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

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.

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 ◦ FYI: Alternatives to Photoshop ◦ Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run MS Windows. ◦ GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed piece of image retouching and editing software.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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).

Grant Sources The New Jersey Historical Commission – Projects

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:

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

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

Grant Sources New Jersey Council for the Humanities Grant Types Maximum Request Application Deadline Notification of Decision For Programs Taking Place Major$20,000 May 1 October 1 June November August 1 or later January 1 or later Mini$3,000February 1 May 1 August 1 November 1 March June September December April 1 or later July 1 or later October 1 or later January 1 or later

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: