There is no formal collection online yet, but I have finally uploaded a pamphlet: http://gettysburg.cdmhost.com/cdm/ref/collection/p16274coll1/id/20
I am so surprised that it took this long, but I am happy with how it has come out!
More to come soon....I have lots of metadata and much more scanning to do!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Digitization here we go!
Things are really starting to fall together with my project in special collections. I've learned how to digitize the pamphlets for preservation. We use a scanner and each page is scanned in color at 600dpi and saved as a tiff. For the image that will be used in ContentDM I convert the tiffs to jpegs at 400dpi. While working on this step we've also created a metadata spread sheet. This spreadsheet is how ContentDM understands the information we're putting in. Each pamphlet will have its own spreadsheet and each page has its own line in the pamphlet. Much of this involves copy and pasting, but it's still tedious. I can't wait to upload a pamphlet. Since I'm only finishing my first spreadsheet now it will probably be up in the next few days. We're still working on mapping the fields in our spreadsheet to Dublin Core so it will take a while! This certainly is a work in progress and will progress much after my time here.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Hello again
Sorry it's been a while since I've posted, but I've been very busy! I'm over 700 pamphlets in and Chelsea and I are nearing the end of the inventory. I've started meeting with Cathrine, our digitization guru, to learn how this all will come together. My next steps will really be digitizing pamphlets.
Selection seems like it will be the hardest part. We digitize first for preservation and second for access. We can only digitize things that are able to handle it. There are two kinds of scanners I can use-flat bed and book edge. It's nice we have the book edge scanner because that will be easier on some of the more tightly bound pamphlets. The other option is photography, but I am not yet as familiar with the process. Even though I have spent the last two months looking for copies of the pamphlets we have that are already digitized, I may still have to make our own digital copy. Sometimes version online are poor quality, or missing pages. When I search for digital versions I'm always making sure that the edition is correct, so even if the second edition of something is available online, if we have the third edition then I'll still have to digitize it. I may end up picking something arbitrary to determine if I'll digitize something now by choosing only pamphlets that are 20 pages or less or something like that.
I won't be able to digitize all eligible pamphlets since there's so many, but I'm excited to start!
Selection seems like it will be the hardest part. We digitize first for preservation and second for access. We can only digitize things that are able to handle it. There are two kinds of scanners I can use-flat bed and book edge. It's nice we have the book edge scanner because that will be easier on some of the more tightly bound pamphlets. The other option is photography, but I am not yet as familiar with the process. Even though I have spent the last two months looking for copies of the pamphlets we have that are already digitized, I may still have to make our own digital copy. Sometimes version online are poor quality, or missing pages. When I search for digital versions I'm always making sure that the edition is correct, so even if the second edition of something is available online, if we have the third edition then I'll still have to digitize it. I may end up picking something arbitrary to determine if I'll digitize something now by choosing only pamphlets that are 20 pages or less or something like that.
I won't be able to digitize all eligible pamphlets since there's so many, but I'm excited to start!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
The Charter
As a Gettysburg alumna, I've always known that the school has a charter, but I never thought about it and I certainly never read it. As I've started my job search I've been looking at lots of mission statements, and vision statements, and values statements. So when I came across the charter of Pennsylvania College I was intrigued. This is like the original mission statement. The first missions they express about the college are to be "for the education of youth in the learned languages, the arts, sciences and useful literature". The charter includes the classes off so you can plainly tell what was considered appropriate education. Apparently there was a large emphasis on German along with Greek, Latin, and English.
One of the resolutions I find funny near the end is that "no student during his connection with the college be permitted to attend any political celebration". I don't think that's any issue now! Many students would jump at a chance to interact with politicians in any setting!
Anyways, it's an interesting document to look at and think about as we continue to educate the youth.
http://gettysburg.cdmhost.com/cdm/singleitem/collection/p126301coll0/id/7
One of the resolutions I find funny near the end is that "no student during his connection with the college be permitted to attend any political celebration". I don't think that's any issue now! Many students would jump at a chance to interact with politicians in any setting!
