Initiative Review Group IX Progress Report April 30, 2001

Investigate and develop collaboration within and outside the University of Arkansas to digitize significant UAF manuscript collections so that they are accessible via the World Wide Web (investigate the possibility of producing e-books written by U of A faculty).

Members:

Kate Kluttz (leader), Andrea Cantrell, Barbara Dean, Caitlin Kennedy, Julie Thacker.

1. Briefly describe the background, present setting/structure which applies to this initiative:

In 1998, the Arkansas state legislature was presented with the Arkansas Digital Library proposal. The proposal would have enabled Arkansas academic libraries to achieve several goals, including digitization of significant unique resources held by libraries around the state. While the legislature did not choose to fund the program, it is possible that all or portions of the proposal could be revived, including digitization of unique state resources.

While Initiative #9 specifically mentions the digitization of UAF manuscripts, we would like to point out that there are different levels of involvement with digitized material, including the creation, maintenance, and provision of access to the material. The Library may therefore play a role at the following levels:

Digital Information Level I: Compiling and presenting links to "outside" digital resources that are created and maintained by other departments or institutions; the Library's role is limited to providing access to and "spreading the word" about the resources.
Digital Information Level II: Accepting already-digitized materials in order to maintain and provide access to them.
Digital Information Level III: Carrying out our own digitization of materials, thus creating, maintaining, and providing access to them.

One may also look at collaboration (another part of this Initiative) as occurring on three different levels:

Collaboration Level I: Collaboration between the Library and other campus departments.
Collaboration Level II: Collaboration between the Library and other state institutions, including museums, the Arkansas State Library, other branches of the University system, and other schools.
Collaboration Level III: Collaboration between the Library and other institutions around the country or the world.

These two systems may be combined at will. For example:

Dig. Info. Level I/Collab. Level I: The Library could create a "digital library" by seeking out and evaluating existing digital resources on campus and providing a gateway web page to them, available from the Library's home page. The University already has many resources available online, including the important databases available from CAST (the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies), Arkansas census data from the Center for Business and Economic Research, essays and papers by University faculty in areas such as agriculture and political science, and even UAF fight songs available from the Walton College of Business home page. See Appendix I for a more complete list.

Dig. Info. Level II/Collab. Level I: The Library could receive certain materials (such as UAF electronic theses and dissertations, digital tapes of KUAF's "Ozarks at Large" program, audio and visual materials from the Arkansas Center for Oral and Visual History, etc.) and agree to maintain them, as well as providing access to the materials from the digital library site. As the University's first electronic dissertation will be turned in this May, this level of involvement is already beginning.

Dig. Info Level III/Collab. Level I: The Library could carry out digitization of materials from other UAF departments, including perhaps the University budget, materials from ACOVH, or from any other department that possesses unique materials but not the resources to digitize them.

Projects at the other two levels of collaboration could follow a similar model. The Library could provide an "Arkansas Digital Library" with a listing of significant digital resources throughout the state and from outside the state of Arkansas; it could also accept digital resources from other institutions, or work in conjunction with them in order to digitize new resources. Such projects would probably reflect and complement the strengths of our own collection, perhaps in such areas as the history of the civil rights movement, the Japanese-American internments during World War II, agriculture, prominent Arkansas figures, etc.

2. Develop an inclusive list (in ranked order of importance) of issues that must be addressed/considered for this initiative:

Determining the goals of digitization in general and of each individual project
Selecting materials for digitization
Determining standards for technology/formats
Copyright and other legal issues (may involve University legal counsel)
Funding
Having the necessary expertise to carry out projects
Having the necessary equipment
Providing training to personnel
Long-term preservation of digital content
Collaborating with other institutions: contracts, agreements, responsibilities, etc.
Maintaining security/integrity of information
Providing intellectual access (cataloging, indexing, metadata, search functions)
Identifying and evaluating other digitization/digital library projects that may provide good models for our work
Keeping Reference and other public services staff informed about digitization projects so that they may provide adequate help to patrons using the resources

3. Briefly describe how this initiative fits into the long-term goals and/or fulfills the mission of the University Libraries:

Initiative 9 fulfills the mission of the Library in the following ways:

