1. BASICS OF DIGITAL PROJECTS
E M I LY P F O T E N H A U E R
O U T R E A C H S P E C I A L I S T, W I S C O N S I N H E R I TA G E O N L I N E
E P F O T E N H A U E R @ W I L S .W I S C . E D U

2. TODAY’S AGENDA
• Introductions
• Wisconsin Heritage Online; examples of digital projects
• Planning for a digital project
• Why digitize?; Selecting materials; Copyright; Digital preservation
• LUNCH @ noon
• Sharing projects in progress
• Putting your plan into action
• Imaging; Metadata
• Promoting your project
• Questions and discussion
• Finished @ 3:00pm

3. WHAT DO YOU MEAN, DIGITIZE?
• Selecting materials
• Reformatting materials
(scanning or
photographing)
• Adding metadata
(descriptive
information)
• Making available online
• Storing and maintaining
digital files and data
(digital preservation) Wisconsin Historical Society

4. WHAT IS WISCONSIN HERITAGE ONLINE?
• A public research portal providing access to digital
collections of primary sources related to Wisconsin
history from libraries, historical societies and
museums across the state: wisconsinheritage.org
• A statewide set of standards and guidelines for
digitizing historical primary source materials
• A resource network providing training, consulting
and collection hosting services to members
• Sponsored by Wisconsin Library Services (WiLS) with
support from the Nicholas Family Foundation

5. PLANNING A DIGITAL PROJECT
• Identifying your goals
• Identifying your
stakeholders, partners
and audience
• Selecting materials
• Considering copyright
• Budget
• Funding
• Planning for digital
preservation
New Berlin Historical Society

6. IDENTIFYING GOALS: WHY DIGITIZE?
(CONTRIBUTIONS FROM AUDIENCE)
• Save photos for future generations
• Access for research, awareness
• Educational purposes
• Closer access; deeper access
• Make rare/local/unique available
• Protect fragile documents from handling
• Easier to organize and find
• Encourage contributions/fill in blanks
• Revenue (purchase reproductions; encourage donations)
• PR for institution
• Googleability
• People can identify images

7. IDENTIFYING GOALS: WHY DIGITIZE?
• Go where your
audience is
• Reach new audiences
• Improve access to
“invisible” materials
• Protect fragile or
heavily used materials
• Learn more about your
collections
• Contribute to our
collective knowledge South Wood County Historical Museum

8. STAKEHOLDERS AND PARTNERS
• Board
• Staff and/or volunteers
• Local experts
• Community members
• Chamber of Commerce
• Local government
• Students
• Other organizations in
your
community/county/regio
n
McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids
• Who else?

9. AUDIENCES
• Local residents
• Students and teachers
• Genealogists
• Specialists (Civil War re-
enactors, railroad buffs)
• Academic researchers
• Curious Wisconsinites
• Everyone!
College of Menominee Nation

10. SELECTING MATERIALS
• Photographs
• Postcards
• Letters
• Diaries
• Scrapbooks
• Yearbooks
• Newspaper clippings
• City directories
• Local histories
• Magazines
• Pamphlets
• Maps
• Material culture objects
• Oral histories
• Sound recordings
• Video recordings
• What else? Appleton Public Library

11. SELECTING MATERIALS
• Careful selection will help
keep your project focused,
manageable, and useful
• Keep your audience in
mind: How will putting this
item online help users
better understand local or
state history?
• Is information available
about the item, or is more
research needed?
• Physical condition of
original materials
• Copyright status
Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum

12. SELECTING MATERIALS
• Consider your existing mission
statement and/or collection
development policy
• An online collection is not a
substitute for a collection
inventory or other internal
recordkeeping
• Two approaches:
• Curatorial: Select materials
based on a specific
theme/topic/type of
object/photographer
• Organizational: Digitizing as an
opportunity to sort that mystery
box in the archives
• Digital New Zealand: Make it
Digital Scorecard Neville Public Museum of Brown County
http://makeit.digitalnz.org/

13. CONSIDERING COPYRIGHT
• Disclaimer: I am not a
lawyer
• Owning a physical item does
not necessarily mean you
hold the copyright to that
item
• Public domain = no longer
under copyright. In the US
in 2012 that means the item
was:
• published before 1923 –OR–
• Unpublished; creator died
before 1942 –OR–
• Unpublished; unknown
creator; made before 1892
UW-Milwaukee Libraries
• http://copyright.cornell.edu

