Save the Date(s) for a DigiTool Info Session!

Dear DigiTeam Members,

FIU Libraries' Digital Collections Center and FCLA's Digital Library Services group will be offering a DigiTool information session during the FCLA visit to FIU on July 9 and 10, 2007. We are hoping y'all will attend because it is a great opportunity to ask questions and maybe see some demos of what the new digital library system will look like. The exact time and place are not known yet, so stay tuned to this blog!

DigiTool update from FCLA

Here is a woefully belated update...

As you know, we are planning to migrate all-visual collections first, followed by textual and mixed collections. The loading of visual collections has been waiting on two things:

1) Enhancements to DigiTool's handling of related images (single images work fine). The enhancements we need are in Service Pack 16 which is due out mid-June.

2) Setting up prospective workflows for active visual collections. The all-visual collections are World Maps, West Florida Photohistory, MileMarkers, Coral Gables Memory (currently a subcollection of Miami Metropolitan Archives) and Wolfsonian FIU Modern Dutch Collection. We have been working on workflows with UF, FIU and UWF.

If all goes well, we may be able to load visual collections in DigiTool production in July.

We do not yet have a target date for textual collections. There are still two rather large problems with DigiTool handling of METS-structured books. We know Ex Libris is working on these and we expect they will be fixed in Service Pack 17, which means we are on track for loading in the fall.

Priscilla Caplan

TAG this!

Yo Art Lovers! Come take part in a social tagging experiment going on the art world. The Art Museum Social Tagging Project involves research studies, real experiments, and prototypes exploring the potential for user-generated descriptions of the subjects of works of art to improve access to museum collections and encourage engagement with cultural content. "Steve" is one such collaborative project that has developed a very cool Web-based tool where users can view and tag art images.

Check out the project at http://steve.museum/.

UNH DigiTool Implementation (with maps!)

Check out University of New Hampshire's Digital Library Initiative using DigiTool at this site . These fine folks appear to be addressing alot of the same metadata issues as we are, according to postings on their blog.

Metadata Programs at ALA Annual 2007

Automating Metadata Creation with Open Source Software (LITA) Saturday, 6-23-07, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Focus on technical, preservation and administrative metadata

Authority Control Meets Faceted Browse (LITA, ALCTS)
Sunday, 6-24-07, 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Relevant to life under Endeca

Bringing Order to Chaos: Managing Metadata for Digital Collections (ALCTS)
Sunday, 6-24-07, 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Descriptive, technical administrative metadata will be discussed

TAG! Your IT! Online Digital Audio Collection Meets PennTags (LITA President's Program) Sunday, June 24, 4:00 - 5:00 pm
Case study demonstrating access to an audio digital library via the Library OPAC ; and an experiment in social bookmarking and tagging

Using Metadata Standards in Digital Libraries: Implementing METS, MODS, PREMIS, and MIX (LITA)
Monday, 6-25-07, 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Standards, tools, and interoperability for D.L. metadata