The document discusses the Utah State Archives' efforts to digitize government records and make them accessible online. It provides an overview of digitization projects since 2005, partnerships that have contributed collections, and growth in digital holdings. Standards and best practices for digital imaging, metadata, and building online collections are presented, as well as the archives' workflow for digital projects and tools used. The goal is to preserve records and provide public access while maintaining context and usability of the digitized materials.

1. Digitize All the
Things
Standards and Best Practices
Gina Strack  Utah State Archives
Best Practices Exchange November 14, 2013
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2. Source: Hyperbole and a Half
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3. About Us
The purpose of the
State Archives is to
assist Utah
government agencies
in the efficient
management of their
records, to preserve
those records of
enduring value, and
to provide quality
access to public
information.
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4. About the Digital Program
2005
One-time
Appropriation
Microfilm Roll
Scanner
2006
Governor
Leavitt’s
Records
2007
Death
Certificates
2008
House of
Representatives
Bill Files
2011
Senate Bill Files
CONTENTdm
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5. Partnerships
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6. BY THE NUMBERS
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7. Growth 2006-2013
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
2006
2007
2008
2009
CONTENTdm
2010
Indexes
2011
2012
2013
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8. One
Million
Items
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9. 13,021
15,085
8,163
Total Images
1,371
1,696
36,091
Senate Bills
House of
Representatives Bills
Birth Certificates
Board of Pardons
159,789
54,848
76,948
141,781
Death Certificates
Territorial Executive
Papers
Indian War Service
Affidavits
Utah Constitutional
Convention
Brand Books
Executive
Reorganization
Largest Collections
Public Access
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10. 1,616
1,665
2,214
5,092
1,506
1,610
Total Images
23,389
15,530
21,483
15,752
Largest Collections
Staff Access (Governors)
Governor Leavitt State
Olympic Office
Governor Leavitt Chief of
Staff Records
Governor Leavitt Programs
of the First Lady
Governor Leavitt
Newspaper Clippings
Governor Walker
Photographs
Governor Walker
Newspaper Clippings
Governor Leavitt Press
Releases
Governor Leavitt 2K2
Program Records
Governor Walker Executive
correspondence
Governor Leavitt
Photographs
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11. DIGITAL PROJECT WORKFLOW
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12. “The natural condition is one of
insurmountable obstacles on the road to
imminent disaster.”
“So what do we do?”
“Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out
well.”
“How?”
“I don't know.
It's a mystery.”
ULA 2013
It Feels Like
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13. archives.utah.gov/digital/best-practices.html
Digital
Imaging
Dublin Core
Metadata
ULA 2013
Best Practices
Building Collections
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14. 14
ULA 2013

15. Propose Digital
Project
• “Building Good
Collections” 
Discuss in monthly
Team Meeting
ULA 2013
Project Planning
• Processed?
• Public?
• Partner or
vendor?
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16. Building Collections
A Framework of Guidance
for Building Good Digital
Collections
www.niso.org
• Collections (organized
groups of objects)
• Objects (digital materials)
• Metadata (information
about objects and
collections)
• Initiatives (programs or
projects to create and
manage collections)
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17. Track
17
ULA 2013

18. 18
ULA 2013

19. Digital Imaging
BCR Digital Imaging Best
Practices 2.0
mwdl.org
• General Principles
• Digital Preservation
• Creation Basics
• Hardware Considerations
• Software Considerations
• Guidelines for Creating
Digital Images
• Quality Control
• Describing Digital Images
• Storage
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20. Digital Imaging
U.S. National Archives
Technical Guidelines for
Digitizing Archival Materials
for Electronic Access:
Creation of Production
Master Files - Raster Images
www.archives.gov
• Digital Image Capture
• Minimum Metadata
• File Formats, Naming, and
Storage
• Quality Control
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21. Metadata
Dublin Core Application
Profile
mwdl.org
“defines metadata
records which meet
specific application
needs while providing
semantic interoperability
with other applications
on the basis of globally
defined vocabularies
and models”
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22. Simplified.
Example:
Dublin Core
Schema
B
Schema
A
Schema
C
Application Profile
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23. Metadata Element
Example
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24. “Seeing Standards”
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25. Online Presentation
CONTENTdm for collections (record series)
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26. Online Presentation
Name Indexes for Genealogy
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27. “Share and Enjoy”
Mountain West Digital
Library
Free access to nearly 800,000
resources from universities,
colleges, public libraries,
museums, historical societies,
and government agencies,
counties, and municipalities in
Utah, Nevada, Idaho,
Arizona, Hawaii, and other
parts of the U.S. West
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28. CREATING DIGITAL OBJECTS
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29. Context
• Government records, like many archival materials,
must retain context to be both useful and retain
meaning
• Almost all digital objects = compound objects
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30. Page 2 of a letter means little without Page 1
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31. Directory Structure
Series Number and Title
tiff
Directory Name (matches “Caption” field in metadata)
seriesboxfolder_001.tif
seriesboxfolder_002.tif
seriesboxfolder_003.tif
Directory Name
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32. Especially with “More Product Less Process”
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33. Metadata
Identification
and
Digitization
Information
Container List
• EAD
• database
• inventory
•
•
•
•
•
Collection
Creator
Dates
Scanning
Rights, etc.
Digital
Metadata
Tab-delimited
text file
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34. Access Query
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35. LINKING TO DIGITAL
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36. 36

37. 37

38. Open “export.xml” in Excel as XML Table
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39. 39


40. 40

41. Review of Tools
• Microsoft Excel
• Project tracking
• Collection inventories
• Links to inventories
• Microsoft Access
• Add digitization for metadata
• Quick File Rename 
• Folder Creator  or Folder Maker 
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42. Thank you.
archives.utah.gov/digital/
Gina Strack
gmstrack@utah.gov
(801) 531-3843
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