I. Revels “HBCU Library Alliance - Cornell University Library Digital Initiative”

6th Quarterly Report

June 9th, 2010

Introduction

We are currently one year into phase three of the HBCU-CUL Digital Initiative. During the past several months staffs at project partners: the HBCU Library Alliance, the Robert W. Woodruff Library, and Cornell University Library have made numerous contributions. This report outlines the activities and accomplishments. Results are shared from subcontract administration, business planning, the March Focus Session, and site visits to potential contributing HBCU Libraries.

Subcontract administration

There are two subcontracts administered under the grant account: the Robert W. Woodruff Library for staff, equipment, and software and the HBCU Library Alliance. The RWWL subcontract was put in place in January 2010. Unlike in previous years, Cornell University Sponsored Programs got off to a late start administering the HBCU Library Alliance subcontract. Staff reductions and organizational changes in the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) prevented the HBCU Library Alliance from receiving an advance on the contract funds in enough time to make travel arrangements and coordinate reimbursements for the twenty HBCU Library partners who attended the March Focus Session. And although the PI initiated the HBCU Library Alliance subcontract request late in August of 2009, the resulting subcontract was only awarded late in March 2010. Leadership within CU Library Accounting plans to meet with OSP leadership to discuss the matter in order to prevent this from happening again in the future.

Business planning

An outcome of the fall 2009 business planning meeting in Atlanta of the HBCU Library Alliance Digital Committee, business planner Julie Walker, CUL DLIT Project Management Associate Fiona Patrick, and Ira was to coordinate phone interviews with potential digital technology service providers. These service providers are the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) and Lyrasis. Results of those meetings are that Lyrasis offers the best variety of services pertaining to the overall management and administration of Digital Connections Program (e.g. bookkeeping, copyright clearance, digital project management, etc.). Data gathered during the phone interviews is being used to populate the Operations section of the business plan.

Since January 2010, the HBCU Library Alliance Digital Committee has been meeting once per month to provide Julie and Ira with information that is required to complete sections of the business plan. Currently, at least one additional phone meeting and one face-to-face meeting are needed with the partners in order to flush out questions, discuss Digital Connections Program risks and success metrics, and discuss the PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological) analysis before the plan is ready for Committee review.

Within the next few days, Julie will provide the Digital Committee with a more detailed list of business planning needs and results. As stated in the grant proposal, we intend to present the plan to the Digital Committee by June 30, 2010. At this point, the Committee can view business plan drafts, which includes Ira’s initial comments and questions, by logging into the Teamwork project management website and following the latest message thread at: http://hbcu.worktodos.com.

March Focus Session

During March 2010, twenty HBCU Library partners participated in a Focus Session event at the Atlanta Airport Marriott Hotel. The purpose of the full-day event was to allow the project partners to meet for the first time to share sustainable digitization practices on their campuses. Representatives from four Library partners presented case studies: Jessie C. Smith, Library Director at Fisk University; Fatima Barnes, Library Director at Meharry Medical College; Tracey Hunter Hayes, Library Director at Lincoln University of Pennsylvania; and Patricia Briddell, Head of Cataloging at Virginia State University. Martin Kurth, Director of IT Infrastructure at CUL gave a presentation on digital sustainability.

Both HBCU Library Alliance and CUL DLIT staffs were involved in the planning and logistics of the program. HBCU Library Alliance staff: Sandra Phoenix, Etta Royster, and Karen Sweeny secured the venue, printed materials, and provided on-site support. CUL Division of Library Information Technologies staff: Mary Beth Martini-Lyons, Jinhee Roper, and CUL Accounting staff Ann Crowley and Tami Magnus made travel arrangements for all twenty-five staff who attended the program. Both Mary Beth and Jinhee are coordinating reimbursements for the partners.