Providing fundamental university library resources and services: It can be argued that providing a "digital library" has become a fundamental service. Providing centralized access to digitized resources throughout the University and the state (as well as beginning new digitization projects) fulfills the Library's role as an information center for both.
Responding to the specific goals and objectives of other units on campus and toward the support of new programs: Digitization projects could be done in response to specific academic programs with the aid of Collection Development or public services staff. They might also be carried out to support distance learning programs, or the scholarly efforts of faculty.
Maintaining and upgrading access to library and information resources: Obviously, digitization will allow greater access to certain materials such as manuscripts and theses and dissertations, at least in the short term. While long term access to the digitized information would be problematic, in the short term it can provide worldwide access to the content of the materials and perhaps lessen the amount of physical handling the originals would undergo.
Performing in interlibrary cooperation and expansion of statewide access to library and information services: Again, digitized materials available from the Library's website will be widely accessible to patrons across the state and around the world.
Miscellaneous goals identified through contact with client groups: One current issue in this area is the impact of technology, "especially in terms of convenience and cost to users," which digitization projects certainly affect. Also, a digital library project may provide enhanced visibility to the Library among potential students, potential donors, etc.

Also to be considered is how digitization may help the Library become more ARL-like. We are examining what has been done in this area by our peer institutions but do not yet have the results written up.

4. Indicate other of the initiatives that should be considered in connection to, coordinated with, or that may overlap the initiative.

This initiative is related to several other initiatives. We have classified them as initiatives from which we will need to draw information, those to which we will give information, and those with which we simply overlap.

#1: We will get information from: The needs of users may affect what we decide to digitize, in what format, and when.

#3: We will give information to: Certain staff and types of expertise will be needed to carry out digitization.

#4: We will overlap: Digitization may be used in certain ways for preservation; it also raises new preservation issues, as the digitized information presents long-term preservation challenges.

#5: We will give information to: Digitization equipment will require a certain amount of space. However, receiving certain materials in digital rather than traditional form (e.g., theses and dissertations, or certain maps covered by CAST) will save some shelf space.

#6: We will get information from: A collection development policy may direct our digitization efforts, or even to which other (non-Library) digital resources we provide links. Collection Development may help select materials for digitization.

#7: We MAY overlap, depending on the focus of this initiative: Digitized manuscripts may indeed be "full texts", but this initiative probably concentrates more on electronic resources requiring paid subscriptions.

#8: We will overlap: Any in-house project could become collaborative with the help of another campus department, another institution with a complementary collection, a funding body, etc. Technological requirements will overlap. Standards and tools we develop for in-house projects carried out as part of Initiative #8 may be useful to other institutions in the state of Arkansas. It is probable that these two initiatives should simply be combined.

#10: We will overlap: Obviously, carrying out ambitious digitization projects will require funding. However, a "digital library" project can be a good PR tool that may appeal to alumni, administration, outside corporations and funding agencies, etc., so it is possible that this initiative could itself have a small effect on fundraising.

#12: We will get information from: Again, a certain amount of funding will be necessary for digitization projects, and a collection development policy may direct our digitization efforts.

#14: We will give information to: We believe that documenting our digitization efforts and making that information publicly available is an important goal for a digital library initiative.

#16: We will affect: It may be necessary to train staff to carry out initial digitization, to migrate materials to new formats, to provide metadata and other intellectual access, etc. Widespread collaboration with other institutions around the state may require that we provide staff training for (or receive staff training from) those institutions.

5. Note any initiatives or considerations that are lacking . which may be essential to the planning and redefining process.

There does not appear to be a group evaluating the present committee structure that currently exists within the library. Because this initiative requires input from various library departments/divisions and overlaps with many other initiatives, it is important that there be sufficient oversight to prevent duplication of efforts between committees, to facilitate the flow of information, and to ensure that committee membership is distributed among library staff, student and faculty representatives as necessary.

6. Recommended individuals:

Individuals from Special Collections and Collection Development for selection of materials and determining project goals.

Someone from Automation to provide technical expertise.

The Webmaster for the Library for technical expertise and assessment of patron needs.

Someone from Cataloging to cover issues of intellectual access and metadata.

An individual with expertise in Preservation, if available, to deal with migration and other long-term access issues.

7. Recommend the amount of time that will be required to effectively develop the plan for implementing the initiative:

Creating a digital gateway to campus resources (Dig. Info. Level I/Collab. Level I), could be carried out in as little as 6 months to a year. Projects involving large-scale new digitization of resources would necessitate longer planning periods, possibly 4-6 years, in order to develop collaboration with outside institutions.

