Nicola Visits the Library 1 Nicola Visits the Library For my library visit, I traveled to beautiful Point Breeze in Pittsburgh to speak with Aaron L. Brenner and Michael R. Bolam, Coordinator and Metadata Librarian, respectively, at the University of Pittsburgh s Digital Research Library (DRL). The physical space which contains the library is small, and the full-time staff consists of a mere five people. The library servers host photography archives of the Pittsburgh Press, digital copies of the personal papers from many of Pittsburgh s prominent families, and digital versions of many University of Pittsburgh Press publications, among other things. One of the main projects the library is currently focused on is the digitization of the Darlington collection, a collection of papers and rare books donated by a prominent Pittsburgh family. The Digital Research Library at the University of Pittsburgh is primarily concerned with retrospective conversions and digitizing archival photos. The University of Pittsburgh s library system is fortunate in that it has its own Information Systems department apart from the University s Information System s department, so that the DRL s needs are more of a priority than if the department serviced the entire university. Anything born digital, such as journals or electronic theses is merely stored by the library s information systems servers; the DRL is not responsible for cataloging or maintaining those records. The librarians at the DRL do not create their own projects; much of their work comes from within the library system. They work closely with the Archives Service Center, which is where most of their projects come from. The library also works with departments within the university, and some local corporations and colleges who may ask the university to host digital versions of their collections. The first part of my visit consisted of a tour of the facilities. There is a small storage room where items which need to be digitized are kept and organized, but most of the space is
Nicola Visits the Library 2 occupied with the scanning equipment. The first scanning device the library acquired is a mere document feeder scanner, which I was advised is good at quickly scanning loose 8x11 pages and converting items into PDFs, but is useless for scanning delicate items, as it often destroys pages. The library is also in possession of two Epson 10,000 XL scanners, which every university either has or wants. Michael Bolam described the scanners as workhorses, as they are capable of scanning a wide variety of material, and are particularly useful for photo archives, as they can digitize both transparent and opaque material. The last two scanners are large format scanners, which scan items like posters, maps, paintings, and of course, books. The greater part of my visit consisted of a sit-down chat with the coordinator and the metadata librarian. Aaron L. Brenner is the library Coordinator, meaning he is in charge of the library. His duties include managing the software and the technical aspects of the equipment and maintaining the presentation software. The library has recently hired a designer to do the major design work for the library website, but Brenner is responsible for tweaking the templates he is given for the different collections; for example, if the contact for a particular collection wants a unique color scheme, he makes those changes. One of his biggest duties is the managing of the digital objects, that is, knowing what exists within the library s collections, where it is stored, the library statistics, etc. His job also entails administrative aspects such as hosting visitors to the library, making sure the other staff are on schedule for their projects, planning for new projects, and reporting to the head of the Archives department, who in turn reports to the Associate Librarians, who report to the University Librarian. Michael Bolam is the Metadata Librarian. He explained that the mistake many people make, and which he himself is sometimes guilty of when speaking about it, is that when speaking
Nicola Visits the Library 3 about metadata they are just thinking about the description you see next to an item you are viewing in a digital collection. The attaching of this data to photographs and other digital items is only a small part of what a metadata librarian does. Bolam usually does not even create that data himself; when a client comes to the DRL with a collection, they are in charge of providing descriptions for the materials, as they are more likely to be familiar with the contents. Instead, most of his time is spent formatting items for online display, and keeping track of other kinds of metadata like the format of items, which equipment was used to format the items, the copyright information, the size of the files, the creation of the files, and any associated files. Brenner and Bolam are both a part of the Digital Initiatives Group, whose members include the head of the Archives Service Center, the Associate Librarians, the University Librarian, the head of Information Systems webmaster. This group focuses on the big questions like which departments should be responsible for which aspects of the online portions of the library, or whether the DRL should contribute to the Internet Archives (it was decided that it should). When a collection arrives at the DRL, it is organized into folders and then into boxes, and attached to each digital object (defined as the contents of a folder) is a finding aid, usually a number. The content provider is responsible for any descriptions they want attached to the digital objects, and Brenner and Bolam meet with the providers to get an idea of their expectations for how the items will be presented online. This makes it easier for the DRL to digitize items and attach metadata to get the collection online quickly than if, as was the case in the early years of the DRL, a client simple dropped off boxes and boxes of material with little direction.
Nicola Visits the Library 4 The Digital Research Library, much like Google Books, often intentionally chooses to digitize items that are already out of copyright. For projects which they are asked to do, it is the content provider s responsibility to know who owns the copyright and if the copyright owner will give permission to disseminate a digital copy. The library is very cautious in this area, and in the past has removed material from the site if there is any doubt as to whether the library has permission to create a digital copy. Officially the DRL is a member of Lyrasis (formerly PALINET). This consortium is essentially a third-party which digitizes material with the goal of contributing the books to the Internet Archive. These items are hosted on the Internet Archive servers, rather than the library servers. In this way the library is able to contribute to a larger project while still focusing on digitizing the collections the university library system itself will host. As for helpful professional organizations, Brenner and Bolam recommended the Library Information and Technology Association (LITA) and the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), both of which are divisions of the ALA. They warned that neither of these associations is a perfect fit for the kind of work the DRL does, although LITA is especially helpful for those interested in metadata. Brenner seemed to find Code4Lib, an informal association for librarians and coders who are both working within libraries to be a specifically useful ally, as his work often involves writing or altering programs which make the digitization process more automated, rather than having a technician manually perform each step of the process. Overall I found that this visit confirmed my working concept of the tasks a digital librarian must perform. I was a little embarrassed to admit that my chosen field is digital libraries when I was unclear as to exactly what that entailed. It was interesting to find that as
Nicola Visits the Library 5 recently as ten years ago, the DRL itself was unclear as to how it would function as its own entity, and to hear how the library and its functions have evolved since then. My reasons for entering the field were a combination of interests and practicality; I wanted to work in an archives or preservation field, but had to keep in mind that I was soon to move to Gainesville, Fl, where the nearest library program was two hours away. Digital libraries seemed to be the logical alternative, and I was excited to find how closely the DRL works with the university archive program. It was also helpful to learn about the areas I need to improve upon to be successful in the field; I currently know very little about coding or the practicalities of servers, and knowing more about both these areas can only be beneficial. Association for Library Collections and Technical Services http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/alcts.cfm. accessed 28 July 2009. Code{4}Lib. http://code4lib.org/. accessed 28 July 2009. Digital Research Library. http://www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/drl/. accessed 28 July 2009. Library Information and Technology Association. http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/lita/litahome.cfm accessed 28 July 2009.