14. CONSIDERING COPYRIGHT
• Works under copyright,
copyright holder is known:
• Contact copyright holder IN
WRITING to request
permission to make available
online
• Works presumed to be
under copyright; copyright
holder is unknown or
cannot be located
• Due diligence has been made
to identify and locate
copyright holder
• Be prepared to remove item
from digital collection if
challenged
Three Lakes Historical Society

15. USE OF YOUR DIGITAL CONTENT
• Fair Use. Under US copyright
law, individuals can use the
low-resolution materials you
make available online for
personal use, research or
teaching purposes
• Publications or other
commercial uses require
permission of the copyright
holder
• You may choose to sell
reproductions—prints and/or
high-resolution digital files—of
materials in your collection
(with permission of the
copyright holder where
applicable) Langlade County Historical Society

16. SAMPLE RIGHTS STATEMENTS
• For an item presumed to be in the Public Domain:
• There are no known restrictions on the use of this digital resource.
Contact [your institution] to purchase a high-resolution version of
this image.
• For an item under copyright; copyright holder has
granted permission to put online:
• This image has been published with permission of the copyright
holder and has been provided here for educational purposes only.
Commercial use is prohibited without permission. Contact [your
institution] for information regarding permissions and
reproductions.
• For an item in which copyright status is unclear:
• This material may be protected by copyright law. The user is
responsible for all issues of copyright. Contact [your institution]
for information regarding permissions and reproductions.

17. POTENTIAL PROJECT COSTS
• Flatbed scanner
• Digital camera and
related equipment
• Internet access
• Digital storage
• Archival storage supplies
• Outsourcing imaging to a
commercial vendor
• Be sure to budget for
TIME and SPACE
Merrill Historical Society

18. FUNDING
• Grants
• Historical societies: WI Council
for Local History mini-grants
• Public libraries: LSTA
Digitization of Local Resources
grants (Dep’t of Public
Instruction)
• Donations
• In-kind contributions
• Tech support
• Equipment use
• Biggest expense is TIME
• Paid staff time
• “Free” volunteer time
• Students/interns
Ripon College

19. DIGITAL PRESERVATION
• Definition from the Library of
Congress:
• The active management of
digital content over time to
ensure ongoing access.
• Two threats to digital
content:
• Obsolescence
• Physical damage
• http://digitalpreservation.gov
Beloit College

20. DIGITAL PRESERVATION
• Save more than one copy of
each file
• On more than one type of
storage media
• In more than one location
• Document what, where, when
and how
• Spot-check annually
• Migrate as necessary
• Recommended storage options:
• Archival quality (gold) CDs or
DVDs
• RAID device
• External hard drive
• Network storage Wetherby Cranberry Library
• Cloud storage (online backup)

21. PHYSICAL PRESERVATION
• Don’t compromise
collections care in order to
digitize
• A digital project can be an
ideal time to assess
collection conditions and
rehouse materials
• Resources for collections
care:
• Wisconsin Historical Society
Field Services staff
• Wisconsin Archives Mentoring
Service
• National Park Service
Conserve-O-Grams
Richland County History Room

22. TIPS FROM OTHER DIGITIZERS
• If I could do it all over again, I would:
• Tackle a smaller group of materials at first
• Make sure two people started the project at the same time so we could
help each other
• Start with a clearer plan
• Take the time to sort and research the physical collection before
digitizing
• Other things I learned:
• Volunteers/local residents are the best source for historical information
• Looking at examples of similar collections is helpful to figure out what
you’re doing; it’s also inspiring and can spur some competitiveness
• Uploading one item at a time can go faster than working in batches if
you’re working with a lot of interruptions
• Having a firm deadline helped me stay on track

23. SAMPLE PROJECT PLAN
• What: Approx. 100 glass negatives depicting Main Street
between 1880-1900
• Why: To improve access to a fragile collection and to
document a period in our community’s history when local
commerce flourished downtown
• Who: Jane Smith will coordinate the project and handle
copyright and reproductions; two volunteers from the local
high school will scan images and rehouse in archival sleeves;
two board members will do historical research and write
descriptions
• When: 25 images online before our annual meeting in
September; full collection online by April 2013
• How: Scan slides using Epson Perfection V600; store images
on archival DVDs and Carbonite online backup; record
metadata in Excel spreadsheet and upload to online collection

