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Libraries Projects
COLLECTIONS PROJECTS
Carnegie Mellon Technical Reports (2002-)
The University Libraries plan to digitize all of the Carnegie Mellon Technical
Report series. Permission to digitize the reports will be acquired from the
copyright holders. To date, Robotics Institute and Mathematics technical reports
have been digitized (nearly 700 reports). The digitized reports are available
via links in the Carnegie Mellon library catalog and WorldCat, and in the Million
Book Project collection.
Charette
(2002-2004)
Carnegie Mellon University Libraries have digitized
the 1920-1974 volumes of Charette, a regional architectural journal.
Copyright
permission to digitize the materials has been acquired where necessary. Users
will be able to browse the issues and search the full-text. The e-journal will
be accessible via a web site and a link in the library catalog. To date, a web
site has been created and a test version of the browsing interface is operative;
a full-text searching interface is in development. The Charette e-journal
may be included in the Million Book Project.
Copyright Permissions
Projects (2001-)
Permission to digitize copyrighted works is integral to many of the University
Libraries digitization efforts. The process for seeking copyright permissions
in large projects was informed by findings from a study conducted by the University
Libraries in 1999 to determine the feasibility of acquiring permission to digitize
copyrighted works and make them available free-to-read on the web. That study
resulted in a 22% success rate (permission granted). Since then, permissions
projects have been undertaken for the Posner Memorial Collection and to targeted
publishers for the Million Book Project.
Digital Audio
Reserves (2002-)
A pilot project providing digital audio reserves via the Reserves module in
Unicorn began in fall 2002. A front-end for the web site was created, and implementation
of an audio e-reserves pilot was ready for the academic year 2002-2003. Two
courses were targeted for testing. To measure service capabilities, a survey
was created and distributed to the pilot group in spring 2003. Survey results
will dictate changes in procedures/website prior to the anticipated release
and marketing of service availability in the 2004. The music is copyright protected,
so users will be able to listen to it via streaming technology but cannot download
it. Access will be restricted by Carnegie Mellon IP address.
Digital Image
Database (1998-)
Currently in the user-testing phase, the University Libraries Image Database
will be introduced to the campus community in the spring of 2004. Based on the
library's Slide Collection requests and usage, the images will be searchable
and available via the web for viewing and using in a classroom setting. Digitization
expands authorized access and eliminates contention for individual slides. Users
will be able to search the Image Database and view the images in different sizes
and capture them for use in "virtual" slide shows, replacing the old glass-mounted
slide technology. Users can request or suggest additions to the database for
lecture or project use, and it is estimated that 1000 images per year will be
added. Access to the database will be restricted by Carnegie Mellon IP address.
H&SS Undergraduate
Honors Theses
Fulfilling a commitment to digitize undergraduate honors theses from Carnegie
Mellon's College of Humanities & Social Science, the University Libraries conducted
a pilot project (2002-2003), in which guidelines were tested and 34 theses were
digitized and made available via links in the library catalog. New H&SS undergraduate
honors theses will be added annually, effective 2004.
Million
Books Project (2001-2007)
The Million Books Project (MBP) aims to digitize at least one million books
and offer them free-to-read on the Internet. In addition to providing the world's
largest collection of e-books, the project will provide a rich testbed for many
different areas of research and innovation. Project partners include government
and academic institutions in India and China, academic libraries in the United
States, and OCLC. Most of the scanning will be done in India and China. To date,
three grants have been received from the National Science Foundation for equipment
and planning. Additional grants are pending or planned.
Use Internet Explorer to access the Million Book Project/Universal
Library sites:
National Academy
Press (2002-)
The Million Book Project has received permission from the National Academy Press
(NAP) to digitize all of their works published through 1994 and include them
in the Million Book Project. NAP books were pulled from Carnegie Mellon University
Libraries' collection and prepared for shipment to India in August 2002; these
materials were returned in August 2003.
Posner Family
Collection (2001-2003)
Carnegie Mellon University Libraries are digitizing the Posner collection of
fine and rare books in the history of western science, decorative arts, and
literature. The books will become available on the web as they are scanned (2002-2003).
Permission to digitize copyrighted books has been acquired as needed. A generous
gift from Helen and Henry Posner Jr., in honor of Henry Posner Sr. and his wife
Ida, is funding the project. The Posner Family Collection may be included in
the Million Book Project, contingent on the permissions granted.
Pre-1923 Materials
(2001-)
The University
Libraries are providing out-of-copyright books to be digitized for inclusion
in the Million Book Project. Some of the scanning is being done in-house. Out-of-copyright
biographies and science books were pulled from our collection and prepared for
shipment to India in August 2002; these materials were returned in August 2003.
Other out-of-copyright works will be contributed by Million Book Project partners.
U. S. Government
Documents (2002-)
Many government documents have been targeted for inclusion in the Million Book
Project. Contributions from participating Million Book Project members, such
as the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, will enhance the depth of the collection.
SOFTWARE
PROJECTS
Automated Resource
Finder (ARF) (1999-)
Carnegie Mellon usage statistics indicate that the majority of online catalog
and database use occurs by remote access, that is, from outside library facilities.
A drawback of remote access is that reference librarians are not available to
help guide users to relevant and reliable material. The frequent result is that
remote users either use inappropriate materials (indexed by popular search engines)
or they become confused and overwhelmed by the sheer number of electronic resources
provided by the University Libraries. The Automated Resource Finder software
helps guide remote users to relevant, high-quality information online.
