Managing Your Digitization Project 2003 (online learning course)

Instructor: Trudy Levy

Managing Your Digitization Project 2003
(online learning course)

September 30, 2003 - October 28, 2003

If you are contemplating or beginning a digitization project and wonder:

• How do I staff my digitization project?
• How long will the project take?
• What equipment will I need?
• What standards do I need to meet?
• How will I know if my project was a success?

This is the course for you!

This online course is intended to address all the important issues that are faced by first-time managers of digitization projects. It will provide an overview of every step in the process, from setting selection criteria to establishing an effective workflow to project evaluation.

Workshop Description: This four-week online learning course will provide an overview of what it takes to manage a digitization project. Using your own project or a sample project provided by the instructor, you will learn about managing project workflow, selection and copyright, metadata and imaging standards, hardware and software selection, systems integration, marketing and evaluation. This course emphasizes "best practices" and industry standards, and will also cover specific requirements associated with LSTA-funded digitization projects.

Preliminary Course Outline: Using your web browser and your Internet connection you will login to the Infopeople Blackboard online learning site and complete the following learning modules:

Week One: Standards and Procedures for Digital Image Selection and Aquisition

• Goal statements to guide your decision making
• Selecting and organizing items to be digitized
• Scanning standards and equipment
• Rights, licenses and permissions

Week Two: Standards and Procedures for Creating and Managing Metadata

• File naming and directory structures
• Describing the items - descriptive, administrative and technical metadata
• Choosing a system to produce your digital objects: a database, your vendor's image management module or a digital asset management product

Week Three: Workflow Procedure

• Defining and assigning tasks
• Working with vendors
• Establishing a workflow process and tracking system
• Establishing quality control procedures
• Cost monitoring and control

Week Four: Creating and Promoting Public Access to your Digital Collection

• Steps in creating a web site
• Preparing your submission to Online Archive of California
• Promotion - to your community and beyond
• Documenting your project's success

Online Learning Details: This four-week workshop will be taught online using the web. When you register, you will receive the URL to get to the course, as well as a username and password in your registration confirmation. "Managing Your Digitization Project" will start on September 30, 2003, and be available until October 28, 2003.

The workshop consists of four one-and-a-half to two-hour learning modules. You can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. However, you will be expected to log in to the course each week to do that week's assignment. During the course you will be doing exercises and taking quizzes. You will also participate in online discussion forums in which you will be encouraged to contribute your own opinions and experience and comment from the perspective of your library's specific needs.

We ask that you log in sometime during the first week of the course to begin the course work. The materials will remain available to work on for two additional weeks, but you will be expected to accomplish the majority of the course in synchronization with your peers during the first four weeks.

Who should attend: Anyone from the California library community who would like to learn more about what is involved in digitizing materials for preservation and access.

Note: Because of grant funding, California residents can take this course for the subsidized fee of $75.00. The out-of-state fee is $150.00.

Prerequisites: This course is taught over the web. You must:

• have an Internet connection and Internet Explorer 5 or higher (some of the quiz functions do not work properly in Netscape).
• be able to save a file to your computer and print it out using Microsoft Word or a compatible word processing program.
• be comfortable navigating on the web and navigating back and forward on a website that uses frames.

If you are not comfortable with any of the above, please consider taking this course with a colleague who does meet these requirements.