From aprille at umich.edu  Fri Aug  1 06:11:55 2008
From: aprille at umich.edu (Aprille Cooke McKay)
Date: Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:11:55 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Registration Open: Digital Preservation Management
	Workshop	(Michigan)
Message-ID: <20080801091155.99843dbavdt415us@web.mail.umich.edu>

Digital Preservation Management: Short-Term Solutions for Long-Term Problems
Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR),
Ann Arbor, MI
October 19-24, 2008

Registration is now open at  
http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/dpm/workshops/fiveday.html

The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
(ICPSR), at the University of Michigan is offering a digital
preservation training program based on and continuing the curriculum
developed at Cornell University Libraries by Anne Kenney and Nancy
McGovern.  The workshop is offered with funding from the National
Endowment for the Humanities.

The Workshop targets managers at organizations that are facing the
digital preservation challenge and highlights the need for the
integration of organizational and technological issues to devise an
appropriate approach.

There will be two additional offerings of the workshop in 2009 (May  
and October) and one
in 2010 (May) in Ann Arbor.

-- 
Aprille Cooke McKay, JD, MSI
Digital Preservation Specialist
Inter-University Consortium for Political
  and Social Research (ICPSR)
P.O. Box 1248
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
(734) 764-8071
(734) 647-8200







From SCho at lacma.org  Fri Aug  1 10:25:28 2008
From: SCho at lacma.org (Cho, Shelly)
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2008 10:25:28 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] Your Risk Management Practices
Message-ID: <785EF3E8EEBF554DBBCC6909943D22B7059517F8@saturn.lacma.org>

Subject:  Your Risk Management Practices

 

I'm doing a survey of risk management practices in museums.  I'm
interested in hearing from you if:

 

-Your museum has a formal position of risk manager  - for collections
and/or other property or buildings; or if you contract out these
services; or if you are assisted by a city or county risk manager.

 

- You make regular or occasional risk management assessments - either
internally or by hiring someone to come in and review particular
situations.  Such assessments might include an annual walk-through to
identify hazardous conditions.  It might also include a follow-up or
post mortem meeting after the occurrence of a leak or natural disaster,
for instance, to evaluate the staff's response and remedy. 

 

Any information regarding your institution's practices in managing risk
or controlling loss to collections is desired.

 

In return, if you request it I will share our own risk management
policies and procedures.

 

Renee Montgomery

Assistant Director,   Risk Management and Collections Information

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

E reneem at lacma.org

T 323 857-6059

 


From dzorich at mindspring.com  Fri Aug  1 11:43:00 2008
From: dzorich at mindspring.com (Diane M. Zorich)
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2008 14:43:00 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] IP SIG: Fwd: VRA Intellectual Property Rights News: July
	2008
Message-ID: <p06200701c4b8effa046a@[4.239.225.111]>

