CNI: Coalition for Networked Information

Bibliographic Data Management Software for Every Student: Embedding a Researcher’s Tool In the CMS

Brian Nielsen
Manager, Learning Support Systems
Northwestern University

To highlight the availability of a new Web-based bibliographic database management application, Northwestern University has developed software to enable access to the tool within the campus’ course management system (CMS). Students have the application always available within the CMS without requiring a second login after completing a simple initial procedure. Northwestern’s work is freely available as open source and has been adopted by a number of other universities. This innovation is offering opportunities for instructors to design new active learning projects for students, consistent with recommendations from contemporary learning science research.

PowerPoint Presentation

http://www.library.northwestern.edu/reference/services/RefWorks/index.html

Capture to Creation: How High-Resolution Capture and Network-Based Presentation Redefine and Recreate Original Artifacts

Harlan Wallach
Media Services Architect
Academic Technologies
Northwestern University

This presentation explores digital archive issues associated with two on-line archive projects completed by Northwestern University. It examines how the subjects were changed into two new digital objects, related to the original, but in fact transformed by the process into new creations for study. The two production processes demonstrated and discussed are: (1) the acquisition of digital imagery from the mural paintings at Dunhuang, China, for the Mellon International Dunhuang Archive, a component of ARTSTOR; and (2) the capture, post-production and presentation of the 1880 Robinson Insurance map, a component of the upcoming electronic edition of the Encyclopedia of Chicago, a joint project of the Chicago Historical Society, the Newberry Library, and Northwestern University.

Northwestern University, in collaboration with the Dunhuang Research Academy and funded by the Mellon Foundation, conducted a four-year effort completely documenting 21 cave grottoes in complete high resolution photographs, and 40 grottoes in QTVR navigable imagery. The resulting online presentation model of the imagery in a resolution-independent, zoomable model goes beyond merely transforming the objects – it redefines the nature of what it means to experience the medieval Buddhist mural paintings.

The Robinson Fire Insurance map is an extensive map of the city of Chicago from 1880. Designed to be a comprehensive record of all of the buildings and structures at that time, it is five volumes in size, comprised of 260 separate 22 x 32 inch pages. The presentation of this data into a page model, single plates, an online bound volume viewer, and then a unified seamless texture combining all 260 plates into one resolution-independent navigable image, again transforms a single source into a new digital object.

http://www.library.northwestern.edu/librarybriefings/archives/589-printer-friendly.html

DARE: The Next Stage

Leo Waaijers
Platform Manager, ICT and Research
SURF Foundation

The Digital Academic Repositories (DARE) is a joint initiative by the Dutch universities, which facilitates digital access to the results of their research. Now that all DARE repositories are operational, harvested for instance by DAREnet (www.darenet.nl) and Yahoo, and more than 20 services are ready or under construction, it is time to look ahead. Libraries have been the drivers thus far, but to ensure a stream of content into the repositories and to guarantee that repositories and services are sustainable after 2006, when the DARE Program comes to an end, authors and their institutes must be involved. Several actions are being undertaken, which, basically, aim at satisfying a need for visibility, ease of use, and continued access to the research output of both scientists and their institutes. We will build a national window featuring the complete production of about 150 top scientists, 10 from each university. A link between the repositories and the local research management systems will reduce the administrative burden of writing bibliographic records and loading digital objects, especially as we are building on top of that an automated personal web page generator. Finally, a link to the e-Depot of the National Library will guarantee the perpetual preservation and accessibility of the deposited material.

While working on these issues we received a request from Elsevier requesting permission for indexing and presenting the content of the DARE repositories through their Scirus search engine, which we will also discuss.

http://www.surf.nl/en/themas/index2.php?oid=7

Digital Preservation: From Theory toward Practice

Richard Fyffe
Assistant Dean of Libraries for Scholarly Communication
University of Kansas

Beth Forrest Warner
Assistant Vice Provost for Information Services
University of Kansas

Deborah Ludwig
Director, Academic Systems
University of Kansas

Digital content permeates every aspect of the academic enterprise. The challenges presented by the need to provide long-term access to this information are widely acknowledged. One key to understanding them lies in recognizing the mismatch between traditional information management practices – practices largely formed in a print-on-paper environment – and the characteristics of digital information. Given the need for different approaches, without a focused planning program there can be no reasonable expectation that digital information created today will remain usable in a few years. A campus-wide Digital Preservation Task Force at the University of Kansas was charged with exploring the implications of a University commitment to the preservation of digital assets, both academic and administrative. The initial stages of this investigation were presented in a project briefing at the Spring 2004 Task Force meeting. In this presentation we will present the three major components and next steps recommended for our emerging digital preservation program:

• An integrated technical architecture of systems and services, designed around the whole lifecycle of digital information, from creation forward

• A set of functional roles and institutional policies required to insure that these systems and services are implemented and maintained

• An education program for faculty, staff, and administrators in the basic concepts and challenges of digital preservation and a training program in information management practices that will contribute to the ongoing availability of digital files.

https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/dspace/

DigitalWell: Digital Asset Managment for Institutions, Television and Radio

Jim DeRoest
Director, Streaming Media Technologies
University of Washington

DigitalWell streamlines encoding, management and distribution of high quality audio and video, opening up new opportunities for the learning, research and broadcast communities. The speaker will discuss and demonstrate enhancements to DigitalWell services: institutional repository support, collection management, metadata profiles, access controls, broadcast automation, streaming to handheld devices and high definition video to the desktop. The session will also include an overview of ResearchChannel and its expanding role in the international community.

PowerPoint Presentation

http://www.digitalwell.org/

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