Digitization Basics for Hudson River Valley Heritage:
A Workshop Series Required for Contributors to HRVH

HRVH is hosted, administered and coordinated by the Southeastern New York Library Resources Council (SENYLRC).

Why consider digitizing and contributing to HRVH?

• Increase access to portions of your collection, while protecting fragile materials.
• Increase exposure to your organization.
• Add your collections to a shared regional heritage.
• The service includes training, software, and access to your digitized materials in HRVH, which is a cost effective alternative to the implementation of a digital project on your own.
• Extensive support and training offered by SENYLRC.

Steps to contribute to HRVH

1. Attend the workshop series at SENYLRC.
2. Become a SENYLRC Member, if your organization is not one already.
3. Take advantage of on-site training at your organization.
4. Begin to digitize (scan, create metadata).
5. Continue to contribute items to HRVH.

How to sign-up for the workshop series

Registration fees for the workshop series

Once you become a SENYLRC member, you and your organization will receive the following as part of the HRVH service:

• Four days of workshops at SENYLRC;
• On-site training at your organization by SENYLRC staff to assist you with your project (initially up to 28 hours);
• Information on best practices for digital imaging and metadata to ensure quality and consistency of collections;
• A hosting platform to make digital content available on the Internet;
• Access to CONTENTdm software, which simplifies the process of creating a collection of digital objects;
• Enrollment in the HRVH Users Group and Listserv;
• Access to a digital lab at SENYLRC if needed;
• Equipment: computer and scanner for loan.

What is expected of your organization as an HRVH participant:

• Contribution to HRHV can only occur after attending this series of workshops.
• Participating organizations are expected to contribute digital objects to HRVH.
• An initial assortment of objects (10—30) will be reviewed by SENYLRC staff before you begin to publish collections to the web site.
• Adherence to HRVH standards and guidelines is expected.

---

Workshop Descriptions

Introduction to the HRVH Service and Introduction to Scanning
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Trainers - Jennifer Palmentiero

The first hour of this workshop is an overview of the HRVH service and an introduction to the training series. The remainder of the day will focus on scanning.

The goals of your digital project, the items you plan to digitize, and the target audience for your digital collection(s) are all important factors when making decisions about digital imaging equipment, image quality and file format. This hands-on session will introduce participants to the basic aspects and techniques of scanning for digital projects. Participants are encouraged to bring one or two items from their collections for the hands-on portion of the session.

Topics covered include:

• Basic terminology
• Selecting equipment
• File formats, naming, and storage
• Creating master and derivative files
• Quality control
• Scanning in-house vs. outsourcing

Metadata for Digital Projects in HRVH
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Trainer - Jennifer Palmentiero

Metadata creation is an essential part of digital collection development. Consistently applied metadata enhance the access to and interoperability of digital objects. This session will provide participants with an overview of the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set and its application in HRVH.

Topics covered include:

• Introduction to and importance of metadata
• Overview of the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set
• Best practices for creating consistent metadata
• Quality control and evaluation of metadata
• Use of the HRVH Metadata Style Guide

Develop and Manage Digital Collections using CONTENTdm™
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Trainer - Jennifer Palmentiero

CONTENTdm™ is the digital asset management software package used by SENYLRC to host HRVH. It was developed for use by libraries, archives, museums, and historical societies to simplify certain processes in the development of digital collections. The software allows HRVH contributors to easily import, store, index, describe, and manage their digital resources.

In this hands-on session, you will learn how to:

• Use the CONTENTdm Administration Web site to manage your digital collection
• Import and describe digital objects using the CONTENTdm Project Client
• Create “compound objects” from multi-page or multi-side items
• Build and manage controlled vocabularies
• Edit items in your online digital collection

Management Essentials and Copyright Issues
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Trainer - Jennifer Palmentiero

Management:
Now that you have learned the skills and how to use digitization tools, there are many questions that need to be answered before you can start your digital project that involve goals, audience, costs, time, materials selection, equipment and more. We will explain all of the steps necessary to implement a successful digitization project, from the initial plan though your project's implementation.

Topics covered include:

• Planning
• Target audience
• Mission/goals/objectives
• Selection—what to digitize
• Digital conversion process
• Preservation
• Evaluation
• Marketing and promotion

Copyright:
There are many issues involved with publishing digitized materials on the Internet that involve copyright status and permissions. In this session we will discuss U.S. Copyright laws as they relate to digitization -- public domain, fair use and library exemptions. The main focus will be on evaluating the status of the materials you plan to digitize by determining if these materials are owned by your organization or in the public domain.

Topics covered include:

• How to determine if materials are in the public domain
• How to establish ownership of the materials
• Fair use
• Library exemptions
• Permissions to digitize
• Rights statements and access policies.

---

Workshop location & directions

Southeastern New York Library Resources Council
21 S. Elting Corners Road
Highland, New York 12528
Phone: 845.883.9065
Fax: 845.883.9483

Driving directions: http://www.senylrc.org/about/directions.htm

---

About the HRVH team at SENYLRC

John Shaloiko is the Executive Director. John is responsible for implementing SENYLRC's overall policies and directives, and the organization's annual budget as directed by SENYLRC's Board of Trustees.

Tessa Killian is a librarian and the Manager of Technology and Administrative Services. Tessa's responsibilities include project management for Hudson River Valley Heritage, recruitment, training and publicity.

Jennifer Palmentiero is the Digital Services Librarian. Jennifer supports the Hudson River Valley Heritage service, particularly metadata and scanning issues, training and implementation guidance to contributing organizations.

Zachary Spalding is the Systems Manager. Zack maintains the server that powers HRVH and resolves any issue with either uploading or displaying images. He also installs the client application on contributors machines and advises on technology issues that might occur at contributor sites.