D I G I T I Z AT I O N I N T H E O RY A N D P RAC T I C E

W E B S I T E : w w w. h e l e n o k p a l a . c o mE - M A I L : h e l e n . o k p a l a @ u n n . e d u . n g

Helen Nneka OkpalaPresentation done at University of Abuja Library Staff Training, 3rd May – 6th

May, 2016.

WHAT IS DIGITIZATION?• The process of converting analogue objects to

digital • The process of capturing analog materials as digital images

• Optical Character Recognition (OCR) programs “read” these images and convert them to text documents which can be easily searched, copied, edited, or used for computational text analysis methods.

DIGITIZATION CONTD…• Conversion of analog information in any form (text, photographs, voice, etc.) to digital form with suitable electronic devices (such as a scanner or specialized computer chips) so that the information can be processed, stored, and transmitted through digital circuits, equipment, and networks.

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/digitization.html#ixzz47bCzzTsg

OCR – OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION

• OCR programs process scanned documents (e.g. books, newspapers) to extract text.

• The quality of the text extraction will depend on the resolution of the scanned document, the format and quality of the print materials, and how well the OCR program deals with other languages or diacritical marks.

• No OCR program is 100% accurate.

BEFORE YOU DIGITIZE, DECIDE:

• Does digitization fit the organization's mission?

• Is there a known potential audience for the materials that are planned to be digitized?

• Will digitization increase access?

• Will it serve a purpose?

WHY DIGITIZE?

•??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???

DIGITIZATION WORKFLOWIdentify a project

Selection criteria(old, institutional)

Copyright(OA; Restricted)

Manipulation(GIMP; Photoshop)

File formats(Jpeg; Tiff)

ScanningFlatbed/ Robotic

Web Ready(Adobe Acrobat

Pro)

Submit(IR – DSpace)

Database

IDENTIFY A PROJECT• Know your collections

– what is valuable

– what others need to “see”

– core business of institution

– what is used often

– benefit of such a project

SELECTION CRITERIA• Know the history and rationale behind selection of sources

• Start with items that are often used• Special attention to brittle material

• Published between a certain time-line• Language limitations• Forming part of a certain collection• Make sure no doubles are included or already online

available

COPYRIGHT• Stay clear of copyright• Try to avoid material still in CR and not owned by

institution• Where necessary start with copyright clearance first

– may take long to sort out• Note every step along the way – keep the evidence

PHYSICAL PRESERVATION

• Basic cleaning of material– dust

– tears / broken corners

– mould

– remove selotype / glue / pritt

– remove staplers, gem clips, anything that can cause rust marks

– store in acid free containers if possible

SCANNERS

i2S DigiBook bookscanner

PlusDeck 2cKodak/Minolta Microfiche scanner

Nikon 9000 Coolscan

Epson 1640X

Scribe scannersiTTUSB Turntable

IMAGE MANIPULATION

• Abbyy Finereader

• Adobe Photoshop

• Adobe Acrobat

WEB READY• Resolution of Jpeg derivative: 300dpi

• PDF can be compressed into smaller file sizes for the web

• OCR (Optical Character Recognition)

• Bookmark – For Easy navigation

• File Background (Optional)

SCANNING PROCESS• Install Scanner on your Computer(s), example EPSON GT-15000

•Select EPSON GT-15000. Select Office Mode, Grayscale, Document Table, 300 dpi

•Preview

ETCETERA…!