When building an image collection, one or more JPEG images are associated with a metadata description. Using the CONTENT Acquisition Station software, a single JPEG image can be scanned or imported and associated with a single metadata description. Additionally, for the Frank S. Matsura Collection, one compound object, consisting of a single metadata description associated with 74 JPEG images, was created and made accessible from the database Contextual client. While compound objects are not supported by CONTENT version 2.x, the Washington State University Libraries uses a software solution developed by the University of Washington Libraries, in consultation with CISO, that enables compound objects to be integrated into its American Indians of the Pacific Northwest database.
JPEG images serve as the base images for CONTENT collections; these images are retrieved by searchers using the HTML, Java, or Contextual clients. As noted in the table, the average JPEG size for Digital Imaging Initiative databases ranged from 52 KB to 133 KB depending upon factors such as resolution and image size in pixels. (Alan Cornish)
c. How many hours were spent indexing the scanned objects?
Research before the
indexing began 330 hours
Indexing: 30 minutes per image x 1241 620.5 hours
Before we began to index the scans, Mari Hillestad researched the photographs primarily through carefully reading every issue of the Okanogan Independent published during Matsura's active period 1907-1913. She also consulted a number of books and other collections in MASC including Judge Brown's Papers.
Once the indexing began, we spent on average 30 minutes per image entering the initial metadata, revising titles, adding notes, subject, and genre terms. This estimate also includes time spent editing.
Although the collection was fully processed with good access at the collection level, a closer examination of the photographs revealed that individual descriptions were poor, sometimes inaccurate, or more common, simply not available. When Matsura captioned his photographs, he rarely provided a date (photography done for the construction of the Conconully Dam is sometimes an exception) or the names of individuals. Judge William Compton Brown, a friend of the photographer and the executor of Matsura's estate, intended to "catalog" the photographs and started to do so many years later. However, Judge Brown did not get far in his project and his descriptions while often useful, are not completely reliable as he was clearly working from memory some thirty to forty years after the creation of the pictures. (Trevor Bond)
d. How many hours were spent training staff to doing scanning and to do indexing using the metadata schema in CONTENT?
Training the staff how to use CONTENT and conducting routine administrative tasks was quite easy and only took 4 hours with additional line devoted to answering small questions during the project. I was also pleased with how well The Thesaurus for Graphic Materials worked for subject and genre headings. I will certainly continue to employ the TGM in future projects. Trevor Bond
e. Was the project budget adequate to do all tasks? If not, where did you experience a shortfall?
The budget was adequate for our initial goal of scanning 500-600 images. However, once we opted to scan the entire collection the wages we requested for our student workers did not last through the completion of the project. Trevor Bond
f. What was your greatest challenge in project management?
As the Project Manager for me, the greatest challenge in project management was to obtain the permission to publish the selected material for this pilot project on the Web. Please let me explain in detail because it might be useful for future permission requests and negotiations for future project when the ownership is ambiguous.
Manuscripts, Archives & Special Collections (MASC) have the Frank Matsura Photograph Collection, which consists of some 1800 prints. The Washington State University Library received the Frank S. Matsura photographs in the early 1960's as part of the Papers of William Compton Brown. As the executor to Matsura's estate, Judge Brown obtained the intellectual rights to the photographs. He in turn donated his papers, including the Matsura photographs to WSU Libraries. Although the collection consists principally of original prints, a small quantity of nitrate film negatives was found. These have been printed and the film discarded. Consequently, for many years this collection had been handled as if MASC had a claim to intellectual rights over this material. However, after realizing that a large number of glass negative for these prints were housed in the Okanogan County Historical Society, it became apparent that the Historical Society controls the intellectual rights for a presumably large number of our prints. The Matsura Collection is one of the more heavily used photograph collections in MASC and it generates a fair number of photo duplication requests.
Washington State University Libraries were selected, among other four pilot sites in the state of Washington, to participate in the Digital Initiative Imaging Pilot Projects. We were selected with the other sites for testing of standards and to determine "best practices" for the acquisition, digital capture, storage and Web-base delivery of documents of interest to citizens in Washington State.
