1 History in a digital world: helping communities access and explore their heritage through newspapers. Cathy Pilgrim – Director, Australian Newspaper Digitisation Program (ANDP) Queensland Public Library Association Conference Queensland Public Library Association Conference 20 October 2008, State Library of Queensland

2 Presentation outline Comments on newspaper publishing in Australia Comments on newspaper publishing in Australia Australian Newspaper Plan (ANPlan) Australian Newspaper Plan (ANPlan) Australian Newspaper Digitisation Program (ANDP) objectives Australian Newspaper Digitisation Program (ANDP) objectives ANDP workflow overview ANDP workflow overview Australian Newspapers beta service Australian Newspapers beta service Future directions Future directions

3 Front page of the first Australian newspaper The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, March 5, 1803

4 Website:

5 History of ANPlan Established in 1992 as the National Plan for Australian Newspapers (NPLAN) Established in 1992 as the National Plan for Australian Newspapers (NPLAN) Name changed to Australian Newspaper Plan (ANPlan) in 2006 Name changed to Australian Newspaper Plan (ANPlan) in 2006 An initiative of the Consortium of Australian State Libraries (CASL) - now know as NSLA (National and State Libraries Australasia) An initiative of the Consortium of Australian State Libraries (CASL) - now know as NSLA (National and State Libraries Australasia) Managed by the National Library since 2001 Managed by the National Library since 2001

6 Collecting Partners are required to: Collect hardcopies of all newspapers as published Collect hardcopies of all newspapers as published Identify, locate and collect missing titles and issues Identify, locate and collect missing titles and issues

7 Preservation Partners are required to: Retain one hardcopy of every newspaper title Retain one hardcopy of every newspaper title Create an archival standard master reproduction and a working copy of every title Create an archival standard master reproduction and a working copy of every title Provide appropriate housing and management of all copies Provide appropriate housing and management of all copies

8 Access Partners are required to: Catalogue all print and microfilm holdings of newspapers into Libraries Australia catalogue Catalogue all print and microfilm holdings of newspapers into Libraries Australia catalogue Provide easy access pathways to the content of each title Provide easy access pathways to the content of each title

9 Increase access to Australian newspapers Increase access to Australian newspapers Build a national service that will provide free online access from the first Australian newspaper published in 1803 through to the end of 1954 Build a national service that will provide free online access from the first Australian newspaper published in 1803 through to the end of 1954 Key Features of the service Key Features of the service Online access Online access Freely available Freely available Full text searchable Full text searchable ANDP Objectives

10 National Content Initial focus on major titles from each state and territory Initial focus on major titles from each state and territory Anticipate that ‘regional’ titles may be contributed later Anticipate that ‘regional’ titles may be contributed later Coverage: published between 1803 – 1954 Coverage: published between 1803 – 1954 (out of copyright) West Australian Northern Territory Times Courier Mail Advertiser Sydney Morning Herald Sydney Gazette Argus Mercury Canberra Times

11 $1 Million Grant from the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation to digitise The Sydney Morning Herald to 1954 $1 Million Grant from the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation to digitise The Sydney Morning Herald to 1954

12 1. Identify and locate selected newspaper microfilm

13 2. Digitisation

14 3. Quality Assure digital images Use 2 widescreen monitors placed vertically. Can view complete page within context of issue. Add metadata, identify missing and duplicate pages within an issue. Prepare batches to send for OCR processing.

15 Page verification

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17 4. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) of pages and article zoning

18 Article categories News News Includes a wide range of subject matter such as current affairs, law courts and crime, official appointments and notices, commerce and business news, sporting news and social news, etc. Advertising Advertising Display advertising and classified advertising including items and services for sale, employment notices, public and personal notices, etc.

19 Article categories Family Notices Family Notices Birth, death and marriage notices and related announcements including weddings, anniversaries, in memoriam, bereavement, birthdays, congratulations, etc. Detailed Lists, Results and Guides Detailed Lists, Results and Guides Includes sporting results, radio and television guides, weather forecasts, election results, education results and courses, stock market lists, crossword puzzles, word games, etc.

20 Processing in India

21 5. Quality Assurance

22 Beta service:

23 Clustering of results sets by: Newspaper title Newspaper title Article category Article category Illustrated Illustrated Date range Date range Article word count Article word count

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25 Correct electronically translated text

26 Add note/comment to article

27 Examples of comments: The name Rudolph Membergle should read Rudolph Mornberger The name Rudolph Membergle should read Rudolph Mornberger Typhus and Colonial Fever outbreak in Toowoomba Hospital Typhus and Colonial Fever outbreak in Toowoomba Hospital The writer would appear to be Corporal John Heaney No 91, 6th Bn, who was wounded in the left leg at Gallipoli on 14 July 1915 The writer would appear to be Corporal John Heaney No 91, 6th Bn, who was wounded in the left leg at Gallipoli on 14 July 1915

28 Add tags to articles

29 Functionality and design Derivative sizes and zoom technology testing Derivative sizes and zoom technology testing Search and Browse features Search and Browse features Display of results and refinement of results Display of results and refinement of results User interaction with source (web 2.0) User interaction with source (web 2.0) Interface design Interface design

30 Prototype wireframe

31 Prototype service developed and tested with Australian state libraries

32 Beta service:

33 Libraries as content enablers: Access imperative Access imperative Content in context Content in context Ongoing access Ongoing access Content description Content description Collaboration Collaboration

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36 Questions Australian Newspapers beta service

37 Infrastructure and Storage Online Storage – 70 TB: Working space for images in processing 40TB for 1 million pages Search and delivery derivatives 30TB for 3 million pages XML files, database systems and indexes 1 TB Offline Storage – unlimited for master images on tape.