DPIP Priorities: Needs, Challenges, Issues

Digital Collection Development Policies

Jen Weintraub, Tobin Nellhaus

December 9, 2005

Issues

DPIP’s goal is to establish a coordination process for digitization projects and a network of production capabilities around campus. In order to fulfill this charge, DPIP needs to know requirements for digitization, and this is turn depends on knowing which collections should be digitized. Currently, Yale University Library doesn’t coordinate digitization projects. Individual units choose material based on grant opportunities, project funding, or user requests. As a result, the library’s production of digital resources is haphazard. Lack of coordination also explains why YUL has multiple systems for accessing digital material. Ultimately, in order to coordinate digitization and delivery, we must also coordinate selection. In many ways, however, we have a chicken-and-egg problem: do we rely on funding opportunities to tell us what collections we should digitize, or do we find the collections we want to digitize and aggressively seek funding for them? The answer is that we need to do both.

The coordination process must involve selectors, who most thoroughly know about the library’s current collections, open-access digitization projects (such as the Making of America and the Oxford Text Archive), vendor resources, and scholarly needs. On the basis of that knowledge, selectors can propose digitization projects. Librarians should be encouraged to think creatively, and to consider joint projects with libraries outside Yale. Coordination should also consider what other universities are doing so we do not duplicate efforts.

In addition, the coordination process must involve library staff who are most deeply familiar with digitization technology and related issues. Their involvement will facilitate decisions about which projects are feasible now, and which ones require further planning and perhaps further technical or staff resources. They can also provide guidance on digitization options, optimally contributing to a “best practices” policy.

Consequently there should be a standing digital projects committee, drawn from the pool of selectors and digital-activity staff, to review and prioritize project proposals. It should also develop a general philosophy about what collections Yale should digitize, which will guide selectors in the future. Prioritization might take into account funding, copyright, format, classes’ needs, intellectual value or other criteria, as well as the capacities in the library or on campus. CDC, which has already conducted a limited investigation of digital collection issues, should participate in creating the digital projects committee and its procedures, in consultation with other library committees and offices (see http://www.library.yale.edu/CDC/public/subcommittees/DigitalCollectionsTF).

The vetting process should result in a list of collections to be digitized, with a short description of the benefits of digitizing these collections. The list would not be restrictive, meaning those would not be the only collections ever digitized. The list of collections should be approved by the AULs or LMC. It would then be delivered to the Development Office, to be consulted when grant opportunities arise. Material may also be digitized on an ad hoc basis in order to meet the needs of our faculty, staff and students, and (when appropriate) researchers from elsewhere.

Finally, an ongoing issue is that librarians have various degrees of experience and knowledge about digitization and digitization project planning. Some selectors know what kinds of materials they would like to digitize and how to do it, but they lack the time to find funds. Others need education and guidance in thinking about projects they could do, if they had the funding. Many are unaware of library best practices, past projects, or the availability of digitization resources at the library. As part of this coordination process, DPIP needs to recommend methods and resources for continuing the education of selectors and librarians on digitization to help them think creatively about digitization of all formats of materials. The digital projects committee may be the best group to provide such assistance.

Site Visits:

Cornell: Selection is done by the librarian or faculty member in charge of the project who brings the concept to DCAPS. This person has already decided the scope of the project and obtained funding. They may also approach DCAPS when applying for grants. DCAPS does not select projects or materials for projects, and it does not necessarily prioritize. Materials are digitized on a cost recovery basis and at the current time there is enough capacity to handle their needs.

Harvard: The Harvard Library Digital Initiative includes a grant program for digital projects. There are two cycles of grants a year, approximately. The proposed projects are developed and managed by librarians and faculty members in conjunction with libraries. There are two committees that judge the proposals, one devoted to content and one concerned more with technical matters. Other projects may, of course, be developed outside of this granting program. However, this grant program is a major engine of digital library development and has established processes for the entire library. Through the grant program, Harvard prioritizes projects based on both content and technical needs at the same time.

DPIP’s recommendations:

a) A forum should take place to begin the process of creating a list of collections to be digitized. Selectors will be invited to talk about their collections, and can ask for help in preparing a list. This forum can be modeled on one held by Bobbie Pilette to get ideas for preservation grants, which led to several grant proposals. DPIP and CDC members can run this forum and collect the results into a list.

b) A digital projects committee should be established (by an authority to be determined) in order to review and prioritize the list from the forum and from later ideas. If possible, some members of the committee should be appointed before the forum. Prioritization should be based on both content of the projects and the technical goals and abilities of Yale University Library’s digital library program.

c) The digital projects committee should also help librarians who are considering digital projects. It can provide some level of education and project management to help units plan and carry out their projects, and it could also assist librarians who need help with grant writing with the help of the Development office.

d) The digital projects committee should create and publicize a matrix of available services in the library and on campus, so library staff know what facilities can be used, which kind of digitization projects each location can support, who to contact, and who can use the service. DPIP should also consider the best way to increase awareness and education on digitization and digital library research topics (such as forums, casual presentations, talks, or classes on various topics).

e) The digital projects committee should consider the possibility of holding an internal grant program such as Harvard’s, if the funding is available. DPIP believes this is an effective way to build up a digital library while encouraging participation from all libraries.

f) Some group in the library (possibly the digital projects committee, possibly CDC or another group) should consider the impact of mass digitization efforts such as the Open Library project and the Google Print project on our digitization efforts. What can and should Yale Library contribute to the scholarly and web communities by digitizing its materials?