This paper presents the story of a small, specialist library, which transformed its service delivery model through a reframing of the service from traditional library to integrated information service. The paper details some of the processes and discoveries from such an undertaking, and shares its approach for regenerating the library function to ensure and grow its relevance into the future.
Despite growing volume and popularity, institutional video content is the least curated and least discoverable of all content types. Although users expect ubiquitous access to all content, regardless of format, video is under-catalogued/indexed and therefore not easily accessible. Video, especially institutional video, is not available to discovery services, and rights management concerns inhibit availability. Therefore, libraries are missing an opportunity to showcase their relevance. This paper presents research on the hypothesis that utilizing automated transcription to programmatically create rich metadata promotes discoverability and usability of institutionally created video.
University libraries face an increasingly diverse digital world in which tablet and mobile devices are the preferred access platforms for research, teaching and learning. The University of Wollongong Library has responded by digitising its unique archival collections, embedding digitisation processes, developing a digitisation program and providing a Digital Collections portal to material held within its repositories. The Library has also embarked on digitisation of the nationally significant WIN4 television news collection 1964-84. Comprising over 1,000 reels of 16mm black and white film and associated scripts, the project entails significant technological, copyright and logistical hurdles in providing streamed access to content.
The State Library of South Australia (SLSA) is honouring the memory of those who served at the front lines on World War 1 and on the home front, through a series of projects. The principal project is the creation of a new web resource of the records of the South Australian Red Cross Information Bureau (SARCIB). The web resource will utilise volunteers and provide opportunities for community created content. By leveraging existing tools such as MARC, the project will lead the way for future delivery of our collections and provide an opportunity for SLSA to apply Linked Open Data. It is anticipated this resource will be available early in 2015.
The CPA Australia Archives, a unique collection of records extending back 130 years, document the history of the organisation, the development of the accounting profession and the social and business history of Australia. These Archives are a rich source of information for academics and members of the public interested in their family history. To enhance access, CPA Australia and several Australian universities applied for and were successful in obtaining a linkage grant from Australian Research Council (ARC) to digitise the Archives. This paper discusses the digitisation process.
This paper discusses the State Library of NSW’s project to create content on Wikipedia linking back to the digitised newspapers on Trove. The paper discusses the issues encountered in working with Wikipedia and the factors that made this project a success. One significant factor was the collaborative partnerships with other institutions that allowed the State Library to build on the expertise of other groups.
This paper, based on a research visit to the United Kingdom in 1999, discusses the electronic progress being achieved by some major British cultural institutions, particularly in comparison to digitization progress which has been made by Australia’s first prime ministerial library. It examines digitization of difficult collection areas such as multimedia and the desirability of upscaling digital projects.
Digital publications are a significant part of tomorrow’s heritage of digital information. However, there is a growing understanding that tomorrow’s digital heritage will simply not be available without concerted action. This paper reviews international progress in digital archiving and preservation over the past one to two years. In that time, we have seen some developments in international collaboration, many archiving models being tested, active work on a range of facilitating issues, and an ongoing debate over the most appropriate long-term preservation strategies. However, a number of problematical issues remain. A most encouraging trend is the ongoing commitment to sharing information. The National Library of Australia’s PADI website has been re-developed as an international digital preservation forum, charting progress in finding workable solutions that can be applied by Australian libraries.
A research idea, an administrative need and a resource capability come together in time to create an invaluable historical collection: the University Calendar story at Melbourne
Four events were critical to our university calendar story: a researcher searching for lists of University Members over time; an administrator documenting researcher records over time; a records analyst frustrated by precious storage housing duplicate copies of calendars, and finally, the need to dispose of multiple sets of surplus calendars. Serendipity combined these events, digitising 150 years of university history and producing an invaluable digital record. The learning from our journey has been an appreciation of the complexities of digitisation projects. Key outcomes have been the development of better workflows and a more intentional strategy for future digitisation projects.
