Presented By: Sara Kiszka May 16, 2015 CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN: DIGITIZATION WITH LIMITED MEANS

 Records Analyst at Northern Michigan University  MLS with concentration in Archives and Records Management  Pursuing the Digital Archives Specialist (DAS) Certification from the Society of American Archivists FUN FACT: I just completed the Kentucky Bourbon Tour! WHO AM I?

 Converting information into a digital format  Digitization process depends on the medium  Documents, audio-visual, photographs, etc.  More than just scanning a document or uploading an audio file  Long term project which requires some time investment  Imagine you’re giving “birth” to these records WHAT IS DIGITIZATION?

The continued maintenance of electronic records and their long term storage.  File format  PDFA, TIFF, WAV, etc.  File migration  Storage  Desktop, hard drive, etc.  Back-ups  Preservation master, access copy, original, etc.  Etc., Etc., Etc., WHAT IS PRESERVATION?

 Don’t trust the carrier to do it’s job  Obsolescence of media  Ease of use/accessibility  Preservation of information WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

 Things to consider:  Does it make sense?  Is there patron (or staff) interest?  Do you have the resources and equipment?  Can you provide appropriate access?  Do you have the rights (copyright) to digitize?  Do you have the staff (or volunteers)?  Where is the funding going to come from?  Grant, donations, operating budget, etc. SMALL SCALE APPLICATION

YOU’RE STILL NOT AFRAID. SO, WHAT’S NEXT?

 We’re going to discuss:  How to assess your records for digitization & preservation  How to find resources and funding  Staff and volunteer training  Equipment  Lessons from the trenches  The future of records CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN

STEP ONE: HOW BIG IS THIS MOUNTAIN?

 Determine the “worth” of your records  Is it original and unique?  Does a digital version already exist?  How often is it used?  Is the carrier fragile or becoming obsolete?  Would it be easy to digitize?  Could be done using a checklist or ranking system More worthy records = the difference between a mole hill and a mountain STEP ONE: HOW BIG IS THIS MOUNTAIN?

RecordUniquenessPatron UseFormat (Carrier) Condition Cemetery Records Maintain only copy WeeklyPaper (Large Bound Book) Good Local Newspaper At another institution (not local) Bi-monthlyPaperBad Company Ledger Maintain multiple copies RarelyPaper (Unbound from book) Fair STEP ONE: HOW BIG IS THIS MOUNTAIN?

 Set a goal of how much you want to digitize in a week, a month, a year, 3 years, etc.  Prioritize based on what works for your institution  Your needs may be different than others’  Create a manageable timeline for digitization projects  Reassess at risk records or collections on a regular basis  Create a list of equipment, software, and hardware that you’ll need (including budget)  Gain the support of boards, supervisors, fellow staff, and community members STEP ONE: HOW BIG IS THIS MOUNTAIN?

 REMEMBER:  This is unique to you and your institution  There is no right or wrong answer  Don’t be afraid to consult with other colleagues (or even your mortal enemies) It’s okay to make mistakes – we’re humans, not robots STEP ONE: HOW BIG IS THIS MOUNTAIN?

STEP TWO: MONEY DOESN’T GROW ON MOUNTAINS!?!

 Where is the funding?  Donations/Entrance Fees  Outside Grants  Annual Budget More realistically: What money?!?! STEP TWO: MONEY DOESN’T GROW ON MOUNTAINS!?!

 Grant funding opportunities  National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) - Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions  Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) – Museums for America Grant  National Trust for Historic Preservation – National Trust Preservation Funds  National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) – Access to Historical Records Grant  And many more…. STEP TWO: MONEY DOESN’T GROW ON MOUNTAINS!?!

 I have no available money. Now what?  What equipment is available to you?  Scanner, computer, slide projector, etc.  You may be able to adapt a piece of equipment to meet your needs.  Could you borrow from another institution?  Public library, local university, local cultural institution, etc.  You’ll never know, if you never ask!  Your community might be more helpful than you originally believe  Older equipment for donation  Local business expertise  Willingness to participate  Etc. STEP TWO: MONEY DOESN’T GROW ON MOUNTAINS!?!

