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Digital Directions 2009 Makes a Splash in San Diego

The Museum of Man, Balboa Park Photo: ©Aleksandr Buzko / Dreamstime.com

On May 27–29, 2009, NEDCC presented Digital Directions: Fundamentals of Creating and Managing Digital Collections, in San Diego, California. The three-day conference provided an overview of the essentials of digitization, taught by a national faculty of digital experts. Conference participants traveled from 18 states as well as four provinces of Canada, and represented institutions such as the Getty Research Institute, the California State Library, Yale University, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Mt. Rushmore National Memorial, the U.S. Army Military History Institute, the LBJ Library and Museum, and the California Highway Patrol, as well as corporations such as Nationwide Insurance and Pixar Animation Studios. Participants included librarians, archivists, museum professionals, town clerks, and others responsible for the digitization of collection materials.

Robin Dale, Associate Librarian at University of California at Santa Cruz, discusses the role of standards and best practices in digitization.

Digital Directions San Diego was organized to optimize participants’ networking time as well as to provide a variety of learning venues to keep the conference fresh and engaging. Day One focused on digitization basics, with  a break for a networking lunch which provided an opportunity for participants from similar institutions to get to know one another. Highlights of the Day One sessions included the Keynote Address by Dr. Martin Halbert, President of the MetaArchive Cooperative, on the “Digital Calf Path,” and the presentation about standards and best practices entitled, “Just Shoot Me Now!” by Robin Dale, Associate University Librarian, University of California, Santa Cruz.  Several participants prepared posters on their digital projects and were available to talk with other attendees during the conference reception.

An intern from the Escondido Public Library talks with conference participants about the Library's Local History Digital Resouces Program.

 

Day Two featured break-out sessions in small classroom settings designed to encourage discussion between participants and faculty. Six sessions focused on nuts-and-bolts topics such as selection for digitization, budgeting, preparation for digitization, fundraising, and digital asset management systems. 

Janet Gertz discusses selection for digitization during a break-out session on Day Two.

 

Howard Brainen of Two Cat Digital answers questions for a conference particiapnt during the Vendor Showcase.

The Vendor Showcase offered an opportunity for participants to meet with leading providers of digitization hardware, software, and services.  Selected exhibitors also presented Vendor Spotlight Sessions in the morning and afternoon on various topics including digital asset management, digitization and harvesting, and working with an outside vendor.

Several guest speakers from the San Diego area presented case studies of digital projects undertaken by different types of institutions on Day Three. The case studies included the BajaFlora project at the San Diego Natural History Museum and the digitization of municipal records for the City of San Diego.  Panel discussions were also presented by conference faculty members. The session by R. Mac Holbert, Stanley Smith, and David Mathews on digital printing elicited a lively question-and-answer period, as did the session by Peter Hirtle and Kristine Brancolini on copyright issues.

Participants rated the conference highly – their comments reflect the value of Digital Directions’ A-to-Z approach.

SAMPLE COMMENTS FROM CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS

• This conference gave me the initial foundation to understand everything that goes into a digitization project and what resources are out there for help.  I made wonderful contacts with conference faculty and other participants who I will be contacting for further information and support on my future projects.  I really appreciate hearing case studies and best practices from others’ experiences.  As someone who is very new to this field, I appreciate learning about the broad spectrum of projects and what I need to do at work to make projects successful.

• Prior to my attendance at this conference, I knew I had to digitize, but what? How?  Why?  I also felt that we would do our project in-house.  Now I realize that we should digitize only things unique to our collection and we should do it in conjunction with our sister organization on the East Coast.  If they have programs in place, we might be able to piggy-back off them and get them on the web through them.  I realize that we are not equipped to do everything in house and will have to contract with a vendor.  The why will be preservation of information and to satisfy requests form our customer base.

• I take away a general overview of digitization, associations with those in the field, and a direction to pursue with regards to digitally preserving our survey files.  I also recognize the need to involve / educate others in the process of selecting and scheduling this first project and others to follow.  I’ve begun a list of possible collaborations and websites to consult for further information and inspiration.  Planning will be the first step!

• This conference has provided me with the foundation information I need to know how to plan and execute a digital project.  I have digitized and OCR’d a project and now feel I have the tools and contacts to take it to the next level.  Ready to now investigate schemes for creating metadata and then pursue a management system!  This conference met and exceeded my expectations.  Thank you!

• I attended this conference on my own as personal development, not on behalf of an institution.  I feel that this was a good summary of concepts that I have recently learned in coursework, as well as a way to get a handle on where the field is today. 