>Thread-Topic: VRA Intellectual Property Rights News: July 2008
>Thread-Index: Acjz0BKIC9j3W8XVRHGCNCQ7xUOxqA==
>Date:         Fri, 1 Aug 2008 08:14:50 -0400
>Reply-To:     Visual Resources Association <VRA-L at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU>
>Sender:       Visual Resources Association <VRA-L at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU>
>From:         Jennifer Green <Jennifer.Green at MASSART.EDU>
>Subject: VRA Intellectual Property Rights News: July 2008
>To:           VRA-L at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU
>List-Help: <http://listserv.uark.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=VRA-L>,
>            <mailto:LISTSERV at LISTSERV.UARK.EDU?body=INFO VRA-L>
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>X-ELNK-AV: 0
>X-ELNK-Info: sbv=0; sbrc=.0; sbf=00; sbw=000;
>
>IPR-In the News
>Compiled by Jen Green, Massachusetts College of Art + Design
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>A Look Back at Canarsie, Clouded by Copyright Woes
>by Jake Mooney, New York Times, June 29, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/4hkd48>http://tinyurl.com/4hkd48
>The photograph, in the archives of the Brooklyn 
>Historical Society, showed a group of people 
>having drinks at Whittaker's Hotel, a 
>long-disappeared way station in Canarsie that 
>once served travelers bound for the Rockaways. 
>It was just what Brian Merlis, who publishes 
>books of historical Brooklyn photographs, wanted.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Press Release: Leading Photo Associations Urge 
>Congress to Amend Orphan Works Legislation
>Stock Artists Alliance, July 2008
><http://www.stockartistsalliance.org/node/371>http://www.stockartistsalliance.org/node/371
>A growing chorus of concern, even outrage, about 
>the current Orphan Works legislation 
>demonstrates the importance of this issue for 
>most photographers and other visual artists.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Best Practices for Locating Copyright Owners of Photographic and Visual Art
>The American Society of Picture Professionals (ASPP), released in July 2008
>These guidelines can be found at:
><http://www.aspp.com/pages/257/189/0/>http://www.aspp.com/pages/257/189/0/
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Campus Copyright Battle Moves to Textbook Torrents
>by John Timmer, ars technical, July 1, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/3jb26p>http://tinyurl.com/3jb26p
>"The RIAA's extensive campaign against 
>filesharing has drawn in a lot of individuals, 
>but college campuses have remained a major 
>target of the content owners' legal threats. 
>It's pretty clear that there's significant 
>expertise with filesharing on college campuses, 
>so it shouldn't come as a surprise that this 
>expertise has been put to use with other 
>copyrighted materials. Textbook companies are 
>getting worried about the sharing of their 
>bread-and-butter online, and have started a 
>campaign designed to block the sharing at its 
>source."
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Copyright Office Would Deny Key TV License to Internet
>by Ted Hearn, Multichannel News, July 1, 2008
><http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6574635.html>http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6574635.html
>In a report to Congress Monday, the U.S. 
>Copyright Office said companies that intend to 
>stream local TV signals over the Internet should 
>be denied a key copyright license that cable 
>operators use to distribute the same signals.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Blog: ZeroPaid: Canada - Bloc Leader Wants ISPs 
>Liable for Copyright Infringement
>by Drew Wilson, July 7, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/5vs4r3>http://tinyurl.com/5vs4r3
>"The copyright reform debate in Canada has a new 
>twist - and it comes from the party that wants 
>to separate Quebec from Canada. Bloc leader 
>Gilles Duceppe answered a concerned Canadian's 
>letter over bill C-61 with what his stance is."
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Judge Suspends Recording-Industry Subpoena Served on N.C. University
>by Andrea Foster, Chronicle of Higher Education, July 7, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/6ezyut>http://tinyurl.com/6ezyut
>A federal judge has become skeptical of tactics 
>used by the recording industry to identify 
>students at North Carolina State University 
>suspected of swapping music online in violation 
>of copyright law.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Press Release: Best Practices in Copyright and 
>Fair Use for User-Generated Content Released
>by American University, PR Web, July 7, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/5qyluf>http://tinyurl.com/5qyluf
>American University's Center for Social Media 
>announces the release of a new code of best 
>practices in fair use for creators in the 
>burgeoning online video environment. The code, 
>grounded in the practices of online video makers 
>and in the law, was collaboratively created by a 
>team of scholars and lawyers from leading 
>universities. It was coordinated by American 
>University professors Pat Aufderheide and Peter 
>Jaszi.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Blog: ComputerWorld: Science 2.0 and Rights Protection
>by Martin McBrown, July 7, 2008'
><http://tinyurl.com/6p3caa>http://tinyurl.com/6p3caa
>"I was reading in Scientific American about how 
>modern scientists and researchers are beginning 
>to use web technologies, including blogs, wikis 
>and social networks. So-called Science 2.0 is 
>trying to take advantage of the same technology 
>used by other groups to provide tools for 
>sharing knowledge, research notes and 
>experience. But not everybody is happy."
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>EU on Track for 95-year Copyright
