ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Preservation News

Jane Hedberg

Jane Hedberg prepares this column for the College Libraries Committee, Commission on Preservation and Access. Submissions may be made to: Jane Hedberg, Wellesley College; JHEDBERG@WELLESLEY.EDU.

Image collections report published

The Commission on Preservation and Access recently published Digital Image Collections: Issues and Practice. Written by Michael Ester, who has extensive experience in creating digital image collections with both the Getty Art History Information Program and Luna Imaging Inc., the report focuses on the special nature of digitizing visual collections. It covers technical, organizational, intellectual, legal, and financial issues, and provides basic information about planning projects, working with images, and ensuring long-term access. Of particular interest are Ester’s observations on the higher production rates possible during pilot projects, compared to large-scale, ongoing programs. Copies are available for $15.00 from Alex Mathews at the Commission on Preservation and Access, 1400 16th Street, N.W., Suite 715, Washington, D.C. 20036-2217; phone: (202) 939-3400; fax: (202) 939-3407; e-mail: amathews @cpa.org. Prepayment is required. Commission sponsors receive copies of publications free-of-charge.

New NLA Web sites

The National Library of Australia (NLA) has two new Web sites about digital preservation. PANDORA (Preserving and Accessing Networked Documentary Resources in Australia), is a project to investigate and implement an archive of electronic materials about Australia. In addition to a description of the project and other documents, NLA has mounted National Strategy for Provision of Access to Australian Electronic Publications and Guidelines for Selection on a Web site. These documents were developed for Australian use, but highlight some of the issues faced by any organization creating a digital archive. The URL is http:// www.nla.gov.au/policy/plan/pandora.html. The Preserving Access to Digital Information (PADI) Working Group has created a Web site to provide information and guidance for preserving digital documents. It covers a large number of topics, including authenticity, migration, standards, legal issues, metadata, glossaries, and bibliographies. This site is not limited to Australian interests and contains links to international documents. The URL is http://www.nla. gov.au/dnc/tf2001/padi/ padi.html.

Other Web sites of interest

The Federal Library and Information Center Committee (FLICC) Preservation Working Group has an information resource list of advisory organizations, providers of services, supplies, and training, plus a list of periodicals about preservation mounted on Conservation OnLine (CoOL). The URL is http://palimpsest. Stanford, edu/bytopic/orgs/flicc1.html.

The Museum Security Network has created a Web site devoted to security and safety in museums and other organizations that safeguard cultural heritage. Although primarily about museum and art security, it does include a section on safety in libraries and some of the other links may be generally useful. The URL is http: //www.xs4all.nl/~securma/.

NDLF update

The National Digital Library Federation (NDLF) continues its work on creation of a distributed digital library. It has provided support for two very different “testbed” projects which will explore the architecture, discovery, retrieval, and archiving of digital collections. The first project, “The Making of America, Part II,” involves creating a large digital collection of text and images about American history between 1850 and 1920. It follows upon the work done by Cornell University and the University of Michigan on “The Making of America, Part I.” The second project, Advanced Papyrological Information System (APIS), involves creating common electronic access to important collections of papyri. For more information on NDLF activities, contact the Commission on Preservation and Access (see address in first item above). ■