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Library Special CollectionsPrograms and Projects

Digital Projects for Special Collections

UCLA Library Special Collections Digital Project Toolkit

Introduction

The UCLA Library Special Collections Digital Project Toolkit is designed to support a variety of digital projects that may occur in a special collections library, including collaborative digital humanities projects, boutique and large-scale digitization projects, and projects that include development of a digital platform to provide access to digital content. The Digital Project Toolkit supports the work of archivists and librarians in collaboration with undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, technical staff, and outside contractors. With that in mind, the documentation is designed to be accessible to all potential project participants. UCLA Library uses Confluence and JIRA for project management, collaboration, and tracking.

The Digital Project Toolkit is made available here to serve as a reference for other institutions while planning and implementing digital projects. The DPTK is a work in progress and will be updated as necessary. 

Project Stages

I. PLANNING

A. Project planning

1. Distribute and sign Collaborators Agreement

2. Create Project Charter

B. Implementation planning

1. Conduct Risk Analysis

    a. Follow Risk Assessment Guidelines

    b. Create Risk Analysis Matrix

    c. Create Risk Assessment Report

    d. Review and approve Risk Assessment Report

 

    e. Create Fair Use Statement or Permissions document

2. Create Prioritization and Scanning Progress document

3. Create Digitization Cost Estimate Worksheet

4. Create Project Profile: Specifications for Metadata Creation

5. Create MODS Metadata Worksheet

6. Create Project Profile: Specifications for Scanning

C. Web Development Planning

1. Release Request for Proposals from Contractors

2. Create Vendor Decision Matrix

3. Answer Design Questionnaire for web development team or in-house partners

4. Review information architecture developed by contract web development team

 

5. Review User Profile created by web development team or create in-house

6. Develop Hosting Agreement with partner institutions for metadata and/or digital assets

 

 

II. IMPLEMENTATION

A. Scanning and Quality Control

1. Follow Digitization Workflow Guidelines 

2. For in-house projects, scanning technician follows the Scanning Procedures and the Project Profile: Specifications for Scanning

3. Track progress using the Prioritization and Scanning Progress document

 

4. Perform quality control based on the Digitization Quality Control Guidelines

B. Metadata Creation and Quality Control

 

1. For in-house projects, scanning technician creates metadata according to the Project Profile: Specifications for Metadata Creation

 

2. Use the MODS Metadata Worksheet for metadata entry

 

3. Perform quality control based on the Metadata Quality Control Guidelines

C. Technical Development

 

Library Special Collections offers input during the technical development phase, but this work is initiated and led by the Digital Library Program.

1. Technical Specifications for Islandora Asset Ingestion

III. ACCESS AND PRESERVATION

This project stage is guided by procedures and processes that are developed at an institutional level by the Digital Library Program.

1. Procedures for Publishing Digital Assets

2. Procedures for Managing a Dedicated Platform

3. Procedures for Asset Preservation and Management

IV. ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

A. Testing functionality

1. Site Expectations Checklist

B. User feedback

1. User Questionnaire for general audience

 

C. Project team feedback

1. Project Closeout Questionnaire for project participants

D. Sustainability planning

Library Special Collections plays an integral role in sustainability planning, but this work is led and documented by the Digital Library Program.

E. Finalize project documentation

1. Review documentation, clarify procedures, collate, and make available to department staff via a project file.

F. Evaluation and Recommendations

1. Final Reporting Tool

Acknowledgments

The UCLA Library Special Collections Digital Project Toolkit was developed in iterations throughout the course of several digital projects that occurred in the Center for Primary Research and Training from 2013-2015. Several members of LSC staff and UCLA Library staff contributed to producing and refining this documentation. Special thanks to Digital Project Manager Jasmine Jones, Digital Archivist Gloria Gonzalez, University Archivist Heather Briston, and CFPRT scholars Kylie Harris and Amrey Mathurin for their considerable contribution to this effort. This Toolkit would not have been possible without their expertise, skill, and enthusiasm.  

—Jillian Cuellar | Head, Center for Primary Research & Training and Digital Initiatives for Library Special Collections