Digital Information
Versatile Archive (DIVA) (1999-2003)
DIVA allows students and researchers to search, browse, view and print digital
images of books, journals, technical reports, and archival documents. With specifications
developed by Carnegie Mellon librarians and archivists, DIVA provides conventional
access to library and archival materials, and adds powerful new functions for
searching and retrieving documents, supporting multimedia, and customizing the
structure and presentation of collections.
LOCKSS (2002-)
The premise of LOCKSS is that "Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe". The LOCKSS
software duplicates electronic journals on PCs located around the world. Each
PC runs an enhanced web cache that collects new issues of e-journals and continually
but slowly compares its contents with the contents of the other LOCKSS caches.
If damage or corruption is detected, it can be repaired from the other caches.
Management Information
System (MIS) (2001-)
Library statistics are currently managed in a series of disconnected spreadsheets
that makes it difficult to generate trend lines or perform cross correlations
of the data. A task force has been charged with conducting an assessment of
the University Libraries' data gathering practices and developing a new Management
Information System (MIS). The
data audit was completed in 2001. Recommendations were approved and requirements
specified in 2002. Work is now underway to select software and begin implementing
the new MIS. The new system, targeted for completion in 2004, will simplify
data entry, compilation, and the generation of trend lines and cross correlations
for strategic planning.
MetaScan for
Archival Materials (2002-2003)
The MetaScan software is a data entry tool that allows scanning operators to
easily and reliably enter metadata about the objects they are scanning. MetaScan
provides the ability to search end extract information from a library catalog
for the object being scanned. All information is stored in the industry-standard
XML file format. Different types of materials have different metadata standards.
For example, MARC and Dublin Core are metadata standards for books and other
materials. EAD (Encoded Archival Documents) is the metadata standard for archival
materials. The Metascan software currently captures MARC and Dublin Core metadata.
It is being expanded to capture EAD.
Question Point
Collaborative Reference Service (2002-2003)
The mission of the project is to implement QuestionPoint at Carnegie Mellon.
This entails implementing the Global Network component and deciding whether
and how to implement the e-mail and chat components of the system. This project
necessarily also is concerned with the overall integration of digital reference
services.
SFX (2002-2003)
The University Libraries have implemented Ex Libris's SFX software, which provides
links to journal titles provided by journal publishers and aggregator databases,
links to the title record in the library catalog record, links to journal tables
of contents and full-text articles, and enables cross-linking between resources
(for example, from citations in one resource to full-text articles in another
resource). SFX also supports interlibrary loan requests via ILLiad. In 2003,
SFX functionality was incorporated into the Automated Reference Assistant (ARA).
It was also used to create a web-based list of the University Libraries' electronic
journals; adding the Libraries' print journal holdings to this list is being
explored.
Shibboleth
Pilot (2002-2003)
The University Libraries, in conjunction with Carnegie Mellon Computing Services,
Internet2, database vendors, and other institutions worked to implement a pilot
project using new client/server technology. Shibboleth is a potential alternative
to IP-address restriction that improves access to e-resources. The software
enabled authenticated users to access "shibbolized" library resources (particularly,
databases purchased and licensed for campus users) with one log-in. Part of
the beta program helped determine the viability of Shibboleth as a tool for
libraries and also whether Internet2 and vendors can support the software. The
Shibboleth Pilot Project Team developed a web page which offered shibbolized
links to two databases, JSTOR and FirstSearch, and which explained the project
and the need for it.
VPN IP Address
Extension Service (2002)
In fall 2002, the University Libraries assisted university Computing Services
to test and evaluate the IP Address Extension Service, a Virtual Private Network
(VPN) protocol that enables Carnegie Mellon users secure authenticated access
to licensed library resources from any platform or location. VPN may be used
with dial-up, DSL, or cable connections (available via http://www.cmu.edu/computing/documentation/VPN/vpn.html).
Users began adopting the new software in December 2002, and are using it as
an alternative to the university's proxy server.
Web Portal (2002-)
The Carnegie Mellon Web Portal is an integrated web service that is now available
to the students, staff and faculty of Carnegie Mellon University, and will in
the future be extended to incoming students and alumni. The portal provides
an interface to various services and events that can be customized to include
information based on one's interests, activities and organizations. The University
Libraries have been active players in the web portal project (university's Web
Implementation Team/WIT) from the beginning, in 2002. Currently, Carnegie Mellon
users can search the library catalog from within the portal, and can access
databases and library services. In the future, resources and online services
will be tailored and pushed to specific user groups.
Web Site Redesign
(2003-)
Ongoing and future web site development focus on ADA section 508 compliance,
enhancing the accessibility of the web site, and resolving interoperability
and implementation issues related to the university portal.
WolfPack (2003-)
Creating a digital library requires converting the original scanned images into
various formats. WolfPack is a software system which performs these large data
conversion tasks in a distributed manner. The WolfPack framework allows the
best off-the-shelf conversion programs to be used in an automated system, and
it runs the conversions in parallel on a large number of machines. WolfPack
is currently used to perform image cropping, deskewing, despeckling and OCR,
as well as to create JPEG and Acrobat files from scanned images.
HUMAN FACTORS RESEARCH Carnegie Mellon University Libraries conduct user studies and other human factors research using different methods, for example, focus groups, user protocols, and surveys. Project directors who would like a user study conducted of their web site, software, collection, etc., are encouraged to contact Gabrielle Michalek and Carole George to negotiate a plan.
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April 28, 2005 -- http://www.library.cmu.edu/Libraries/LibProj.html
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