Additionally, partner responses to a Digital Connections Program survey will contribute to determining which Libraries can provide in-kind services to support the proposed Program. So far, six institutions returned completed surveys where the Library Director responded favorably to questions about the Library’s ability to offer some form of tangible support to the Program. The support will take the form of an advisory role for the Library Director/Dean, program staffing, equipment, and software. Potential in-kind contributors include: Alabama State University, Hampton University, the Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center Tennessee State University, Tuskegee University, and Virginia State University.

Perhaps the most pressing concern that several of the partners expressed during the meeting was their ability to continue digital image production in the face of looming budget cuts. The program was recorded. Audio and video clips from the Focus Session will soon be made available to the HBCU Library Alliance and project staff.

Site visits

The first of several site visits are now complete. Beginning in April, Ira visited Miles College in Birmingham, Alabama and new partner Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama. The purpose of the two-day visit to Miles College was to troubleshoot connectivity issues to the digital collection server in Atlanta. Miles College staff has since successfully added digitized images and metadata to the online collection. During the visit with Oakwood College, the Library Director Paulette McLean Johnson discussed plans for her staff to begin scanning founding documents in the fall 2010. Her goal is to develop a digital archive of the Oakwood University history to support an orientation course required by the University of its first year students. We had several meetings throughout the day with key stakeholders to discuss resource requirements for the digital project. Library staff has gathered specifications for equipment and software and Ira provided them with a budget that lists requirements for equipment, software, and materials. A more detailed trip report is available under the Files link on the Teamwork Project manager website at: http://hbcu.worktodos.com/

Ira recently completed her third site visit with potential contributor Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, Florida. Library Director, Gloria Oswald has as a goal digitization of historic FMU institutional records beginning in the fall. The collection contains several maps, a campus charter and deed, photographs of campus buildings and students, catalogs dating back to the late 1800’s, and early yearbooks. FMU needs a computer, flatbed scanner, image editing software, and training to get started.

Currently, the FMU Board of Trustees is in the final stages of selecting a new president. Ira is working with Mrs. Oswald to devise at least two other options for helping FMU contribute materials. The first option is to coordinate scanning with the African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) in Fort Lauderdale. AARLCC has staff trained in scanning, in the use of CONTENTdm, and an overhead Minolta scanner. Preliminary conversations with the AARLCC leadership indicate that AARLCC is supportive of assisting FMU Library staff with scanning fifty or so documents. The second option is to use any cost savings in the grant budget to purchase at least half of the equipment with the other half being purchased from the FMU Library budget. Further discussions with Mrs. Oswald this summer will lead to a decision by late July.

Next steps

Training

Currently, the CUL DLIT staff is preparing for the upcoming training in digital image sustainability and digital asset management in the following ways: writing a white paper on the sustainability of HBCU digital collections and preparing multimedia instructional materials composed of recordings of HBCU digital project events. Subsequent lectures, readings, and a course syllabus is forthcoming. The training will be held online using the Blackboard course management system. Digital Committee members will be asked to provide advice on selecting participants in the five-day training. A date for the training delivery will be set during the month of June.

Digital Service Center partners meeting

Once the Digital Committee reviews the business plan, the Digital Connections survey respondents will be invited to a meeting where Committee members, Julie, and Ira will flush out their questions, requirements, and ideas as they relate to providing services in support of the HBCU Library Alliance Digital Connections Program.

Grant writing

Once the HBCU Library Alliance approves the business plan, Ira will begin working with Alliance staff to write a grant proposal to address resource needs for the Digital Connections Program. In preparation for grant-seeking Ira is preparing a list of funding agencies, private foundations, and grant programs.

Training partners on CONTENTdm

Gail McClenney the CONTENTdm Database Administrator at RWWL and Ira are planning how to deliver training to all project staff at participating libraries on the newest version of the system. Gail and Ira are drafting details and resource requirements for one-day regional training events at a select few partner libraries. This information will be shared in the coming weeks with the Digital Committee for their advice on how to proceed.

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