Anyways, it's an interesting document to look at and think about as we continue to educate the youth.
http://gettysburg.cdmhost.com/cdm/singleitem/collection/p126301coll0/id/7
Monday, February 27, 2012
Learning the 856 Field
I've started a new phase of my project--adding links of digital versions of pamphlets to our catalog! This is a pretty simple task since I spent a lot of time making sure digital versions I found were exactly the same as the pamphlets we have. The fact that I have so many to add also shows me how important this project really is for the library. While we did have about 2-300 links already in the catalog, I have been adding just as many. This allows patrons to view our resources when special collections is open-or more clearly. The digital versions don't replace the real thing, but many users prefer the ease of online access.
What I have to do to the MARC record is add what is known as the 856 field. The 856 field means Electronic Location and Access. The first indicator I use is 4 which simple means HTTP. The second indicator I use is 1 which means version of resource. I use this because we hold the pamphlets in special collections, but this means there is a digital version. I use two subfield codes: u and z. The first means "uniform resource identifier" and is where the URL goes. The second is a public note field. I use this note to give credit to the owner of the digital copy and it shows up as the link users can click to view the item. Below are 2 screen shots of how the field looks in Millennium and how it looks on our OPAC.
If you want to know more about the 856 field check out: http://www.loc.gov/marc/856guide.html
What I have to do to the MARC record is add what is known as the 856 field. The 856 field means Electronic Location and Access. The first indicator I use is 4 which simple means HTTP. The second indicator I use is 1 which means version of resource. I use this because we hold the pamphlets in special collections, but this means there is a digital version. I use two subfield codes: u and z. The first means "uniform resource identifier" and is where the URL goes. The second is a public note field. I use this note to give credit to the owner of the digital copy and it shows up as the link users can click to view the item. Below are 2 screen shots of how the field looks in Millennium and how it looks on our OPAC.
If you want to know more about the 856 field check out: http://www.loc.gov/marc/856guide.html
 |
| A record I've added the 856 field to. |
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| What the record now looks like in the OPAC. |
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
In honor of Valentine's Day...a day late
If you didn't know how nerdy I am already, you'll understand now.
So Cupid--remember him? The little guy with the bow? Well if you're not into Roman mythology then you may not remember that he's actually a god. If you're more a fan of the Greek's (or Plato) you may know him as Eros. Now imagine being from a time when you actually had to read Latin and study ancient history (I'm sure most of you don't remember that). And imagine being a college student then.
Right so no I'm going to guess your idea of fun would not include writing pamphlets about Cupid would they? And especially not in the format of an epic poem. Because that would take a lot of work and thought and creativity. But that is what "Hercules Samson Fressmarkle" and "Jupiter Tonans Donnerhagel" did (what great pseudonyms!). We have two pamphlets by these young gentlemen and they are quite funny. I especially love that one of them is dedicated to the ladies, because this obviously how men should woo women. Unfortunately only one of them is currently digitized by HathiTrust, but please do enjoy taking a glace at it:
1."Cupid Abroad," Arrested: Or, a Random Bolt at Hercules Samson Fressmarkle, by Jupiter Tonans Donnerhagel
http://catalog.hathitrust.org/
2. Cupid Abroad. An Epic Poem
PS Does anyone use the phrase barmie noodle? I'm rather fond of it now that I've discovered it.
So Cupid--remember him? The little guy with the bow? Well if you're not into Roman mythology then you may not remember that he's actually a god. If you're more a fan of the Greek's (or Plato) you may know him as Eros. Now imagine being from a time when you actually had to read Latin and study ancient history (I'm sure most of you don't remember that). And imagine being a college student then.
Right so no I'm going to guess your idea of fun would not include writing pamphlets about Cupid would they? And especially not in the format of an epic poem. Because that would take a lot of work and thought and creativity. But that is what "Hercules Samson Fressmarkle" and "Jupiter Tonans Donnerhagel" did (what great pseudonyms!). We have two pamphlets by these young gentlemen and they are quite funny. I especially love that one of them is dedicated to the ladies, because this obviously how men should woo women. Unfortunately only one of them is currently digitized by HathiTrust, but please do enjoy taking a glace at it:
1."Cupid Abroad," Arrested: Or, a Random Bolt at Hercules Samson Fressmarkle, by Jupiter Tonans Donnerhagel
http://catalog.hathitrust.org/
2. Cupid Abroad. An Epic Poem
PS Does anyone use the phrase barmie noodle? I'm rather fond of it now that I've discovered it.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
And it feels like home
I feel like I've gotten really far looking at the 19th century pamphlets we have, but then I remember I am only in the B's...less than 150 in. So many more discoveries lie ahead of me!
