Library Of Congress Digital Preservation June 2009 Newsletter
June • 2009
Library of Congress Digital Preservation Newsletter
Tradition Meets Web 2.0 –
the pilot because they represent a wide range of sub-
The Library’s Flickr Project
jects in both black and white as well as color. No new
scanning was involved for this project; only photos
The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs already digitized and available through the Library’s
Division collections are known for their great pho-
website were used.
tographic treasures – with over 1 million digitized
items currently available online. Beginning in Janu-
ary 2008, the Library joined forces with the popular
photo sharing site Flickr to provide a new avenue to
the Library’s photos and build new levels of interac-
tion with the public.
Why were photo collections chosen for this proj-
ect? The Prints and Photographs Division is inter-
ested in new ways to make its resources known and
has long relied on volunteers to help describe pic-
tures that lack full captions. The desire to put pic-
tures where millions of people gather virtually in
Credit: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division
social networks combined with a strong tradition of
The statistics tell the story of immediate as well
volunteer assistance made a good match for the web as long-term success. In the first 24 hours after launch
2.0 world of user-generated content.
Flickr reported 1.1 million views on the Library’s ac-
In addition, the Library was looking for a way to count, with 3.6 million total views a week later.
be more involved in web 2.0 activities. Flickr was
Read more about the project at digitalpreserva-
selected as an established and well-respected public tion.gov. •
forum for photos that offered the functionality to eas-
ily collect community descriptions and comments.
After coordinating with Flickr to provide the proper
NDIIPP Results Reviewed
rights statement, the Library of Congress Flickr pilot
The Winter 2009 issue of “Library Trends” pro-
project was launched.
vides a broad overview of results from the Library
of Congress National Digital Information Infrastruc-
ture and Preservation Program.
The issue presents the most in-depth study of the
program to date. Individual NDIIPP projects are
studied as are activities that span the work of many
individual participants.
Describing NDIIPP as “the foundation of digital
culture preservation in the United States” and also as
the advent of “a new partnership focused on shared
Credit: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division
stewardship,” issue editors Patricia Cruse and Beth
The initial project included about 3,000 of the Sandore offer 16 articles. Detailed are accomplish-
Library’s photos from two different collections: the ments in preserving valuable digital content, build-
Farm Security Administration/Office of War Infor-
ing tools and services, developing new policies and
mation collection (color photos from the 1930s and practices, and spurring an unprecedented degree of
1940s) and the George Grantham Bain News Service
collaboration among a rich diversity of partners.
collection (black-and-white photos from the ear-
Read more about the other projects described in
ly 1900s). These photo collections were chosen for the issue at digitalpreservation.gov. •
www.digitalpreservation.gov
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June • 2009
Archiving 2009 Conference
Recent Meetings
The Archiving 2009 Conference, held in Arling-
In late April, Chief Information Officers and pol-
ton, VA, from May 4-7, 2009, had something for ev-
icy leaders from a dozen states received an update
eryone with an interest in digital preservation.
about Library of Congress digital preservation ef-
The conference program was evenly balanced be-
forts. The National Association of State Chief Infor-
tween digital collection stewardship on the one hand mation Officers arranged the briefing in connection
and imaging and preservation on the other. This per-
with its annual “Fly-In” to meet with federal officials
mitted a unique opportunity for cross-domain inter-
in Washington, DC.
action and sharing.
Sessions relating to digital collection steward-
ship considered subjects such as “Economically Sus-
tainable Digital Preservation;” “Preservation, Coop-
eration, and the Making of the Hathi Trust Digital
Library;” and “Meeting the Preservation Demand
Responsibly = Lowering the Ingest Bar.” Geospatial
data stewardship was a special focus of the confer-
ence, with four papers looking into areas such as col-
laborative agreements, metadata, appraisal, and pres-
ervation infrastructure.
Credit: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division
Imaging and preservation sessions treated top-
ics such as “Digitizing the Dead Sea Scrolls;” “The
Also in late April, NDIIPP hosted a meeting of
Lifecycle of Embedded Image Metadata within Dig-
the National Conference of State Legislators, bring-
ital Photographs;” ing state legislators and their information technolo-
and “Federal Dig-
gy representatives to the Library to hear about recent
itization—Moving projects that are leveraging existing investments and
to Common Guide-
technology solutions to both preserve and provide
lines.”
access to valuable state legislative information.
The Archiving
Read more about the State CIO “Fly-in” and the
2009 conference also NCSL meeting at digitalpreservation.gov. •
had a rich array of
interactive presenta-
Announcements
tions offered in two • The Call for Abstracts for iPRES 2009 is extend-
Clotilde Boust discussing the interac-
sessions. Topics in-
ed to June 12, 2009. The 6th international confer-
tive presentation, “Study of Contempo-
cluded “Search and
ence, sponsored by the California Digital Library,
rary Art Preservation with Digitization.”
Access Strategies for
will be held October 5-6, 2009 in San Francisco.
Web Archives;” “De-
fining Digital Archeology;” and “Advanced Digital • The San Diego Supercomputer Center at the
Image Preservation Data Management Architecture.”
University of California, San Diego recently an-
Attendees voted for “Digital Archive Program of the
nounced that Director Fran Berman will be leav-
Songjiang Battle Array” as the best of the interactive
ing to accept the position of Vice President of Re-
presentations.
search with the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
effective August 1, 2009.
The Library of Congress National Digital Infor-
mation Infrastructure and Preservation Program had
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a strong presence. Over 20 NDIIPP staff and part-
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html?code=USLOC&origin=http://www.loc.gov type in
ners attended and a dozen gave presentations.
your e-mail address, scroll down and click on “Digital
Read more about the conference at digitalpreser-
Preservation.” Past newsletters are archived at http://www.
vation.gov. •
digitalpreservation.gov/news/archive.html
http://www.digitalpreservation.gov
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