collections • Material that • is unique or rare • is in a variety of formats • will only be acquired once • need only be cataloged once • supports our local users • will be accessed by remote users • Scale up digitization to avoid marginalization

15. How do we achieve large-scale digitization for Special Collections?

16. Not the way we’ve been doing it!

17. Special collections - Shifting Gears: Gearing Up to Get Into the Flow • Focus on access • Stop selecting • Do some, monitor use, do more • Programs not projects • Describe further up the hierarchy • Emphasize quantity • Discovery happens elsewhere • Get funding without selling out

18. Which do you prefer?

22. Special collections - Shifting Gears: Gearing Up to Get Into the Flow • Focus on access • Stop selecting • Do some, monitor use, do more • Programs not projects • Describe further up the hierarchy • Emphasize quantity • Discovery happens elsewhere • Get funding without compromising

25. Special collections - Shifting Gears: Gearing Up to Get Into the Flow • Focus on access • Stop selecting • Do some, monitor use, do more • Programs not projects • Describe further up the hierarchy • Emphasize quantity • Discovery happens elsewhere • Get funding without compromising

26. Online access - Any kind of online access - creates interest in the real object

27. stewardship HIGH LOW digital LOW print uniqueness HIGH THE OPPORTUNITY Internet Archive Institutional projects Public – Private Partnerships Published Content • Books • Journals • Newspapers • Gov. docs • CD, DVD • Maps • Scores Open Web Content • Freely-available web resources • Open source software • Newspaper archives • Images Institutional Repositories Special Collections • Rare books • Local/Historical newspapers • Local history materials • Photographs • Archives & Manuscripts • Theses & Dissertations Institutional Content • ePrints/tech reports • Learning objects • Courseware • Local government reports • Training manuals • Research data Source: OCLC Office of Research 2003

28. Thank you. Email: michalkj@oclc.org