IMAGE CAPTURE AND CONVERSION

FAU Libraries performs its own digitization process, in-house. We have scanning technicians who capture the image which is then color corrected and processed. Images captured adhere to the standards promulgated by the Cornell Department of Preservation and Conservation (see Digital Imaging for Library and Archives, Kenny and Chapman, 1996). A Quality Index of 5 or better for visual images is used.

Three types of images are created for all textual materials in the collection: TIFF, JPEG and PDF. A TIFF and JPEG image is created for every page; related sets of pages (e.g. chapters or articles) are bundled into PDF files.

TIFF images are created as the direct result of scanning source materials (that is, as the native file format), using a variety of scanning hardware, primarily flat-bed scanners. TIFFs are archived as uncompressed electronic masters. Bit-depth is appropriate to the source and its anticipated use, and may be bitonal, 8-bit grey, 24-bit color, or greater. Color images are created and maintained in the sRGB color-space. Both grey and color images are calibrated and scanned to within the tolerances promulgated by the Library of Congress for the American Memory project.

TIFF images are used to create JPEG derivatives using Adobe Photoshop 7.0 in a batch executable process. The TIFF image is resized setting the width to 630 pixels and the height accordingly. The process then progressively optimizes the image creating an image that displays progressively in a Web browser. The image will display as a series of overlays, enabling viewers to see a low-resolution version of the image before it downloads completely.

PDF files are created on fly by the locally written script in DLXS text class.

RESOURCE DESCRIPTION -- STRUCTURAL METADATA

A file of structural metadata is created for every document to indicate the relationship between the physical units of digitization (TIFF, JPEG and other images) and the logical units of publication (pages, chapters, and other parts). The metadata format used is provided by the MXF client provided by FCLA.

For each electronic resource (book volume, journal issue, manuscript, etc.), the MXF file:

• identifies and names the image files comprising the resource,
• defines the order of images,
• identifies and names the subsections (such as chapters),
• says which images belong to particular subsections,
• and establishes the order and hierarchy of subsections.