Digital Production and Integration Program (DPIP)
Production and Content Integration Working Group
Minutes of Initial Meeting
October 25, 2005
10:00 - 11:00
Room 409 SML

Present: Bauer, Beacom, Bellinger, Bergstrom, Gallagher, Irwin, Kupiec, Martz, Merleaux, Nellhaus, Ouellette, Reardon, Smalley, Thomas, Walls, Weintraub

Absent: None

Introduction to the DPIP program as a whole

Fred Martz, Katie Bauer, Jen Weintraub, and Karen Reardon constitute a core group charged by Meg Bellinger to pursue DPIP initiatives.

Katie Bauer explained the Market and User Research Services component of the DPIP program. Under the umbrella of the Library Usability Program, this aspect includes assessment activities to determine user needs and usability studies to determine if new services are meeting user expectations. The focus is on user satisfaction. Usability efforts require an iterative process involving tests, software or interface improvements, and repeated tests.

Jen Weintraub described the major elements of the Digital Production and Content Integration Services component of DPIP – scanning, text markup, metadata creation, development of efficient workflows, and implementation of effective production management practices.

Karen Reardon described the Consultation, Advisory, Referral and Management Services component of DPIP as a matrix of two-way referral services where the library directs staff, faculty and students to appropriate digitization resources and those units also refer people to the library for advice in areas of library expertise such as metadata standards and digital preservation issues. Examples of such consultation already exist in the work of the ELI program and the efforts of the ILTS WW&DCS group to enhance image production workflows in the Visual Resources Collection.

Fred Martz emphasized that DPIP’s success will depend on many interactions with other groups, units and activities. DPIP will not attempt to duplicate services offered more expediently elsewhere. This approach will require attentive integration and coordination in at least the following areas:

- Metadata: Metadata Services Team in the Catalog Dept and the IAC Metadata Committee

- Preservation: IAC Digital Preservation Committee and preservation metadata

- Learning Environments: Course management systems (primarily Classes*v2 / Sakai)

- User Interfaces and Web Presence: Portal Opportunities Implementation Group and the

Public Interfaces Committee

- Repositories: Integration of DPIP content into repositories as appropriate

(DL, Insight, Rescue Repository, VITAL/ Fedora)
- Digital collection development planning

- Partnerships and referrals among Library, ITS, and external services

- External developments, e.g. at Google, Yahoo, Digital Library Federation, etc.

Members identified two further important areas of interaction: support for the library’s Unlocking Collections initiative (providing digital access to hidden collections); and

Intellectual Property issues, especially as they relate to e-reserves.

Discussion of the charge to the Production and Content Integration Working Group and the plan of work for October - January

With a sharp focus on one of the three DPIP objectives, the DPIP Production and Content Integration Working Group will analyze needs for digitization services in the library (e.g. scanning, text markup, metadata creation), will develop plans and priorities for implementation of targeted services, and will in the course of the coming year introduce selected services along with associated policies and guidelines for best practices. The critical tasks for the first phase of activity will be to identify digitization needs by interviewing stakeholders, survey existing services that might meet some of those needs, and develop plans for DPIP services that will satisfy the most important unmet needs.

Plans for a proposed day-long workshop on digital production services and other educational programs for members of the DPIP group

The group discussed possibilities for workshops and educational opportunities that would increase the level of knowledge at Yale regarding digitization. Steven Puglia from NARA and Oya Rieger from Cornell were named as desirable presenters, perhaps in January. Jen Weintraub distributed a draft list of topics of interest to Yale Library staff, which was amended during the meeting:

Topics for Visitor re: Digitization

- Digitizing for preservation vs. access.

- Dealing with scanners: standards and ensuring they are of the correct quality.

- Digitization guidelines for different kinds of materials and the hardware that they will require

-- images, text, sound, video.

- Digitization environment requirements and viewing conditions for quality assurance.

- Adjusting images: What is acceptable? Color management? Which images should be saved?

- Digitization workflow when dealing with different kinds of materials.

- Production management issues and recommendations, including quality control.

- Critical metadata requirements, standards, production issues.

- What kind of metadata can we generate automatically from scanners?

- Working with vendors.

Brian Kupiec suggested that we tap local on-campus expertise for a series of presentations on various relevant topics in order to supplement workshops provided by external consultants. Staff from the Art Gallery, Media Services, and RIS were identified as possible speakers.

Discussion of methods for fulfilling the first element of our charge (the survey of library digitization needs), including the development of a script for conducting stakeholder interviews

Fred Martz explained that working group members will need to consult with units and groups throughout the library in order to determine anticipated digitization needs. In order to begin developing a list of questions to ask in these interviews, Fred asked working group members to consult with staff in their own units over the next two weeks about anticipated digitization projects in order to obtain a preliminary view of the challenges, problems, and unmet needs that DPIP might most productively address. Jen Weintraub distributed a list of potential questions arising out of last year’s CDC Digital Collections Inventory:

Questions for Library Units concerning Digitization

- How much material do you anticipate digitizing in the next 18 months? In the next 5 years?

- Has anything changed in your unit/library since May 2004 (when the CDC Digital Collections inventory was completed)? Do you have more staff, more material being scanned, different projects?

- What is the part of the process that has been the most trouble for you (scanning, metadata, management, workflow)?

- What are the materials you have the most trouble digitizing?

- Do you have turn-around time requirements?

- What is you experience using student labor?

- Have you ever send material out of the library for scanning? What are your requirements for doing so (security, etc.)

- Do you have a budget you could use for outsourcing some material?

Members felt strongly that the DPIP group must obtain input from faculty as well as library staff. Several members argued that faculty and students had a high level of interest in electronic reserves and that e-reserves along with associated copyright issues might be ranked as a high priority for DPIP attention.