8. Recommend the priority level to be assigned to this initiative:

Priority 2, very important. We believe that an initial digital gateway project providing access to existing campus digital resources could increase visibility and use of the Library as well as of the campus resources it highlights. It could establish the Library's position as an important player in the digital information community on campus and provide valuable PR for the Library and the U of A. And such a project is quite possible in a relatively short period of time. Further projects, including digitization of more materials in-house and collaboration with outside institutions, could be approached somewhat more slowly.

Also, we would like to point out that to some extent this work has already begun: the first digital dissertation will soon be submitted, and the Happy Hollow digitization project is underway. The question, therefore, is not "Should the Library consider digitization?" but "How can the Library handle digitization projects?" We could assign a lower level of priority to the initiative, but the Library would then be in danger of being unprepared for the already-beginning demands to handle digital materials.

APPENDIX I

Significant U of A Digital Resources

(Largely) by Academic Department

Compiled by Kate Kluttz

In general, see the Graduate School's "Research" page for many important links http://www.uark.edu/depts/gradinfo/public_html/research.html

LAW SCHOOL

National Center for Agricultural Law Research and Information (NCALRI), http://law.uark.edu/arklaw/aglaw/

Covers agricultural and environmental law; includes links to full-text publications such as bibliographies and guides, laws, bills, etc.

SAM M. WALTON COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

"University of Arkansas fight songs" available from home page http://wcba.uark.edu (lovely)

Center for Business and Economic Research includes databases of Arkansas economic and demographic data from the census. http://www.uark.edu/depts/cberinfo/database/index.html

Small Business Development Center has some "Printable Information," including short handouts on a wide variety of topics pertaining to starting, financing, and running your own small business in Arkansas. http://asbdc.ualr.edu/fod/index.htm

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND HEALTH PROFESSIONS

The "Colleague," the College's semi-annual newsletter, appears to have been available online since Spring of 2000. http://www.uark.edu/depts/coehp/Colleague.htm

COE&HP Research News. Includes faculty and student news but seems rather lightweight. http://www.uark.edu/depts/coehp/News.htm

DALE BUMPERS COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL, FOOD AND LIFE SCIENCES

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station has some bulletins, reports, research papers, etc. online, http://www.uark.edu/depts/agripub/Publications/#popular For the Station, see http://www.uark.edu/admin/aes/

The Cooperative Extension Service has bulletins for the public on agriculture, gardening, recycling, food preservation, etc. http://www.uaex.edu

FULBRIGHT COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

The Main Connection, their newsletter, is available at http://www.uark.edu/~arsc/info/index.htm#2

Dept. of Anthropology has a site for the Arkansas Archeological Survey, including a section for educational handouts on archeology in general and the Indian tribes of Arkansas:
http://www.uark.edu/campus-resources/archinfo/flyers.html

Also their publications catalog is available in PDF: http://www.uark.edu/campus-resources/archinfo/publications.html

AND an index of all reports published by their Sponsored Research Program (organized by county, with abstracts): http://www.uark.edu/campus-resources/archinfo/abstract.html

Dept. of Biological Sciences has several items of interest, including:

The Protostelid WWW Server which consists (apparently) of taxonomic keys for slime molds, with illustrations: http://comp.uark.edu/~fspiegel/protist.html

Also the Subterranean Biodiversity Project which includes links to PDF versions of reports on cave fauna, water quality, etc. (Ozarks regional stuff): http://cavern.uark.edu/depts/ecology/

And also Arkansas Biodiversity: The Vascular Flora, http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/arkansas/

Based on An atlas and annotated list of the vascular plants of Arkansas, from the University Herbarium and Dr. Edwin Smith, now out of print. Part of the text of this book is reproduced and supplemented with maps. Apparently carried out in collaboration with Texas A&M.

Don't forget the CAST GAP analysis of Arkansas' biodiversity: http://www.cast.uark.edu/cast/projects/gap/gap.html

Dept. of English: Their newsletter, or one issue of it, is online at http://www.uark.edu/depts/english/newsletterweb.pdf

Dept. of Geosciences: Includes CAST, the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies

CAST hosts online resources too numerous to name here, ranging from documents about NAGPRA (the Native Americans Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) to Arkansas soils surveys to maps of the state. Many major databases and collections of materials; also innovative and award-receiving projects. Supports research in archaeology, historical preservation, environmental studies, geography, etc. http://www.cast.uark.edu/.

