Krystyna K. Matusiak

Towards user‐centered indexing in digital image collections

Purpose – User‐created metadata, often referred to as folksonomy or social classification, has received a considerable amount of attention in the digital library world. Social tagging is perceived as a tool for enhancing description of digital objects and providing a venue for user input and greater user engagement. This article seeks to examine the pros and cons of user‐generated metadata in the context of digital image collections and compares it to professionally created metadata schema and controlled vocabulary tools.Design/methodology/approach – The article provides an overview of challenges to concept‐based image indexing. It analyzes the characteristics of social classification and compares images described by users to a set of images indexed in a digital collection.Findings – The article finds that user‐generated metadata vary in the level of description, accuracy, and consistency and do not provide a solution to the challenges of image indexing. On the other hand, they reflects users language an...

A Newspaper/Periodical Digitization Project in Mongolia: Creating a Digital Archive of Rare Mongolian Publications

The periodical collection at the Press Institute of Mongolia includes rare newspapers documenting political and economic changes in Mongolia in the 1990s. This article describes a two-year digitization project undertaken to preserve endangered Mongolian newspapers and periodicals in the collection and to expand access to them via the Internet. Newspaper digitization poses many challenges due to large format, complex page layout, and poor-quality print. These difficulties are compounded in the development of international digital libraries that use non-Latin characters. Greenstone, an open-source digital library software suite, offers multilingual support and was used to create a digital archive of these rare Mongolian publications.

Multilingual metadata for cultural heritage materials: The case of the Tse-Tsung Chow Collection of Chinese Scrolls and Fan Paintings

– The purpose of this paper is to explore multilingual access in digital libraries and to present a case study of creating bilingual metadata records for the Tse-Tsung Chow Collection of Chinese Scrolls and Fan Paintings. The project, undertaken at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries, provides access to digital copies of calligraphic and painted Chinese scrolls and fans from the collection donated by Prof Tse-Tsung Chow (Cezong Zhou). , – This paper examines the current approaches to multilingual indexing and retrieval in digital collections and presents a model of creating bilingual parallel records that combines translation with controlled vocabulary mapping. , – Creating multilingual metadata records for cultural heritage materials is in an early phase of development. Bilingual metadata created through human translation and controlled vocabulary mapping represents one of the approaches to multilingual access in digital libraries. Multilingual indexing of collections of international origin addresses the linguistic needs of the target audience, connects the digitized objects to their respective cultures and contributes to richer descriptive records. The approach that relies on human translation and research can be undertaken in small-scale digitization projects of rare cultural heritage materials. Language and subject expertise are required to create bilingual metadata records. , – This paper presents the results of a case study. The approach to multilingual access that involves research, and it relies on human translation that can only be undertaken in small-scale projects. , – This case study of creating parallel records with a combination of translation and vocabulary mapping can be useful for designing similar bilingual digital collections. , – This paper also discusses the obligations of holding institutions in undertaking digital conversion of the cultural heritage materials that originated in other countries, especially in regard to providing metadata records that reflect the language of the originating community. , – The research and practice in multilingual indexing of cultural heritage materials are very limited. There are no standardized models of how to approach building multilingual digital collections. This case study presents a model of providing bilingual access and enhancing the intellectual control of cultural heritage collections.

Finding access and digital preservation solutions for a digitized oral history project: A case study

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine affordable access and digital preservation solutions for digital collections developed by under-resourced small- and mid-sized cultural heritage organizations. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a case study of Jeffco Stories, a collection of digitized oral histories created by the Jefferson County Public Library in Colorado. Findings This paper describes how the Jefferson County Public Library undertook a migration project of its oral history digital collection into an open-access platform, Omeka, and selected DuraCloud as a hosted digital preservation service. Research limitations/implications As a case study, this paper is limited to one institution’s experience with selecting access and digital preservation solutions. Practical/implications This paper is relevant to librarians and archivists who are exploring access and preservation solutions for digital collections and to those who are considering migrating to open-access content management systems and cloud-based digital preservation solutions. Originality/value This paper presents a case of a public library and the challenges in finding affordable access and digital preservation solutions for small digital collections.