• The conference was extremely informative for me.  I am in the process of implementing a DAM system and it was helpful to hear from more experienced people that have recently gone through it.  Metadata standards and rights management was definitely a highlight as well.  Thank you!

• Our museum has only made fledgling efforts at creating online /digital access to our collections, although we’re further along in using digital technologies to further our preservation aims.  This conference has really made me grateful that we’re not that far along yet, that we can learn from others and now decide what’s best for us – how does our current digital preservation strategy fit with plans for providing digital access?  Or, how do we need to change in order to serve both ends in the future?  This conference has been my introduction to standards and best practices for digitization, as well as to different models for success and collaboration.  I don’t know exactly what steps the museum will take next. But I’m much better informed and prepared to contribute to the research and planning and implementation phases that lie ahead.

• It is really beneficial to be able to learn about new and emerging ideas and technology and be able to bring that information home to share within my community.  It was also exciting to meet and discuss with other professionals in similar situations and with similar projects and dream projects.  Please run this again soon.  I would love to attend again as there are always new developments.  (attendee from Canada)

• I am the sole proprietor of a digital photo restoration business.  The conference filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge, confirmed that I’m on the right track about data management, etc., introduced me to new topics and people with whom I might collaborate in the future.  Of particular value are the URLs and references that illuminate what is going on in the world of heritage and digital asset management.

• This has been an incredibly valuable educational experience.  The faculty has put together a program that has the right amount of theory and practicality that I appreciated and somehow managed to impart a great deal of knowledge and wisdom without inducing burn-out in its recipients (or at least in this recipient).  I may feel daunted but I am also feeling energized at the work ahead.  Thank you.

• Outstanding and intense conference.  Worth every dollar – felt like total immersion – and that’s what we needed!

Digital Directinos 2009 faculty and staff pose next to the WWII Commemorative Statue, "Unconditional Surrender," a San Diego landmark.

FACULTY LIST:

Tom Blake, Boston Public Library
Kristine Brancolini, Loyola Marymount University
Greg Colati, University of Denver
Jessica Branco Colati, Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries
Robin L. Dale, University of California, Santa Cruz
Janet Gertz, Columbia University
Judy Gibson, San Diego Natural History Museum
Emily Gore, Clemson University
Martin Halbert, MetaArchive Cooperative
Peter Hirtle, Cornell University
R. Mac Holbert, Nash Editions
Therese M. James, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
Paula Knop, South Pasadena Public Library
Elizabeth Maland, City Clerk, City of San Diego
David Mathews, Northeast Document Conservation Center
David Minor, San Diego Supercomputer Center
Stanley Smith, J. Paul Getty Museum
Sharon Spivak, Office of the City Attorney, City of San Diego
Ginny Steel, University of California, Santa Cruz
Chris Travers, Museum of San Diego History
Adrian Turner, California Digital Library

DIGITAL DIRECTIONS VENDORS:

Balboa Art Conservation Center, www.bacc.org Conference Co-Host
Data Conversion Laboratory, www.dclab.com
Extensis, www.extensis.com
Front Porch Digital, www.fpdigital.com
HTC Global Services, www.htcinc.com
Innovative Interfaces Inc., www.iii.com
Luna Imaging, www.lunaimaging.com
MAM-A Inc., www.mam-a.com
Northern Micrographics, www.normicro.com
OCLC, www.oclc.org
Planman Consulting, www.planmantechnologies.com
Two Cat Digital, www.twocatdigital.com
U.S. department of Justice – UNICOR, www.unicor.gov

FUTURE NEDCC DIGITAL CONFERENCE INFORMATION

NEDCC is in the early stages of planning a two-day conference in Boston for Spring 2010 on shaping curatorial collections for digital preservation. While NEDCC’s Digital Directions conference has focused on such basics as selection for digitization and fundraising, the new conference will explore the dynamics of online data. How do you create meaningful data for dark storage? How do you create the proper data necessary for ingestion, cross-walking, interoperability? And even before files are created, who is the audience that will use this information? What copyright and ownership issues need to be addressed? Once the information is out there, how is it being used on the Internet? How is it being mined? What is the impact of the Freedom of Information Act and net neutrality on how you present – and how others use – your data?

WANT TO BE AMONG THE FIRST TO KNOW ABOUT THE NEW DIGITAL CONFERENCE?

Join NEDCC’s E-Announcement list to receive the latest updates on the Center’s educational programs, grant opportunity reminders, and other preservation information. To join, go to www.nedcc.org and click on the green sign-up button. Welcome!