II. Summary of Results of Member Assessment

 

Information was gathered using three methods: interviews with NNYLN staff members, NNYLN member surveys and telephone interviews with selected NNYLN members. Information from those activities is summarized below.

 

NNYLN Staff Interviews

• From the NNYLN staff’s point of view, member institutions are interested in digitization, but view it as a low priority. Not surprisingly, funding is viewed as an issue.

 

• The Network has had a good response to workshops on topics related to digitization. These workshops have been marketed individually and not as a digitization series. Topics covered have included:

- Planning digitization projects
- Imaging - scanning, digital cameras, image editing
- Digital copyright
- FrontPage workshop
- Basic HTML
- Introduction to XML

• The Network purchased a Canon 800 microfilm scanner with the intention of digitizing newspapers and creating a demonstration project. NNYLN has begun digitizing historical newspapers.

 

• Two member organizations have digitization equipment that others can use. St. Lawrence University has a large format scanner in its science area. Paul Smith College has a digitization room, which contains both microfilm and flatbed scanners, for community use.

 

• The staff envisions a wide variety of possible roles for NNYLN in regards to digitization:

  - Coordinate or facilitate digitization
  - Offer workshops and training classes
  - Have a digitization lab for member use (self-serve with some assistance available)
  - Offer external consultants to assist members
  - Create a catalogue of digitization materials
  - Be a clearinghouse for digitization vendors
  - Host digital collections
  - Lend digitization equipment to members

 

Telephone Survey (Interviews):

A telephone survey was administered to five NNYLN members. The institutions were selected by NNYLN as representative of the types of libraries the Network serves. Only five institutions were interviewed in order to stay within the bounds of the project scope. The telephone interviews were meant to gather different information from the surveys that were sent to all NNYLN members.

 

The five institutions interviewed had varied interests in digitization from "not on the front burner" to actually being involved in digitization projects. Both the Saranac Free Public Library and the Adirondack Museum are doing digitization, with the Museum digitizing a broader range of materials.

 

All of the institutions had suggestions on the roles they wanted NNYLN to assume in regards to digitization:

• Raise the level of awareness in the region.
• Provide more workshops/training.
• Become a vendor to whom institutions could outsource their projects.
• Make newspapers searchable (i.e., scanning and OCRing microfilmed newspapers as a service).
• Create a sample project that libraries could look at on the NNYLN web site and thus see the value of digitization.
• Oversee digitization in the region to ensure that institutions are not duplicating what has already been done.
• Advise institutions on copyright concerns.
• Give advice to institutions on file formats.
• Aid institutions in obtaining grants for digitization.
• Write grants for funding.
• Help smaller libraries make materials available online.
• Work with institutions to mount collections on the Internet.
• Assist institutions in locating collaborators.
• Review collections to determine their appropriateness for digitization.
• Work with institutions to plan digitization projects.
• Be available to consult with institutions on digitization/project options.

 

One need that stands out, in the list of above, is the desire for guidance. Guidance would help institutions ensure that they digitize the right materials using the right techniques. Having NNYLN as a guide would also help institutions feel as if they are not doing this alone. This could be critically important for smaller institutions that may not have the time to worry over all of the details involved in completing a digitization project.

 

Member Survey:

Twenty-seven percent of the NNYLN members returned the survey forms that were sent to them during the summer. The surveys were designed to gather in-depth information on their views on digitization as well as information on their collections. The appendix contains detailed results from the survey as well as a copy of the survey instrument. Highlights include:

 

• 50% of the respondents have considered digitizing items from the collections.
• 33% have attended some digitization training.
• 61% are interested in attending digitization training.
• Two of the institutions that responded to the hardcopy survey have digitized materials (Plattsburgh State University and SUNY Oswego).
• The reasons why institutions are not digitizing vary, but in general are due to not enough time, money or staff. Some institutions do not have materials that they believe would be worth digitizing. The library systems noted that they themselves do not have materials to digitize, but that their individual members would.
• There is a wealth of material in the region that would be worth reviewing for digitization. Much of the United States’ early history and its conflicts with Canada affected this region, yet this rich local history is not well known throughout the nation. These collections could be fodder for cooperative projects within the region. Information on the topics and themes documented by local collections can be found in the appendix under "Member Survey Results."
• The survey respondents noted the digitization services that they would like NNYLN to provide. They are:

   

Service Training Provide information on hardware and software for use in digitization Consulting on digitization options for your collection Review of your collection for potential digitization Assist in identifying funding sources Assist your institution in writing a grant for a digitization project Provide information on suitable digitization vendors Locate potential collaborators Establish a regional digitization center for your use Digitize collections on your behalf Assist with project managemen

# of Response 13 11 11 10 8 8 8 7 6 5 3

 

Gathering information from NNYLN staff and members is an important step on the path to:

 

• Understanding what people think of digitization
• Discerning if there are collections in the region that should be digitized
• Suggesting collaborations
• Targeting training based on member needs
• Increasing the communication on digitization projects and topics
• Deciding what services NNYLN should provide
• Creating a digitization plan for the region

 

I. Introduction
III. Digitization Plan & Activities