Digitization: MSU Project Example and Funding Information

1. Digitization: MSU Project Example and Funding Information Paul Martinez Cataloging Librarian/Archivist Montclair State University

2. MSU Buildings Project • 73 Color and B&W photographs and slides • Canon Scanner and Photoshop • 1 intern and 1 Librarian • MSU purchased Content dm software, licensing, and hosting from OCLC.

3. MSU Buildings Project • FYI: OCLC offers Content dm “quick start” to OCLC FirstSearch Base Package subscribers: • CONTENTdm software hosted by OCLC • Three Project Clients for building digital collections • 10GB of storage for up to 3,000 digital items • http://www.oclc.org/contentdm/firstsearchbasepackage/default.htm • FYI: Alternatives to Photoshop • Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run MS Windows. http://www.getpaint.net/ • GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed piece of image retouching and editing software. http://www.gimp.org/

4. Scanning The MSU Buildings Project followed the New Jersey Digital Highway Minimal Required Standards for Digitizing: • Color photos and documents: Scanned at minimum 600 dpi for archival purposes DPI: Dots Per Inch – (Standard Color Printer – 300) • Color space should be sRGB, at least 24 bit truecolor. 8 bits per channel is preferred RGB: True-Color Format for storing Red, Green, Blue amounts for any color

5. Scanning New Jersey Digital Highway Minimal Required Standards for Digitizing: • Archival files should be in TIFF format, encoded with no compression or (where available) a lossless compression algorithm TIFF: Tagged Image File Format – Format for storing images - Best quality for master and archive files. TIFF saves detailed image information with each pixel, resulting in a relatively large data file.

6. Scanning Other File Formats: • JPEG: (For access images)Commonly used on the Web. Works best with photographs and other continuous-tone images. Smaller file size. A lossy image compression format, it basically gets rid of information that is not really distinguishable to the eye. • GIF: (For access images)Also a small file, but better for text, or buttons. • PDF: PDF documents maintain the look of the original document. PDFs are often used for multi-page documents. A zooming feature is included. They require the use of a free program called Adobe Acrobat Reader.

7. Costs: Estimating Project Costs • Create a representative sample of the materials selected for conversion (5-6 items) • Put the sample through the entire workflow (scanning, processing, metadata creation, and quality control) • Some vendors may provide this service as part of their response to the RFI or RFP

8. Costs: Breakdown On Average: • 1/3 the cost is digital conversion • Slightly less than 1/3 is cataloging/description/indexing • Slightly more than 1/3 the cost is administrative /QC/ etc. Source: “Revisiting Costs” by Stephen Puglia – preservation specialist – U.S. National Archives

9. Costs: Ongoing • Cost for minimal maintenance of one set of the master image files (off-line) and access files (on-line) during the first 10 years is likely to be 50% to 100% of initial investment • Digital data system obsolescence: 5 – 10 years Source: “Revisiting Costs” by Stephen Puglia – preservation specialist – U.S. National Archives

10. Grant Sources • The New Jersey Historical Commission • Projects: Funding for expenses of specific projects relating to New Jersey history. Eligible categories include conservation of historical materials (manuscripts, books, costumes, historical visuals); editorial and publication projects; educational initiatives; exhibitions; media (films, radio, videotape, digital media); public programs; and research (including archaeological projects, fellowships, oral history, and National and New Jersey registers of historic places nominations).

11. Grant Sources • The New Jersey Historical Commission – Projects

12. Grant Sources • New Jersey Historical Commission • Minigrants: Support for smaller projects of the type of activities listed under Projects. Applicants may request support for planning (long-term, strategic, interpretive) but they may not use minigrant funds for other types of operating support. Up to $3,000 • Deadline: Reviewed four times per year . Submit proposals by July 15, October 15, January 15, and April 15 • Funding level: Up to $3,000 • Notification: Within six weeks of review • For more information: http://www.state.nj.us/state/divisions/historical/grants/

13. Funding Still Available for FY 2011? • Won’t know for sure until June 30 • However, according to a the grants office, 2.7 million dollars in grant funding has been allocated

14. Grant Sources • New Jersey Council for the Humanities • Grants and Mini-Grants (Humanities Focus) • “Applicants should clearly state their central theme and explain what makes this a humanities project. They should note which humanities disciplines are invoked, and describe what discussion, analysis, and/or interpretation will take place.” • A humanities scholar should be involved in the project

15. Grant Sources • New Jersey Council for the Humanities

16. Grant Sources • New Jersey Council for the Humanities • Grant recipients must provide at least a 1:1 cost-share match for the funds awarded • Proposals should include a clear plan for how the project will be made available to the public • NJCH is an Independent Non-Profit • Most of their funding comes from the federal government • For more information: http://www.njch.org/