STEP THREE: WHO WANTS TO GO CLIMBING?

 Things to consider:  Can someone dedicate time to a digitization project?  Does anyone have experience?  Is the project easy to train volunteers on?  How many hours would it take volunteers to complete the project (commitment)?  Are you under a time limitation (grant work)? STEP THREE: WHO WANTS TO GO CLIMBING?

 Carnegie Library – Muncie, IN  My supervisor was not a librarian  More like a historical society – genealogy records, Wills, etc.  Volunteer  No set hours  Very little training  Very separate and clearly defined roles/projects  Prepared county court cases for digitization  These were saved from dumpsters after the county court moved buildings  Indexed county Wills for digitization  Strong volunteer base: local community members, university students, community service hours, etc. STEP THREE: WHO WANTS TO GO CLIMBING?

 Volunteers: The Good  You don’t have to pay them  Volunteers: The Bad & The Ugly  May not be committed to your institution or your projects  May not have the experience or necessary background  Amount of training vs. “return on investment”  Quality of work may vary between volunteers  Good people may be hard to find STEP THREE: WHO WANTS TO GO CLIMBING?

STEP FOUR: HOW MUCH EQUIPMENT IS NECESSARY?

 The amount of equipment you need is going to depend on the project  You can get creative  The following slides outline current digitization practices at Northern Michigan University  We currently digitize materials on a case by case basis  Patron request, highly used collection, project based  We do not have a preservation system in place (yet)  We have begun the process of assessing collections for digitization  One student primarily handles digitization requests  But all of us do pitch in when necessary STEP FOUR: HOW MUCH EQUIPMENT IS NECESSARY?

 Converter box that hooks up to a computer  Connects reel to reel player, film projector, cassette/video players  Various prices depending on company, number of connections, etc.  Film is captured in the program Adobe Premiere Pro  Roughly $250  Captured video is edited and stored on a hard drive  Done completely by student assistants

 One flatbed scanner  Photographs, negatives (not great), documents, some books, etc.  Scanned into either Photoshop or Adobe  Stored on the desktop temporarily  Overhead scanner (currently out of commission)  Oversize documents  Large (or difficult) books  One computer (PC)  All digitization activities occur on one machine STEP FOUR: HOW MUCH EQUIPMENT IS NECESSARY?

MOUNTAIN CLIMBING 101

 Student Protests at Northern Michigan University Project Student Protests at Northern Michigan University Project  Researched, Created, and Designed by:  Annika Peterson  Anne Krohn  Kelley Kannon  All materials were digitized using our simple methods listed above  Utilized resources that were available to us – no grant money was used in the making of this project MOUNTAIN CLIMBING 101

 Electronic Document Preservation .PDFA is the current standard  Save at least two copies and keep them saved in different places  Desktop and external hard drive (flash drive, in a pinch)  Photograph Preservation .TIFF is the current standard  Save at least two copies (access copy will most likely be.jpg) and save in different places  Audio-Visual Preservation .WAV (audio) /.MPEG-4 (video – many options, really)  Same as above (access copies -.WAV and.MOV, most likely) MOUNTAIN CLIMBING 101

REACHING THE SUMMIT

 More records are created electronically, and only electronically, every day  Information is created and shared in several different ways  Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Videos, etc. (The new “oral history”)  Donations in the future may not be on paper – how will you handle those? REACHING THE SUMMIT

 Friendly Climbing Tips:  You’ll probably slip a few times, but you shouldn’t lose anything you can’t live without. (Ex. a limb, audio file, etc.)  Don’t push anyone into an icy crevice! Treat other climbers with respect.  The more you climb, the more you’ll know. Share that knowledge with friend and foe.  Not everyone takes the same path up the mountain – but most survive and make it in the end. And so will you. REACHING THE SUMMIT

In the immortal words of Miley Cyrus: “It’s not about how fast you get there, it’s not about what’s waiting on the other side. It’s the climb.”

SARA KISZKA THANK YOU!