As I was working through one box of B's the other afternoon I found one that struck me simply because the name (again). The pamphlet from 1867 is simply titled "Bowdoin in the War." I immediately knew it meant Bowdoin College, located in Brunswick, Maine. The town I grew up in. The famous civil war general, Joshua Chamberlain, used to be president of the college so it is easy to see why there was a pamphlet about this particular college in the war. The pamphlet lists names and small bio's of grads and undergrads that served during the war, including Joshua Chamberlain on page 10. His brother, John, is also on page 19 for his service with the U.S. Christian Commission. What interests me even more are the other people. Every time I read a last name I recognize I wonder if they're related to my friend from home. Or names like "Albert W. Bradbury"--is he the guy Bradbury Mountain is named after? No answers yet, but it is still interesting to look at.
Here's a link to a digitized copy in case you want to "find your friends relatives" ;)
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.00022796409
As I was working through one box of B's the other afternoon I found one that struck me simply because the name (again). The pamphlet from 1867 is simply titled "Bowdoin in the War." I immediately knew it meant Bowdoin College, located in Brunswick, Maine. The town I grew up in. The famous civil war general, Joshua Chamberlain, used to be president of the college so it is easy to see why there was a pamphlet about this particular college in the war. The pamphlet lists names and small bio's of grads and undergrads that served during the war, including Joshua Chamberlain on page 10. His brother, John, is also on page 19 for his service with the U.S. Christian Commission. What interests me even more are the other people. Every time I read a last name I recognize I wonder if they're related to my friend from home. Or names like "Albert W. Bradbury"--is he the guy Bradbury Mountain is named after? No answers yet, but it is still interesting to look at.
Here's a link to a digitized copy in case you want to "find your friends relatives" ;)
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.00022796409
Monday, January 23, 2012
New use for old books?
Check out this artful use of old books:
http://www.visualnews.com/2011/12/22/mountains-of-books-become-mountains/
http://www.visualnews.com/2011/12/22/mountains-of-books-become-mountains/
Sunday, January 22, 2012
A Favorite So Far
Even though I've new spent several hours sitting with the pamphlets I feel like I haven't gotten very far. I have a pretty good process down though so I can chug through at a moderate rate. First I look at the information about the pamphlet if it's been cataloged--make sure the record is right. I then add some information to our spreadsheet--pages, number of copies, subject, condition. The last thing I do is search for a digital copy of the exact pamphlet we have. This tends to be the most time consuming part, but I have come across a fair number so I have my hopes up.
http://www.archive.org/details/aboutwar00huntez
This pamphlet "About the war: Plain words to plain people by a plain man" is one of my favorites so far. The title is witty, and there's an illustration so I'm excited by just that. What the "plain man" on the cover is saying to the boys in 1863 is very compelling. "'So long as you remain UNITED,' said the old man (pointing the attention of his boys to the bundle of sticks,) 'you are a match for all your enemies; but SEPARATE, and you are UNDONE." I think these words are convincing even now, especially since it is an election year. The pamphlet is attributed to Ezra Mundy Hunt, who I can only seem to find was a "physician, writer, humanitarian." I don't know anything more and I kind of am attracted to the anonymity. This pamphlet seems just as wise to me as I hope it was almost 150 years ago.
http://www.archive.org/details/aboutwar00huntez
This pamphlet "About the war: Plain words to plain people by a plain man" is one of my favorites so far. The title is witty, and there's an illustration so I'm excited by just that. What the "plain man" on the cover is saying to the boys in 1863 is very compelling. "'So long as you remain UNITED,' said the old man (pointing the attention of his boys to the bundle of sticks,) 'you are a match for all your enemies; but SEPARATE, and you are UNDONE." I think these words are convincing even now, especially since it is an election year. The pamphlet is attributed to Ezra Mundy Hunt, who I can only seem to find was a "physician, writer, humanitarian." I don't know anything more and I kind of am attracted to the anonymity. This pamphlet seems just as wise to me as I hope it was almost 150 years ago.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The Beginning....