[The Arkansas Water Resources Center is also connected w/this department but doesn't seem to have anything online].

Dept. of Mathematical Sciences has list of faculty's research reports; most are just citations, but some are downloadable files: http://www.uark.edu/depts/mathinfo/Research.html

(except that some are already dead links-grr).

Dept. of Philosophy has one online newsletter from 1998, Sophia, and an index (but no full-texts of articles) for their journal Philosophical Topics. Both linked from http://www.uark.edu/depts/philinfo/

Political Science Dept. includes two items of interest:

The Arkansas Poll, a political poll of the state carried out by the Grad School, Political Science dept., and the Survey Research Center; includes data files, news releases, etc. (pretty much content) http://plsc.uark.edu/arkpoll/research/index.htm

The Center for the Study of Representation, a new thing. A few full-texts of papers on developing democracies around the world, representation of minorities closer to home, etc. http://plsc.uark.edu/csr/

Social Work Program has TOCs and abstracts for the Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work but no full text, so this may not be worthwhile: http://www.uark.edu/depts/scwk/JBSW/index.html

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

HiDEC, the High-Density Electronics Research Center has a searchable/indexed list of publications by faculty and students at http://www.hidec.engr.uark.edu/sitewide/template.php3?section=papers

And claims they will have full-texts of their own newsletter at some point in the future.

Industrial Engineering claims that reports of research will become available on their site: http://web.ineg.uark.edu/research/index.asp

Civil Engineering is apparently connected to the Mack-Blackwell Transportation Center (has to do with quality of rural life and transportation), which has a few full-texts and a long bibliography of their reports:

http://www.cveg.uark.edu/mbtc/research/frintro.html

KUAF

"Ozarks at Large" appears to be online (2000-2001 programs, anyway) at http://www.fayetteville.com/kuaf/archive/ Arkansas Digital Library proposal (1998) states that there are about 400 hour-long programs on digital tape.

U of A Office of Institutional Research

Has statistics about U of A enrollment, retention, degrees, salaries, etc. Possibly significant. http://www.uark.edu/admin/uadata/

The Arkansas-Oklahoma Center for Space and Planetary Science

Not yet much content on their webpage, though there are a few short articles on research in the various space exploration areas they cover: http://www.uark.edu/misc/csaps/

Also see specifically the pages for the Hera mission to bring back samples from asteroids: http://www.uark.edu/misc/hera/TOC.html

Arkansas Archeological Survey

While these resources are not yet publicly available, the Survey is currently working on digitizing many publications, records, images, etc. into PDF files.

University of Arkansas Press

The University of Arkansas Press states that it has discussed the possibility of e-books but is not currently pursuing any such projects. The American Council of Learned Societies' ambitious "History E-Book Project" (http://www.historyEbook.org/index.html) may provide a useful model for e-publication in the humanities.

APPENDIX II

University of Arkansas Publications Available Electronically

Compiled by Andrea Cantrell

Note: There may be some overlap between this list and the list in Appendix I.

Arkansas Forest Resources Center series.

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Division of Agriculture University of Arkansas, http://www.uark.edu/depts/agripub/Publications/forest/index.html

Arkansas Horticulture.

Dept. of Horticulture, University of Arkansas, 1997-

http://www.uark.edu/ArkHort

Arkansas Land and Life.

University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture and College of Agricultural Food and Life Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service. Communications Dept., P.O. Box391, Little Rock, AR 72203.

http://www.uark.edu/depts/agripub/Publications/LandLife/

Arkansas Soil Fertility Studies.

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station,

http://www.uark.edu/depts/agripub/Publications/researchseries/

Arkansas Traveler.

Fayetteville : University of Arkansas

http://www.uark.edu/campus-resources/travinfo/

Board of Trustees minutes [computer file]

University of Arkansas (System). Board of Trustees.

http://www.uark.edu/admin/vcfainfo/minutes/botminutes.html

Meteoritics & Planetary Science.

Meteoritical Society at the University of Arkansas, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry,