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Hi Jody, Thanks for sending along this information about Cabaniss. I'd be curious to hear how your per-page costs compare with other projects, such as Oregon State [1] (which I just wandered across in Google). The notes from your project wiki [2] are really interesting. In particular the details about linking from the EAD documents to the item views using the PURLs struck my eye [3]. Did you have a PURL server already set up at your institution, or is this something you did as part of this project? Was there a real advantage to doing that instead of thoughtfully managing a URL namespace with Cool URLs [4]. I know I'm biased, but it sure was nice to see URLs in use instead of Handles :-) I haven't done EAD work in a while, and was wondering what the ns2 namespace is in the linking example on the wiki, e.g. <dao id="u0003_0000252_0000002" ns2:title="u0003_0000252_0000002" ns2:href="http://purl.lib.ua.edu/148" ns2:actuate="onRequest" ns2:show="new"/> Last of all I was curious about the EAD viewing software you are developing to stand in for Acumen. Is this work still underway? Sorry for all the questions. I guess that's what you get for doing interesting stuff :-) //Ed [1] http://wiki.library.oregonstate.edu/confluence/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=19327 [2] http://www.lib.ua.edu/wiki/digcoll/ [3]http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/URI.html [4] http://www.lib.ua.edu/wiki/digcoll/index.php/Scripted_Links_in_EADs On Tue, Mar 1, 2011 at 9:03 PM, Jody DeRidder <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > (Apologies for cross posting) > > For Immediate Release > Contact Person: Jody L. DeRidder > Email: [log in to unmask] > Phone: (205) 348-0511 > > Completed UA Libraries Grant Project Provides Model for Low-Cost > Digitization of Cultural Heritage Materials > > The University of Alabama Libraries has completed a grant project which > demonstrates a model of low-cost digitization and web delivery of > manuscript materials. Funded by the National Archives and Records > Administration (NARA) National Historical Publications and Records > Commission (NHPRC), the project digitized a large and nationally important > manuscript collection related to the emancipation of slaves: the Septimus > D. Cabaniss Papers. This digitization grant (NAR10-RD-10033-10) extended > for 14 months (ended February 2011), and has provided online access to > 46,663 images for less than $1.50 per page: > http://acumen.lib.ua.edu/u0003_0000252. > > The model is designed to enable institutions to mass-digitize manuscript > collections at a minimal cost, leveraging the extensive series > descriptions already available in the collection finding aid to provide > search and retrieval. Digitized content for the collection is linked from > the finding aid, providing online access to 31.8 linear feet of valuable > archival material that otherwise would never be web-available. We have > developed software and workflows to support the process and web delivery > of material regardless of the current method of finding aid access. More > information is available on the grant website: > http://www.lib.ua.edu/libraries/hoole/cabaniss . > > The Septimus D. Cabaniss Collection (1815-1889) was selected as exemplary > of the legal difficulties encountered in efforts to emancipate slaves in > the Deep South. Cabaniss was a prominent southern attorney who served as > executor for the estate of the wealthy Samuel Townsend, who sought to > manumit and leave property to a selection of his slaves, many of whom were > his children. Samuel Townsend’s open admission to fathering slave > children and his willingness to take responsibility for their care, > combined with the letters from the former slaves themselves, dated before > and after the Civil War, will inform social and racial historians. Legal > scholars will be enlightened by Cabaniss' detailing of the sophisticated > legal mechanism of using a trust to free slaves. Valuable collections such > as this have a promise of open access via the web when the cost of > digitization is lowered by avoiding item-level description. > > Usability testing was included in the grant project, and preliminary > results indicate that this method of web delivery is as learnable for > novices as access to the digitized materials via item-level descriptions. > In addition, provision of web delivery of manuscript content via the > finding aid provides the much-needed context preferred by experienced > researchers. > > > > > Jody DeRidder > Digital Services > University of Alabama Libraries > Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487 > (205) 348-0511 > [log in to unmask] > [log in to unmask] >