24. PUTTING YOUR PLAN INTO ACTION
• Digital imaging
• Scanning photographs
• Scanning texts
• Object photography
• File naming
• Metadata
• What is it?
• Basic elements
• Where does it go?
Milwaukee Public Library

25. SCANNING
• Goals of scanning:
• Create a digital representation
that’s faithful to the original
item
• Create the highest quality scan
you can achieve with available
resources
• Scan once—don’t expect to
return to re-digitize
• Save two copies of each
scan:
• High resolution TIFF (20-
40MB) for archiving and
printing
• Lower resolution JPEG (1-5MB)
for online
collection, email, easy access UW-Madison Archives

26. SCANNING PHOTOGRAPHS
• Scan all photographs in 24-
bit color, even if image is
black and white
• Scanning resolution (ppi)
depends on size of original
item
• 8 ½ x 11 or larger = 300ppi
• 8 x 10 = 400ppi
• 5 x 7 = 600ppi
• 4 x 2 or smaller = 1200ppi
• Slides and negatives require
a transparency unit and
holders to keep slide from
touching scanner glass
(these may come with your UW-La Crosse
scanner)

27. TIP: USE YOUR HISTOGRAM
• A histogram is a graph that
shows the distribution of dark
and light pixels in a digital
image
• Using the Histogram function
improves the accuracy/fidelity
of your scan
• Do a preview scan
• In
advanced/professional/custom
mode, select the Histogram
function
• Move the left and right sliders to
each end point of the histogram
• Do not move the sliders INTO
the histogram
• Scan the image

28. TIP: LEAVE A BORDER AROUND IMAGE

29. TIP: SCAN THE BACK IF HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT

30. SCANNING DOCUMENTS
• Handwritten texts
• Scan in 24-bit color to
retain character of
original
• 300-400ppi is generally
sufficient
• If feasible, create a
transcription
• Use care when unfolding
papers or handling tightly
bound volumes
Wisconsin Historical Society

31. SCANNING DOCUMENTS
• Printed texts
• Scan in 8-bit grayscale or
24-bit color
• 300ppi is generally
sufficient
• Use OCR (Optical Character
Recognition) software to
make the text computer-
searchable
• May be provided with your
scanner software
• ABBYY Fine Reader
• Adobe Acrobat
• OCR is never 100% L. E. Phillips Memorial Library, Eau Claire
accurate, but that’s ok

32. GENERAL SCANNING TIPS
• Use
advanced/professional/cust
om mode, not basic mode
• Don’t use any auto
correction settings
• Dust scanner bed regularly
• Designate a specific space
for scanning and keep it
relatively uncluttered (no
coffee!)
• Handle each item carefully
and return it to its storage
location when you’re done
scanning
Waterford Public Library

33. OBJECT PHOTOGRAPHY
• Digital camera
• SLR that can shoot RAW
files (can convert to TIFFs)
• Tripod
• Two adjustable lights
(500 watts)
• Reflective umbrellas (or
sheets)
• Paper or cloth backdrop
Photo setup at Pabst Mansion

34. NAMING YOUR FILES
• Use only lower case letters, numbers, and dashes or
underscores
• Don’t use spaces or punctuation
• Use leading zeroes for consecutive numbering. For
example, a multi-page letter could have file names
mac001.tif, mac002.tif, mac003.tif, etc.
• Tie your file names to existing catalog numbers if possible
• Document any file naming conventions you develop
• Examples:
• Photograph with accession # 2011.32.1 = 201132001.tif –OR–
2011_32_001.tif
• Series of images by photographer John Smith = smith001.tif,
smith002.tif, smith003.tif
• Not so good: Glassplate16039 Auto repair in basement 025.tif

35. METADATA: WHAT IS IT?
• Information about stuff
• Technical metadata =
information about the
digital file (size, type, etc.)
• Descriptive metadata =
information about the
content of the item (what
are we looking at?)
• Lets users find what
they’re looking for
• Organized, standardized,
consistent, searchable
Grant County Historical Society

