The world’s libraries. Connected. Moving the Past into the Present Special Collections in a Digital Age Libraries Australia Forum, 25 October 2012 #laf2012 Merrilee Proffitt Senior Program Officer OCLC

The world’s libraries. Connected. My perspective…. United States (primarily) Research libraries Professionally oriented to special collections rare books, manuscripts & personal papers, archives & records

The world’s libraries. Connected. My perspective OCLC Research Library Partnership transnational heterogeneous Surrounded by smart people

The world’s libraries. Connected.

Large backlogs Expensive processes Increasing demand Libraries are not shifting away from print (yet) and demand for electronic …all against a backdrop of diminished resources So what about special collections?

The world’s libraries. Connected. “More Product, Less Process” “There is good evidence to suggest that we tolerate this situation in part because our profession awards a higher priority to serving the perceived needs of our collections than to serving the demonstrated needs of our constituents.”

The world’s libraries. Connected. Taking Our Pulse

The world’s libraries. Connected. Taking Our Pulse – Key Findings The top three “most challenging issues” – Space – Born Digital – Digitization Tough economy renders “business as usual” impossible User demand for digitized collections is insatiable Management of born-digital materials is in its infancy

The world’s libraries. Connected. Taking Our Pulse – Recommendations Digitization –Develop models for large scale digitization User Services –Promote policies that facilitate (rather than inhibit) access Born-Digital Archival Materials –Create a no-expertise-needed program for management

The world’s libraries. Connected. Shifting Gears: Gearing Up to Get into the Flow

The world’s libraries. Connected. Shifting Gears – Recommendations Access vs. preservation Selection has already been done Do it ONCE (then iterate) Programs not projects Be informed by archival description practices Quality vs. quantity Discovery happens elsewhere Partnerships and funding

The world’s libraries. Connected. Rapid Capture: Faster Throughput

The world’s libraries. Connected. University of California, Berkeley and University of the Pacific

The world’s libraries. Connected. Archives of Traditional Music, Indiana University

The world’s libraries. Connected. University Archives University of Minnesota

The world’s libraries. Connected. Capture and Release

The world’s libraries. Connected. Capture and Release – Benefits Digital cameras are gentler on collection materials Digital cameras facilitate use Digital cameras increase researcher satisfaction Digital cameras reduce repository workload Digital cameras enhance security and save reading room checkout time Digital cameras save paper and photocopy toner Repositories stay current and resolve an ongoing issue at a time Digital cameras reduce liability for copyright infringement

The world’s libraries. Connected. Scan and Deliver: User-Initiated Digitization

The world’s libraries. Connected. Scan and Deliver – tiered workflow A.Review How do users request digital reproductions? How are requests for copies approved How many people need to approve? Have the items already been digitized? How do you manage copyright & legal issues? B.Decide Will you keep the images? Is it useful for you to keep the images? Do you have sufficient resources to keep them? What resolution is needed for scanning? Is the request for high-resolution? What metadata will you create? Will you scan the whole volume? C.Scan Who digitizes and describes materials? Will you perform quality control? D.Deliver How do you deliver digital copies to the user?

The world’s libraries. Connected. Demystifying Born Digital

The world’s libraries. Connected. Defining Born Digital

The world’s libraries. Connected. You've Got to Walk Before You Can Run

The world’s libraries. Connected. Swatting the Long Tail

The world’s libraries. Connected. “Well-intentioned practice”

The world’s libraries. Connected. Archival collections assessment- how to prioritize?

The world’s libraries. Connected. ArchiveGrid, connecting researchers to primary source materials …

The world’s libraries. Connected. Sharing Special Collections Advisory group made up of special collections and ILL staff Streamlining workflows for requests Checklist to ensure trust

The world’s libraries. Connected. Survey results for UK and Ireland Outreach for special collections More born digital reports Findings from survey of ArchiveGrid users Results of ArchiveGrid experiments What’s next?

The world’s libraries. Connected. Big problems can be addressed by…  Orienting yourself to the user and their needs  Stepping back and rethinking current practices  Consulting with smart colleagues  Breaking complicated problems into smaller ones How does this relate?

The world’s libraries. Connected. Questions? [Thanks to Trove for the images!] Merrilee Proffitt