>by Ben Cardew, MusicWeek, July 7, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/5pcpp6>http://tinyurl.com/5pcpp6
>The music industry is confident that copyright 
>term extension in Europe remains on track, with 
>European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy's draft 
>proposal to change the term of protection 
>directive still likely to be delivered before 
>the end of this month.
>See below articles: EU strikes the wrong note on 
>copyright; Ageing Rockers May Lose Copyright 
>Protection
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Blog: Collectanea: The Commentary Sometimes Outstrips the Story
>by Georgia Harper, July 8, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/62ej9x>http://tinyurl.com/62ej9x
>"Open Access business models are numerous. 
>There's no magic path to OA. But some 
>high-profile efforts have been around long 
>enough to warrant analysis. So Declan Butler 
>writes an article about PLoS (Public Library of 
>Science), which he calls the 'poster child for 
>open-access' that appears in Nature News, 
>ironically not open to anyone who does not have 
>a subscription."
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Govt Will Stop Illegal Broadcasts during Games
>by Xie Chuanjiao, China Daily, July 8, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/5spxog>http://tinyurl.com/5spxog
>Authorities are determined to prevent 
>unauthorized companies and individuals from 
>broadcasting Olympic events, an official from 
>the National Copyright Administration of China 
>(NCAC) said Monday. "No website, mobile phone 
>platform or individual is permitted to transmit 
>audio and video information regarding the 
>Beijing Olympic Games or events within the 
>mainland without a copyright or copyright 
>holders' authorizations," Xu Chao, deputy 
>director of the copyright management department 
>of the NCAC, told a press conference in Beijing.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Blog: InfoWorld: Threads of Copyright Abuse
>by Ed Foster, July 8, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/6ld68c>http://tinyurl.com/6ld68c
>"How far will copyright "protection" 
>organizations go in threatening end users with 
>highly questionable infringement claims? Far 
>enough to claim that victims of counterfeiters 
>are infringers themselves, as the continuing 
>practices of the Embroidery Software Protection 
>Coalition (ESPC) demonstrate."
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Blog: TechDirt: Blaming The Flickr API For Copyright Infringement
>by Tom Lee, July 9, 2008
><http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080708/0905171621.shtml>http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080708/0905171621.shtml
>"The Fourth of July is over, but for some Flickr 
>users the holiday's revolutionary spirit is 
>still running strong. Apparently over the 
>weekend a company called MyxerTones made 
>Flickr's entire photographic catalog available 
>for sale as cellphone wallpaper -- regardless of 
>the license selected by each photo's owner."
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Press Release: WIPO Workshop to Probe Copyright 
>Issues Arising from the Preservation of Digital 
>Content
>PressZoom, July 9, 2008
><http://presszoom.com/story_145255.html>http://presszoom.com/story_145255.html
>The World Intellectual Property Organization 
>(WIPO) in cooperation with the International 
>Digital Preservation and Copyright initiative 
>(IDPC) is organizing a one-day workshop on July 
>15, at WIPO's Geneva headquarters, to survey 
>recent developments and trends at the 
>intersection of digital preservation and 
>copyright. The aim of the workshop is to 
>contribute to the debate on how to develop and 
>improve policies and practices that support the 
>digital preservation of copyright-protected 
>content.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Blog: Collectanea : And the Market Moves on... 
>Past Fair Use? Past Licensing? Past Subscription?
>by Georgia Harper, July 10, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/6fl2l9>http://tinyurl.com/6fl2l9
>"In an article in USA Today, Svetlana 
>Shkolnikova describes the emerging trend towards 
>faculty-authored "open textbooks" that hold out 
>at least a glimmer of hope that there could be 
>real competition in the textbook market that 
>would have the effect of moderating prices."
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Library of Congress: Laws Need Revision to Encourage Digital Preservation
>by Andrea Foster, The Chronicle of Higher 
>Education: Wired Campus, July 14, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/6gddjn>http://tinyurl.com/6gddjn
>Countries should change their laws and policies 
>to encourage digital preservation of copyrighted 
>works, according to a report released today by 
>the Library of Congress. It drafted the report 
>with organizations in Australia, Britain, and 
>the Netherlands.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>New Southern/East African Copyright Network 
>Targets Protection, Local Innovation
>by Wagdy Sawahel, Intellectual Property Watch, July 15, 2008
><http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1149>http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1149
>Seventeen African ministers of arts and culture 
>have officially launched the newly formed 
>Southern and Eastern Africa Copyright Network 
>(Seaconet) in a bid to strengthen regional 
>collaboration and cooperation in the field of 
>creative industries, copyright and related 
>rights.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>American Library Association Unveils Slide Rule for Copyright Advice
>by Andrea Foster, Chronicle of Higher Education: Wired Campus, July 17, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/5mmkve>http://tinyurl.com/5mmkve
>For those who doubt the complexity of U.S. 
>copyright law take a look at this online 