36. BASIC DESCRIPTIVE METADATA ELEMENTS
• Title
• Description
• Subjects (tags, keywords,
search terms)
• Creator (photographer,
author, maker,
manufacturer)
• Date
• Location
• Materials
• Extent (dimensions, page
numbers) UW-Milwaukee

37. ASSIGNING TITLES
• Descriptive and unique
• Capitalize first word and
proper names
• Not so good:
• Woman and man
• Woman and man, trees
• Good:
• Woman, man and child in
apple orchard
• Ida and Peter Swartz with
son James in apple orchard,
Wausau

38. WRITING DESCRIPTIONS
• Expand on the information provided in the Title
• Record information about people, places, events and
themes depicted in the item
• You can provide historical information (if cited), but don’t
get bogged down in too much detail
• Remember your audience is broad. Provide enough
information to add meaning for non-local users
• Make use of other metadata elements for information
like dates and materials
• Don’t use abbreviations, ampersands (&) or paragraph
breaks (hard returns)

39. WRITING DESCRIPTIONS
• Not so good (too little):
• People with apple trees.
• Good:
• A woman and a man in an apple
orchard with wooden barrels filled
with apples. A child rides a tricycle
at the right.
• Not so good (too much):
• A woman wearing a hat and dress
and a man in overalls stand in
front of an apple tree. Twelve
barrels containing apples are lined
up in a row in front of them. The
roof of a barn is visible behind the
trees. Apples were a popular crop
in America in the 19th century
thanks to Johnny Appleseed. The
first commercial apple orchard in
Wausau was established in . . .

40. METADATA: WHERE DO I PUT IT?
• Software solutions compatible
with the WHO portal
• CONTENTdm (hosted by
Milwaukee Public Library)
• ResCarta
• Omeka.net (Gold, Platinum plans)
• Not directly compatible with
WHO (but can be moved to a
compatible option)
• PastPerfect
• File Maker Pro
• Microsoft Access
• Excel spreadsheet
• Omeka.net (Basic, Plus, Silver
plans) Wisconsin Folksong Collection, UW-Madison

41. DIFFERENT MATERIALS, DIFFERENT APPROACHES
• Printed texts
• Scanning straightforward but can be
time-consuming (lots of pages);
metadata usually straightforward; need
to OCR
• Handwritten texts
• Scanning straightforward; metadata
relatively straightforward; transcripts
recommended
• Photographs
• More care in scanning; more detail in
metadata
• Maps and other oversized items
• Outsource scanning to a vendor
• Artifacts
• Object photography needs more
equipment and more space; more detail
in metadata
• Sound and video
• Talk to me
Mineral Point Historical Society

42. ENCOURAGING USE OF YOUR COLLECTIONS
• Google is not enough
• Moving away from “if you
build it, they will come”
approach
• Bring your content to your
audience—find them where
they already are
• Let them look behind the
curtain and see projects in
progress, warts and all
• Participatory archives
concept—shared authority,
community engagement Milwaukee Public Library

43. WHO PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS
• Quarterly email
newsletter
• Facebook
• facebook.com/wisconsin
heritage
• Twitter
• twitter.com/wiheritage
• Tumblr
• wiscohisto.tumblr.com
• Viewshare Rock County Historical Society

44. LOCAL PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS
• Add introduction/background
information on your own website
• http://www.newberlinhistoricalsociety.org
• Highlight an item of the
day/week/month
• https://www.facebook.com/lacrosse.
history
• Host an opening event
• Whitefish Bay Public Library
• College of Menominee Nation
• Host a slide show or exhibition
• South Wood County Historical
Museum
• Mineral Point Historical Society
• Press release to local media
• What else? South Wood County Historical Museum

45. WHAT NEXT?
• Interested in participating in
Wisconsin Heritage Online?
• Consult with me about a project
you might have in mind
• Sign on as a member ($50 or
$100 annually)
• Fill out our Collection Hosting
Application to have your
collection hosted in CONTENTdm
by the Milwaukee Public Library
• Schedule a training session with
me to get started on creating
metadata and uploading items
• Get your collection harvested
into the WHO portal
Marquette University

46. THANK YOU!
E M I LY P F O T E N H A U E R
O U T R E A C H S P E C I A L I S T, W I S C O N S I N H E R I TA G E O N L I N E
E P F O T E N H A U E R @ W I L S .W I S C . E D U