scholarly journals Increasing the Discoverability of Digital Collections Using Wikipedia: The Pitt Experience

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ed Galloway ◽  
Cassandra DellaCorte
Keyword(s):  
Service Center ◽  
Digital Collections ◽  
University Of Pittsburgh ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Library Resources ◽  
Finding Aids ◽  
The University

During the Fall 2013 academic semester at the University of Pittsburgh, two undergraduate history majors performed a Wikipedia internship in the University Library System’s Archives Service Center and Special Collections Department. The purpose was to enhance the discoverability of Pitt’s digital collections and finding aids by creating links from Wikipedia articles to relevant content held by the library’s specialized collection units as well as to generally improve the quality of articles by adding additional information. By editing nearly 100 articles in Wikipedia, the interns developed their own effective strategies to perform this work and learned how to use and edit Wikipedia efficiently, how to navigate library resources effectively, how to decide what types of content would be valuable to add, and how to present new and respectable information. As a result, usage of Pitt’s online digitized collections and finding aids appears to have increased.

Collections VIII: Library and Archive Resources in the History of Science and Medicine at the University of Leeds

1981 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. B. Wood ◽  
J. V. Golinski
Keyword(s):  
History Of Science ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Valuable Resource ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Historical Collections ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Library Resources ◽  
History Of ◽  
The University

Although the University of Leeds has attained something of a reputation for the quality of its scholarship in the history of science, few historians are aware of the impressive collection of early scientific and medical books and manuscripts to be found in the University libraries. In order to make the library resources more widely known, we embarked on a systematic survey of the contents of the main historical collections. We wanted not only to give a general impression of the particular strengths and distinctive features of each collection, but also to mention the interesting or rare copies of individual works to be found in them. We have, therefore, examined every book related to the history of science and medicine in the relevant collections, and in doing so we have uncovered a number of important items. For example, we have identified a book which was once in Newton's library, and a previously unrecorded copy of Joseph Black's chemical lectures. More generally, we had not suspected the true size and range of the Chaston Chapman Collection, which makes it a valuable resource for the history of alchemy and early chemistry; nor were we initially aware of the strength of the Historical Collection of the Medical and Dental Library. The wealth of the legacies to (and the discrimination shown in recent purchases for) the Brotherton and Special Collections also impressed us.

How to Wrangle Multiple Discrete Collections from One Donor: A Case Study of the Subject-based Physical and Digital Consolidation of the Wade Hall Collections

2021 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-90
Author(s):  
Laura M. Gentry ◽  
Erin Ryan ◽  
Jessica Rayman ◽  
Martha Bace
Keyword(s):  
Asset Management ◽  
Public Library ◽  
University Of Alabama ◽  
Digital Collections ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
New Finding ◽  
Finding Aids ◽  
Asset Management System ◽  
The University

ABSTRACT The authors examined the Wade Hall Consolidation Project at the University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections. The project involved the physical consolidation of more than 1,400 small, discrete collections donated by Wade Hall into larger, subject-based collections along with the merger of 287 existing digital collections to mirror the physical arrangement. This project's goal was to improve access to and discovery of these collections by researchers. During physical consolidation, the archivists created subject-based collections with new finding aids and addressed issues including unclear provenance, legacy descriptions, inaccurate metadata, varying levels of processing, and lack of alignment with current archival best practices and standards. Digital consolidation of existing digital collections coincided with the migration to a new digital asset management system and presented its own challenges, including legacy descriptions, metadata transformation, digital preservation, and dealing with existing metadata shared on the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and other multi-institutional digital content aggregators. The authors sought to fill the gap in the literature concerning the consolidation of physical and digital collections and to provide guidance to others considering a consolidation project.

Developing Digital Collections

2012 ◽  
pp. 64-78
Author(s):  
Diane M. Fulkerson
Keyword(s):  
Research Project ◽  
Digital Collections ◽  
Institutional Repositories ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
University Archives ◽  
Manuscript Collections ◽  
The University

Digital collections are found in most libraries. They include not only databases but also photographs, institutional repositories, manuscript collections, materials from the university archives, or special collections. Designing digital collections and making them available to users expands the resources users can access for a research project.

Cyfrowa przestrzeń jako narzędzie organizacji, udostępniania i promocji oferty bibliotek akademickich

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (50) ◽  
pp. 50-73
Author(s):  
Anna Mierzecka ◽  
Andrius Suminas
Keyword(s):  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Internet Usage ◽  
Digital Collections ◽  
Business Card ◽  
Amount Of Information ◽  
Library Resources ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The University

The aim of the study was to answer the question about the effectiveness of academic libraries’ Internet usage to meet the needs of the users. Based on previous research we established what the main functions fulfilled by libraries’ websites are and subsequently we verified the extent to which the website of the University of Warsaw Library (UW Library) fulfilled those functions in students’ opinions. The empirical part of the research we conducted using the eyetracking method. The results indicated that the location of the various elements on the page, in many cases, caused the problems for users. Students attach great importance to digital collections and to information which supports the efficient use of library resources, meanwhile the large amount of information on the UW Library website was associated with the creation of its digital business card - defined the institution itself. To conclude, analysis of the content on the UW Library website indicates that the site is used both as a tool for the promotion of the Library, as well as space for users’ services. The results show the need for further work on improving the second of these functions.

