vtdnp at the massachusetts library association conference
DESCRIPTION
On April 27, 2011, VTDNP members Chris Kirby and Tom McMurdo joined the Boston Public Library's (BPL) Chrissy Watkins Rissmeyer for a joint presentation on the NDNP and the VTDNP at the Massachusetts Library Association conference. This talk was part of the BPL's efforts to inform interested parties and the public at large about their efforts to join the NDNP as a new state program.TRANSCRIPT
Spread the News The National Digital Newspaper Program
About the NDNP
• Partnership
• National Endowment for the Humanities
• The Library of Congress
• State Projects
• Long-term effort to develop a freely accessible digital resource of historically significant newspapers from all the states and U.S. territories.
• Continues the work of the United States Newspaper Program.
About the NDNP cont.
• NEH awards support state projects to select and digitize
historically significant newspapers published in their
state
• Library of Congress also digitizing newspapers from its own
collections
• Technical guidelines and support for state projects
provided by the Library of Congress
Chronicling America
• Digitized newspapers hosted by Library of Congress on
Chronicling America website • As of January 2011, over 3 million pages available
• States may also host digitized newspapers locally
• Accompanied by national
newspaper directory of
bibliographic and holdings
information • Complied as part of the United
States Newspaper Program (USNP)
Program overview
• One organization from each state receives award to
collaborate with relevant state partners.
• Two year award (renewable).
• Newspapers selected for digitization must have been
published in state between 1836 and 1922.
• Material may be in English, French, Italian or Spanish
(including bilingual).
State award conditions
• Digitize approximately 100,000 pages (primarily from microfilm) in accordance with Library of Congress technical guidelines.
• Assemble advisory board of scholars.
• Develop selection criteria.
• Update bibliographic records for national directory.
• Write historical essay about each digitized newspaper.
• Deposit copy of microfilm used for scanning with the Library of Congress.
Unsupported activities
• Digitization of serials that are not newspapers.
• Digitization of newspapers from outside of timeframe.
• Costs related to local reuse or enhancement of digitized
newspapers.
• Costs associated with the development of a local access
interface.
State projects
• 25 states have received awards so far.
• Vermont first state in New England to receive award.
A Massachusetts Digital Newspaper Project?
• Plans are currently underway to apply for NEH funding
in January 2012.
• Through participation in the NDNP we hope to develop
the Massachusetts Digital Newspaper Project as a
statewide collaboration to provide digital access to
historic Massachusetts newspapers.
Ways to get involved
• Contribute your microfilm, knowledge, or support
• Come to informational meeting today at 4:30pm in the
Ipswitch Room.
• Email me at [email protected]
Thank you!
• Chrissy Watkins Rissmeyer
Boston Public Library
Digital Projects Metadata Coordinator
VERMONT DIGITAL NEWSPAPER PROJECT (VTDNP) AND THE
NATIONAL DIGITAL NEWSPAPER PROGRAM (NDNP)
Chris Kirby
Ilsley Public Library Adult Services and
Technology Librarian
Abbreviation for my talk:VUN
Vermont Digital Newspaper Project—VTDNP
U.S. Newspaper Project—USNP
National Digital Newspaper Project—NDNP
Vermont joins the NDNP
Researching the NDNP—Summer, 2009
Applying to the program—Fall, 2009
Award announcement—June, 2010
Project kickoff—August, 2010
• Newspaper Publishing in Vermont
Early publishing centers: Bennington, Brattleboro, Burlington, and Rutland
19th century papers: Brandon’s Vermont Telegraph
Papers with extended runs: Burlington Free Press, Rutland Herald
Vermont & the United States Newspaper Program (USNP)
Past efforts to enhance access to Vermont Newspapers:
Burlington Free Press/ Rutland Herald Index
Newspaper Digitization (VTDNP) and enhanced access to Vermont Newspapers
Digitization in Vermont UVM’s Center for Digital Initiatives
Vermont Folklife Center Online Digital Archive
Middlebury College Digital Collections
Readex—Early American Newspaper Series
Background for VTDNP
Inventory of Vermont Papers
Microfilm of varying quality
Selection of digitized newspapers
Cultural Organizations with digitization expertise
National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP)—a collaborative venture
Library of Congress
National Endowment for the Humanities
Awardees (state level institutions)
• VTDNP: A collaborative Project
Partners:
University of Vermont Department of Libraries Ilsley Public Library Vermont Historical Society
VTDNP and other NDNP awardees
NDNP Awardees: A diversity of approaches
Current Phase of Project: Implementation
Select newspapers to be digitized
Describe newspapers to be digitized
Digitize newspapers and duplicate microfilm
Validate and submit digitized newspapers
Okay, so we have NDNP grant money. Now just how do we do this?
A National Digital Newspaper Program state project process from film in a drawer to
searchable online content.
Tom McMurdo
Microfilm is the basis of any NDNP project.
Where are your newspaper master negatives?
Most master negatives of newspapers from 1836-1922 are “pre-standards.”
Microfilm evaluation:
Acetate or Polyester? Vinegar syndrome
Positives and negatives Scanning quality
Scanning: In House or Vendor?
2 very different approaches: control versus overhead
My Experience: Outsourcing Scanning
Scanning RFP
Several excellent companies working on NDNP state projects.
Criteria for evaluation
Selecting a vendor
Workflows
Title selection & Essays
Masters, positives & negatives
Metadata Creation
Scanning, OCR and XML files
Quality Assurance Check
Film and Files to LC
Searchable pages online
Title selection and essays
Selections must be justified
Stakeholders
Degree of formality
Microfilm
Positive vs. Negative film
Metadata creation: frame by frame film inventory
Scanning, OCR and XML files
Quality Assurance Check
Film and Files to Library of Congress
Online searchable files
Ongoing production (100,000 Pages)
Success!