I haven't been working with Special Collections long, but I've learned a lot of things and foresee lots of work ahead of me and my colleagues. Here is a list of things I can think of right now:
1. We don't wear white gloves. It turns out they can do as much damage as our hands can. We just have to be gentile and clean.
2. Everything is priceless. Even if an item was purchased for the collection--it is priceless. Once I thought about that it makes sense. And really it is true.
3. Pamphlets have THE LONGEST TITLES EVER. It is ridiculous how long some of them are. Sometimes it takes so long to read the title and it's so descriptive that I feel like there's no point on reading the actual pamphlet. I know that's not true, but geez! Leave some surprise!
4. Everything is inconsistent. Some of this has to do with how things were cataloged (or not) in the past, but it also has to do with the way things on the pamphlet were printed. Some of them have really descriptive covers/title pages. Some have almost nothing. Sometimes a publisher writes their name one way, yet on another pamphlet the same publisher may print their name differently. What a nightmare!
5. When cataloging you always need a ruler. And they use the metric system like a normal system! Yay! We discovered a disparity from our OCLC record of a pamphlet and the pamphlet in front of us. We could plainly see we had 38 pages, but the record (that was cataloged by the Library of Congress) said 36 pages. It turned out ours was not as tall, hence the slightly longer pamphlet. That was really interesting! This also showed me that it is important to have the pamphlet in front of me when I check the cataloging and check for a digitized version. While a different digitized version may have the same content, we're only interested in digital copies that are the same as the pamphlets we have.
So I have barely started this project, but there's already lots of things I've learned to look at.
Until next time, Kait
1. We don't wear white gloves. It turns out they can do as much damage as our hands can. We just have to be gentile and clean.
2. Everything is priceless. Even if an item was purchased for the collection--it is priceless. Once I thought about that it makes sense. And really it is true.
3. Pamphlets have THE LONGEST TITLES EVER. It is ridiculous how long some of them are. Sometimes it takes so long to read the title and it's so descriptive that I feel like there's no point on reading the actual pamphlet. I know that's not true, but geez! Leave some surprise!
4. Everything is inconsistent. Some of this has to do with how things were cataloged (or not) in the past, but it also has to do with the way things on the pamphlet were printed. Some of them have really descriptive covers/title pages. Some have almost nothing. Sometimes a publisher writes their name one way, yet on another pamphlet the same publisher may print their name differently. What a nightmare!
5. When cataloging you always need a ruler. And they use the metric system like a normal system! Yay! We discovered a disparity from our OCLC record of a pamphlet and the pamphlet in front of us. We could plainly see we had 38 pages, but the record (that was cataloged by the Library of Congress) said 36 pages. It turned out ours was not as tall, hence the slightly longer pamphlet. That was really interesting! This also showed me that it is important to have the pamphlet in front of me when I check the cataloging and check for a digitized version. While a different digitized version may have the same content, we're only interested in digital copies that are the same as the pamphlets we have.
So I have barely started this project, but there's already lots of things I've learned to look at.
Until next time, Kait
Monday, April 25, 2011
Expensive book on Amazon
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/04/25/amazon.price.algorithm/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn
Interesting article about 3rd party companies making the prices for books sold on Amazon, and this case getting out of hand
Interesting article about 3rd party companies making the prices for books sold on Amazon, and this case getting out of hand
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
We're just not WHOLE anymore...
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/15/134531653/we-are-just-not-digging-the-whole-anymore?sc=emaf
Thought this article from NPR was interesting (and ture). Someone at work shared it with me and I thought I'd do the same...
Thought this article from NPR was interesting (and ture). Someone at work shared it with me and I thought I'd do the same...
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Assignment 4
http://www.citeulike.org/user/lyonka92
For some strange reason I found this extremely difficult, but here it is finally finished.
For some strange reason I found this extremely difficult, but here it is finally finished.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Reading notes 12/6
No Place To Hide-- This website gave me the creeps and made me feel like I'm being watched. I feel like there are eyes everywhere! As others said, "big brother is watching." It is something I really don't want to think about because I feel like I could become paranoid. "No Place To Hide" is a really good summary...
