Reports

1. Summary of Recommendations
   Project Ideas: Based upon task force discussions and informal surveys of staff at various BLC member institutions, the following is a list of three project ideas that the task force recommends for consideration as the consortium's first collaborative digitization project. All of the potential projects are related to the broad theme of "Social Movements in New England," an overarching topic that provides opportunities for the digital collection to develop and grow over time and enables BLC members to contribute content that complements national and international digital library projects on similar topics. In addition, each theme is well represented by collections at BLC member institutions and includes significant, meaningful resources from at least three member libraries.
   
   
   • Women & Women's Issues (Early 19th Century to Present Day)
     The BLC collections are rich in primary source material relating to the participation of women in a number of fields, including social, community and political action; education; civil rights; medicine, hygiene and science; performing and creative arts; labor and women in non-traditional occupations. Digitizing these resources will contribute New England content that will enrich the women's studies digital resources that are already appearing on the web.
     
     
   • Abolitionist Movement (18th & 19th Century)
     Since New England played important roles in both slavery and abolition, this is an area in which our collections make significant contributions to scholarship. A small number of libraries have reported on resources they can contribute which will form a strong core. We believe that other libraries (esp. Brown, Boston Public Library, and the State Library of Massachusetts) may have collections to contribute to this collection, either in the initial phase or at a later point.
     
     
   • Campus Newspapers (1955-1975)
     
     Many of the academic libraries polled by the task force expressed enthusiasm for digitizing their campus newspapers. For the purposes of this proposal, the scope was narrowed to focus on the years that bracket the beginning of the modern U.S. Civil Rights Movement and the end of the Vietnam War. This period saw the rise of a wide range of social and political movements that played out in dramatic ways on college campuses. Since many of today's public figures and policy makers were students on our campuses during these years (e.g. Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Susan Estrich, Diane Sawyer), this content will help researchers gain insights into the times in which their beliefs and opinions were formed.
     
     

   For each of the above project ideas, the task force identified all of the issues that will need to be considered prior to writing a grant proposal. To assist the Board in reviewing these details and evaluating the complexity of the proposed projects, the task force developed a detailed project complexity matrix. The matrix, which is included as Appendix A of this report, lists the number of institutions willing to participate in a collaborative project, readiness of materials for digitization, formats, scope, size, preservation issues, intellectual property rights/risk management issues, technology and standards, targeted audiences, and a list of already-existing, similar digital resources or collections.

   Technology: In order to work together on any of the digitization project ideas recommended, a consortial purchase by the BLC of digital library management software would likely be practical for most members. This software should enable institutions to contribute data, and, if needed or applicable, manage and store data as well. The task force endorses a flexible technology solution that facilitates participation by institutions regardless of their place on the digital collections continuum. The BLC may also consider developing a centralized digitization center (including high-end scanning equipment) and/or outsourcing data capture for a collaborative digitization project.

   Funding Partners: Given the proposed project themes, the task force has identified the following potential funding sources: AAUW Education Foundation, alumni organizations, corporate sponsorship, Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Hewlitt Packard, IMLS, MS Foundation for Women, NEH (Grants to Preserve and Create Access to Humanities Collections), NHPRC, Red Cross, Reebok Human Rights Foundation, Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation, TJX Foundation, and Women in Higher Education.

   Future Action Items: The task force recommends the following list of issues for further exploration by a subsequent BLC digitization task force:
   
   
   • Follow-up with member libraries that did not fully respond to the task force's request for collections information, including Boston Public Library, Boston College, State Library of Massachusetts, UMass-Lowell and UMass-Dartmouth;
   • Resurvey member libraries, after a project theme is selected, to learn about additional content that may be contributed (especially materials from general collections and non-book formats, such as maps, moving images, audio, etc.);
   • Investigate opportunities for developing funding streams, such as print on demand and/or online opportunities to purchase reproductions of materials (e.g., University of Michigan and Amazon.com/Lightening Source for print on demand services)
   • Explore a collaborative digitization project as a method for pilot testing centralized digitization services
     
     
2. Background Information
   
   During late April and May 2004, task force members surveyed staff at their respective institutions to learn about collections that are heavily used and to identify collections that may be on their institution's digitization "wish list." This initial survey resulted in the identification of five preliminary project themes: 1) women and women's issues, 2) New England environment, 3) social action in New England, 4) campus newspapers, and 5) children's literature. Members of the task force subsequently contacted the remaining BLC member institutions to identify other collections related to these themes. A complete list of collections proposed for digitization was compiled by the task force. (See Appendix B.) From the detailed list of collections, task force members prioritized the project themes and selected three that were considered interrelated by the broader theme of "Social Movements in New England." Additional information regarding the group's processes and rationale for the selection of project themes is available in the task force's meeting minutes, which are available on the BLC website.
   
   
3. Programs Planned or Implemented
   
   The task force was not involved with planning or implementing a program.
   
   
4. Resources Used
   
   The Task Force benefited from several BLC resources. Due to geographic limitations, members of the task force were not always able to meet face-to-face. Therefore, the conference call services provided by the BLC and meeting space provided by Wellesley College were essential for the task force's communication needs. The task force also regularly consulted with Barbara Preece and Claudia Morner on numerous issues. They provided clarification of the task force's charge, always efficiently answered administrative questions, and served the task force well in moving forward with its charge.
   
   
5. Activities
   • The task force held a conference call on April 8, 2004, and thanks to the hospitality of Eileen Hardy, the group was able to meet at the centrally located campus of Wellesley College on April 28, 2004, May 12, 2004, and May 21, 2004.
   • On May 19, 2004, members of the task force traveled to the Boston Public Library and had a meeting with Mark Sandler from the University of Michigan to discuss digitization projects and the task force's progress on its charge.
   • Despite geographic limitations that prevented regular face-to-face meetings, the task force worked extremely efficiently and utilized many forms of information technology to accomplish its charge.

1. Meetings held (virtually and/ or face-to-face)
   Three members of the task force were present at the BLC Annual Celebration at the Massachusetts State House on April 1, 2004 and met briefly there. The task force's first meeting was a conference call held on April 8, 2004. The task force has an "in-person" meeting scheduled for April 28, 2004 at Wellesley College. The group may schedule another conference call in the intervening week.
   
   
2. Activities/Accomplishments to date (list or summarize)
   The task force reviewed the charge and the work of the previous Digitization Task Forces. After much discussion, the members decided to be open to digitizing current collections as well as historical and archival materials. It was decided that since the five institutions represented on the task force were already interested in participating in a consortial digitization project that we would begin with those institutions. Each member would get the following information from her own institution: What collections are heavily used, and what collections are on the institution's digitization "wish list?" To date, we have received this information from four institutions.
   
   Task force members are also reviewing the website of the Institute of Museum and Library Services to see the types of projects that have been funded recently.
   
   
3. List of COI's with which you communicate
   To date, none. We will be seeking input from member institutions through the Digital Library and Collection Development & Management COIs.
   
   
4. Requests
   None at this time. The task force anticipates making extensive use of the BLC's teleconferencing resources.
   
   
5. Next Steps
   The task force will examine the reports from the five institutions for overlap and common themes. They will choose a handful of potential projects that seem promising and that may have similar materials at other BLC institutions. Then we will contact other BLC institutions to gauge interest in the project and to inquire about appropriate collections. Finally, the group will choose two or three of these projects to present to the Board. The final report to the Board will include information about the collections identified, recommendations on necessary technology and standards, and possible funding partners. Also, task force members will be attending the Massachusetts Digital Library Initiative Conference in Falmouth, MA on April 20th to hear about plans for a Massachusetts state-wide conference and to meet with vendors.