Managing Your Digitization Project (distance learning course)

Instructor: Trudy Levy

Managing Your Digitization Project (distance learning course)

• How do I staff my digitization project?
• How long will the project take?
• What equipment will I need?
• What standards do I need to meet?
• How will I know if my project was a success?

This online course is intended to address all the important issues that are faced by first-time managers of digitization projects. It will provide an overview of every step in the process, from setting selection criteria to establishing an effective workflow to project evaluation.

Workshop Description: This four-week workshop will be taught via distance education using the Web. It consists of four one-and-a-half to two-hour modules. You can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. However, you will be expected to login to the course each week to do that week's assignment.

This distance education course will cover best practices for managing project workflow, metadata and imaging standards, hardware and software selection, systems integration, end-user interface design, marketing and evaluation.

During the course you will be doing exercises and taking quizzes. You will also participate in online discussion forums as part of the distance learning process.

When you register, you will receive the URL to get to the course and a username and password in your registration confirmation. Managing Your Digitization Project will start on February 4, 2003 and be available until March 4, 2003. We ask that you log in sometime during the first week of the course to begin the course work.

Topics to be Covered: Using your Web browser and your Internet connection you will login to the Infopeople Blackboard distance education site and learn in the following areas:

Module One: Standards and procedures for digital image selection and acquisition

• Benchmarks for evaluating your project's success
• Selecting and organizing items to be digitized
• Scanning standards and equipment
• Rights, licenses and permissions

Module Two: Standards and procedures for creating and managing metadata

• File naming and directory structures
• Describing the items - descriptive, administrative and technical metadata
• Choosing a system to produce your digital objects: a database, your vendor's image management module or a digital asset management product

Module Three: Workflow Procedure

• Defining and assigning tasks
• Working with vendors
• Establishing a workflow process and tracking system
• Establishing quality control procedures
• Cost monitoring and control

Module Four: Creating and Promoting Public Access to your Digital Collection

• Steps in creating a Web site
• Preparing your submission to Online Archive of California
• Promotion - to your community and beyond
• Documenting your project's success

Who Should Attend: Anyone in a California library who is involved in management of a digitization project or who wants to learn more about the actual work involved in creating a digital collection.

Prerequisites: This course is taught over the Web. You must:

• have an Internet connection and Internet Explorer 5 or higher. (Some of the quiz functions do not work properly in Netscape.)
• be able to save a file to your computer and print it out using Microsoft Word or a compatible Word processing program.
• be comfortable navigating on the Web and going back and forward in a Web site that uses frames.
• be familiar with directory structures and computer file management

If you are not comfortable with any of the above, please consider taking this course with a buddy who does meet these requirements.

Please note: There is a $75.00 fee for this workshop. Infopeople's grant funding restricts participation in distance education courses to individuals currently working in California libraries.