TIA--interesting (and a little frightening) concept. I wonder who they would decide to track because "TIA purported to capture the "information signature" of people so that the government could track potential terrorists and criminals involved in "low-intensity/low-density" forms of warfare and crime." sounds pretty vague to me.
Youtube video was taken down, but if anyone know what it is let me know!
Ahhh! The google ad right after I posted this was about video surveillance it's so creepy!
TIA--interesting (and a little frightening) concept. I wonder who they would decide to track because "TIA purported to capture the "information signature" of people so that the government could track potential terrorists and criminals involved in "low-intensity/low-density" forms of warfare and crime." sounds pretty vague to me.
Youtube video was taken down, but if anyone know what it is let me know!
Ahhh! The google ad right after I posted this was about video surveillance it's so creepy!
Comments 12/6
http://acovel.blogspot.com/2010/12/week-13-reading-post.html?showComment=1291416386017#c260376528045369587
http://archivist-amy-in-training.blogspot.com/2010/11/week-13-it-issues-security-and-privacy.html?showComment=1291416842321#c2370493764608804811
http://archivist-amy-in-training.blogspot.com/2010/11/week-13-it-issues-security-and-privacy.html?showComment=1291416842321#c2370493764608804811
Monday, November 29, 2010
comments
http://akulp2600.blogspot.com/2010/11/11-29-reading-notes.html?showComment=1291047035763#c424274098116160943
http://amybeeslisblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/unit-12-readings.html?showComment=1291047380684#c8727366111836390108
http://amybeeslisblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/unit-12-readings.html?showComment=1291047380684#c8727366111836390108
reading notes 11/29
Reichardt, Weblogs: their use...- I think this is a good article to show how useful blogs can be in the library. "The simplicity of blogging and the practicality of putting much of our shared information on a Web site, allows for easy searchability and up-to-the-minute awareness for all team members" (110). This is exactly why we use a blog for the reference department at the library I work at. Everyone can add to it and it keeps everyone up-to-date if, for example, there's something wrong with the printer, or there's a specific assignment a lot of people have been coming in about. The searchability is definitely a plus, as is the automatic archive. I've never heard of students using a blog for group projects, but I guess that could work.
Allan, Using a Wiki... - "Library instruction wikis have two chief uses: the sharing of knowledge and the ability to cooperate in creating resources, such as informational handouts and guides." This sounds like a great resource more libraries should try! I know some of the professors at the college I work at use wikis for class, but I think using them at the library makes perfect sense. It seems to me this would be similar to using google docs. I'm sold on the idea of implementing the use of wikis in the reference department (and perhaps others as well!).
Xan Arch, Creating the Academic Library folksonomy- I like the idea of tagging; it sounds really useful, but I am confused as to where the tags show up (databases are mentioned, but could this be in the catalog as well? Where else?). I am unsure of how this differs from a subject lib guide which would also contain links to useful subject-specific sites.
Wales, How a Retag Band...- I cannot believe that wikipedia has surpassed NY Times! That is crazy! I didn't know it was a nonprofit. I like that. I agree that neutrality is really important. I'm curious about wikibooks...I wonder how far that has gone!
Allan, Using a Wiki... - "Library instruction wikis have two chief uses: the sharing of knowledge and the ability to cooperate in creating resources, such as informational handouts and guides." This sounds like a great resource more libraries should try! I know some of the professors at the college I work at use wikis for class, but I think using them at the library makes perfect sense. It seems to me this would be similar to using google docs. I'm sold on the idea of implementing the use of wikis in the reference department (and perhaps others as well!).
Xan Arch, Creating the Academic Library folksonomy- I like the idea of tagging; it sounds really useful, but I am confused as to where the tags show up (databases are mentioned, but could this be in the catalog as well? Where else?). I am unsure of how this differs from a subject lib guide which would also contain links to useful subject-specific sites.
Wales, How a Retag Band...- I cannot believe that wikipedia has surpassed NY Times! That is crazy! I didn't know it was a nonprofit. I like that. I agree that neutrality is really important. I'm curious about wikibooks...I wonder how far that has gone!
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