User Navigation in Large-Scale Distributed Digital Libraries: The Case of the Digital Public Library of America

ABSTRACT This article presents the findings of a case study that examined user navigation in a large-scale digital library in the context of academic use. Using the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) as a case, the study explored user navigation and understanding of a distributed model of large-scale digital libraries. The DPLA model involves two- or three-step navigation pathways. Most study participants could navigate the DPLA distributed, multilayered system effectively. This study found some confusion among the participants when they must move through a three-step process to locate digital objects provided by a metadata aggregator service hub. The study participants also pointed out the advantages of a distributed model in collocating digital resources and connecting users to a wide range of digital libraries.

Evaluation of digital libraries

This chapter starts with the discussion of the need for digital library evaluation. After that, digital library evaluation frameworks and dimensions are introduced. This chapter addresses why evaluation is important, when to evaluate, what to evaluate, how to evaluate, and factors hindering the evaluation. The focus of the chapter is to identify digital library evaluation criteria and associated measures. A unique aspect of this chapter is that the authors present the findings of their own study on digital library evaluation purposes, dimensions, criteria, measures, the phases for evaluation, and factors hindering the evaluation in addition to summarizing previous research on digital library evaluation. Finally, challenges for digital library evaluation are raised and discussed.

Open access: The global scene

Significant achievements have been scored regarding Open Access (OA) and its worldwide adoption. The increasing numbers in the availability of OA repositories and journals (refereed and otherwise); publishers that embraced OA in different forms; universities and colleges that adopted OA as a matter of policy; and funding agencies that require authors and researchers to deposit their work in openly accessible digital repositories are all clear indications of the widespread adoption of OA practices. However, the practices are not well coordinated, largely project-based, and dictated by institutional circumstances. For the sake of disseminating and preserving scholarly publications and other forms of research outputs well into the future, it is critical that a consistent and uniform policy and technical framework that addresses the needs and concerns of all relevant stakeholders involved be adopted. Members of this panel will review the global OA practices and suggest ideas for the implementation of an international infrastructure that supports and sustains the future of open scholarly communication.

JCDL 2018 Workshop Proposal - Image Collections: Creation, Organization, Access, and Use

We propose to have a full day workshop at JCDL 2018. This workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to exchange research ideas on image collections, including the creation, organization, access and use (COAU) of various image datasets. We expect to discuss various theories, methods, techniques, challenges, and new research directions as related to images COAU. Especially we would like to explore innovative ideas on image annotation, retrieval, use behavior &personas, processing of different types of images, and visual image metrics. The workshop will allow researchers to communicate with their peers on projects and develop new ideas through presentation and discussion. We hope to establish a community of researchers from related disciplines and explore questions critical to the future development of images COAU. Participants of this workshop will be invited to submit a full paper to a special issue at The Electronic Library (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journal/el) on Image Collections.

How is image seeking and use studied: Theoretical models and research methods: Sponsored by: SIG VIS, SIG AH, SIG DL, and SIG USE

The digital revolution is associated with the proliferation of visual resources and with the increasing use of images in teaching, scholarly activities, communication, and everyday information practices. Visual information seeking and use is a growing area of research in information science. The panel discussion will focus on theoretical and methodological approaches to studying how users seek, select, apply, and organize visual information in a range of information and communication practices. The discussion about theory and research methodologies will be complemented by an example of an empirical study and an inquiry into implications of social media for image use research. The panel will contribute to a better understanding of the current state of image research and will engage the scholarly community in a debate about research methodology and theory development.

Digital library collection development

This chapter starts with an introduction to the history and definitions of collection development. Next, the chapter examines key elements of digital collection development policy and associated collection selection criteria, and delves into collection development assessment. Most importantly, this chapter discusses legal issues in digital collection development ranging from copyright protection, exemptions for libraries and archives, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, to fair use and copyright infringement. Moreover, this chapter analyses the trend of collection sharing and large-scale digitization, and associated collection development policies. Finally, the challenges of digital collection development are discussed.