scholarly journals Expanding digital academic library and archive services at the University of Calgary in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

IFLA Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 034003522110230
Author(s):  
James E Murphy ◽  
Carla J Lewis ◽  
Christena A McKillop ◽  
Marc Stoeckle
Keyword(s):  
Academic Library ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Digital Collections ◽  
Transformative Experiences ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
University Of Calgary ◽  
Remote Services ◽  
Online Library ◽  
The University ◽  
Models Of Service Delivery

Despite the uncertain challenges facing libraries of all types during the COVID-19 pandemic, new best practices and innovative ways of approaching services have emerged. Including the groundbreaking Taylor Family Digital Library in 2011, the University of Calgary Libraries and Cultural Resources has been contributing towards the ongoing development of the digital academic library. The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a rapid leveraging of digital skills, platforms, expertise, and models of service delivery to continue providing exceptional and transformative experiences for the University of Calgary community. The initiatives discussed in this article include online work teams, virtual 360-degree tours, the online library chat service, digital collections agreements, and remote services for archives and special collections.

scholarly journals Tour Through Scotland: A Finding Aid of Scottish Travel Photography at the Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle McAllister
Keyword(s):  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Specific Group ◽  
Photographic Material ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Integral Role ◽  
Biographical Sketches ◽  
Finding Aids ◽  
Travel Photography ◽  
The University

Among the various collections housed in the Archival & Special Collections CASC) at the University of Guelph is a group of photographic material that exhibits the integral role photography played in Scotland's tourism industry from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Photographic publishing firms such as G.W. Wilson & Co. and Valentine & Sons, Ltd. incorporated photography into their commercial repertoires and both helped to create and capitalize on Scotland's vibrant tourism industry during this period. This thesis focuses on this specific group of material that includes four bound albums, five opalines, seven travel view books, and over four hundred stereographs, and additionally looks at how institutions such as the ASC use descriptive tools like finding aids to provide access to and information about their collections. This thesis project reevaluates the structure and role of the finding aid as applied to photographic material in archival collections. Additional components such as a biographical sketches, a glossary of photographic terms, a geographic index, and a historical overview, have been incorporated to further demonstrate how a finding aid can build a greater web of connections and narratives for such collections.

scholarly journals It’s How Many Terabytes?! A Case Study on Managing Large Born Digital Audio-visual Acquisitions

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-75
Author(s):  
Laura Uglean Jackson ◽  
Matthew McKinley
Keyword(s):  
Lessons Learned ◽  
University Of California ◽  
Digital Audio ◽  
Digital Collections ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Digital Collection ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Policy And Procedure

In October 2014, the University of California Irvine (UCI) Special Collections and Archives acquired a born digital collection of 2.5 terabytes – the largest born digital collection acquired by the department to date. This case study describes the challenges we encountered when applying existing archival procedures to appraise, store, and provide access to a large born digital collection. It discusses solutions when they could be found and ideas for solutions when they could not, lessons learned from the experience, and the impact on born-digital policy and procedure at UCI Libraries. Working with a team of archivists, librarians, IT, and California Digital Library (CDL) staff, we discovered issues and determined solutions that will guide our procedures for future acquisitions of large and unwieldy born digital collections. 

scholarly journals A Tour Through Scotland: A Finding Aid of Scottish Tavel Photography at the Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle McAllister
Keyword(s):  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Specific Group ◽  
Photographic Material ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Integral Role ◽  
Biographical Sketches ◽  
Finding Aids ◽  
The University

Among the various collections housed in the Archival & Special Collections (ASC) at the University of Guelph is a group of photographic material that exhibits the integral role photography played in Scotland’s tourism industry from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Photographic publishing firms such as G.W. Wilson & Co. and Valentine & Sons, Ltd. incorporated photography into their commercial repertoires and both helped to create and capitalize on Scotland’s vibrant tourism industry during this period. This thesis focuses on this specific group of material that includes four bound albums, five opalines, seven travel view books, and over four hundred stereographs, and additionally looks at how institutions such as the ASC use descriptive tools like finding aids to provide access to and information about their collections. This thesis project reevaluates the structure and role of the finding aid as applied to photographic material in archival collections. Additional components such as a biographical sketches, a glossary of photographic terms, a geographic index, and a historical overview, have been incorporated to further demonstrate how a finding aid can build a greater web of connections and narratives for such collections.

scholarly journals An Evaluation of Finding Aid Accessibility for Screen Readers

2013 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina L. Southwell ◽  
Jacquelyn Slater
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Visual Disabilities ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Research Libraries ◽  
Screen Readers ◽  
Association Of Research Libraries ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Library Resources ◽  
Finding Aids

<p>Since the passage of the American Disabilities Act in 1990 and the coincident  growth of the Internet, academic libraries have worked to provide electronic resources and services that are accessible to all patrons. Special collections are increasingly being added to these Web-based library resources, and they must meet the same accessibility standards. The recent popularity surge of Web 2.0 technology, social media sites, and mobile devices has brought greater awareness about the challenges faced by those who use assistive technology for visual disabilities. This study examines the screen reader accessibility of online special collections finding aids at 68 public U.S. colleges and universities in the Association of Research Libraries.</p>

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