Two Librarians, an Archivist, and 13,000 Images: Collaborating to Build a Digital Collection

Abstract

Libraries has been creating digitized collections, primarily from its Archives and Special Collections unit, since 2000. These projects involved collaboration among Archives, Cataloging, and Digitization; the most recent and ambitious project, digitizing 13,000 historical images of the university dating from the 1880s into the 1930s, required closer collaboration than any previous project. The three authors, each with a distinctive role in the project, use this case study to illustrate and discuss in detail the different professional and technical skills and perspectives that each brought to the project and how they learned from each other. The authors present lessons learned in how to effectively build successful internal partnerships to further digitization projects.

Digital surrogate preservations of manuscripts and Iranian heritage: enhancing research

“…This is true for collection management of digitized manuscripts, along with use of technology for creation and processing. Hunter et al (2010) demonstrate how collaboration can result in new learning curves in library competencies, suggesting that the work involves more highly developed collaborative skills than ever. Conway's (2010) concerns about widening gaps of expertise apply to this area, as to high‐level administrative positions.…”

“…Hunter et al (2010) document a successful digitization project that involved the development of new collaborative skills across the areas of Archiving, Cataloging, and Digitization, stating that their project involved a higher degree of cooperation than any previous project. New skills and perspectives were brought to the project by each member, and incorporated into other areas, resulting in the development of holistic processes within internal partnerships.…”

Interaction between departments: strategies for improving interdepartmental collaboration through communication

“…1 In "Building Bridges: the Role of the Systems Librarian in a University Library," Guinea discusses the role of the systems department in coordinating activities within the library as well as with the University. The articles that exist describe cooperation between two individual departments which took place in order to achieve a specifi c project or goal, rather than how to make collaboration the normal operating mode.…”

Is digitalization the only driver of convergence? Theorizing relations between libraries, archives, and museums

“…1-2). The article “Two librarians, an archivist, and 13,000 images: collaborating to build a digital collection” (Hunter et al , 2010) is representative of the triple issue. It is an analysis of a digitization project at Colorado State University dealing with three of the prevailing themes in the research on digital convergence among the LAMs: digitization, one point of access and collaboration between institutions.…”

“…An implication of one-point-of-digital-access projects is collaboration between different departments or institutions, in this case collaboration between LAMs. Hunter et al (2010) view collaboration positively where librarians and archivists “possess an appreciation of, and respect for, one another’s professional vocabularies and professional philosophical foundations” (p. 100). However, Tanackovic and Badurina (2009) are less optimistic in their research on Croatian museums’ collaborative activities with libraries and archives, concluding that such actions are sporadic and ad hoc .…”