>slide-rule from the American Library 
>Association's Office for Information Technology 
>Policy. It's designed to help librarians and 
>others figure out if a creative work is 
>copyright protected. The exceptions to the law, 
>and the exceptions to the exceptions, are 
>reminiscent of the nerve-wracking U.S. tax code.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>EU Strikes the Wrong Note on Copyright
>by Dave Rowntree, <http://telegraph.co.uk/>Telegraph.co.uk, July 17, 2008
><http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/07/17/do1707.xml>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/07/17/do1707.xml
>Next week marks 50 years since Sir Cliff Richard 
>recorded Move It, arguably the first British 
>rock 'n' roll record. That landmark will also 
>mean that Cliff's classic is no longer covered 
>by copyright. However, yesterday the EU 
>Commission backed a proposal to extend copyright 
>on sound recordings from 50 years to 95. Dave 
>Rowntree, the drummer with Blur, argues that the 
>EU is making a mistake.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Ageing Rockers May Lose Copyright Protection
>The Independent, July 17, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/5rl38a>http://tinyurl.com/5rl38a
>Plans to almost double copyright protection for 
>recording artists were challenged by the 
>Government this afternoon. The European 
>Commission said musicians and performers should 
>enjoy copyright safeguards for 95 years - 
>instead of losing the rights to their own works 
>after the current copyright expiry limit of 50 
>years. But a UK spokesman said the Government 
>was "not convinced" of the economic argument for 
>the move.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Copyrights-and Wrongs
>by Sascha Segan, PC Magazine, July 18, 2008
><http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2325781,00.asp>http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2325781,00.asp
>Did you break the law today? If you've created 
>something on the Internet, probably. Artists, 
>librarians, tech geeks, and software engineers 
>are now fighting over a miserably shrinking 
>public domain. This isn't what copyright was 
>supposed to be about, and only a popular 
>uprising will stop the current trend.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Blog: Collectanea:  A New Era in Defining and Applying Fair Use Norms
>by Georgia Harper, July 21, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/6oy9x2>http://tinyurl.com/6oy9x2
>"About 12 years ago, I was involved in the CONFU 
>effort to define, or rather, provide guidance 
>for, fair uses in educational contexts in the 
>then-emerging world of digital networks."
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Government Copyright Bill Fails Green Test
>by Michael Geist, The Star, July 21, 2008
><http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/463909>http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/463909
>The notion of "green copyright" sounds odd, yet 
>the policy choices found in Bill C-61, Industry 
>Minister Jim Prentice's controversial copyright 
>bill, disappointingly run directly counter to 
>the current emphasis on the environment.
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Blog: Deep Links: Senators Announce New Intellectual Property Enforcement Bill
>by Richard Esguerra, Electronic Frontier Foundation, July 29, 2008
><http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/library-congress-dmca-copyright>http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/library-congress-dmca-copyright
>Last week, members of the Senate Judiciary 
>Committee introduced the "Enforcement of 
>Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008," a 
>bill that proposes a number of alarming changes 
>to copyright law. The bill is the Senate's gift 
>to big content owners, creating new and powerful 
>tools -- many of which will be paid for by your 
>tax dollars -- for the entertainment industry to 
>go after infringers. But it doesn't offer a lick 
>of protection for legitimate innovators and 
>technology users that may be buried by the 
>copyright juggernaut.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Facebook Shuts off Scrabulous after Hasbro Sues
>from Bloomberg News, July 29, 2008
><http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-facebook30-2008jul30,0,6912273.story?track=rss>http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-facebook30-2008jul30,0,6912273.story?track=rss
>Facebook Inc., the owner of the biggest U.S. 
>social-networking site, shut down the online 
>word game Scrabulous in the U.S. and Canada 
>after a lawsuit was filed by Hasbro Inc., the 
>maker of Scrabble.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>SueTube redux: Italian Broadcaster Targets YouTube
>by Jacqui Cheng, ars technical, July 30, 2008
><http://tinyurl.com/63bwt9>http://tinyurl.com/63bwt9
>YouTube is once again being targeted for 
>widespread copyright infringement, except this 
>time the lawsuit is originating from Europe. 
>Italian broadcaster Mediaset SpA announced today 
>that it was going after Google for at least ?500 
>million in damages, which translates to just 
>over $750 million at today's exchange rates. 
>Combine this with the $1 billion sought by 
>Viacom, and YouTube is looking at the 
>possibility of some serious legal liability.
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Many thanks to all of our VRA-IPR members who 
>are monitoring multiple listservs to make this 
>IPR news posting possible. Please submit any 
>comments, questions, or suggestions to Jen Green 
>at 
><mailto:jen.green at massart.edu>jen.green at massart.edu
>
>Jen Green
>Visual Resources Librarian
>Morton R. Godine Library
>Massachusetts College of Art and Design
>621 Huntington Avenue
>Boston, MA 02115
>617-879-7109
>jen.green at massart.edu
>


-- 
Diane M. Zorich
113 Gallup Road
Princeton, NJ 08542 USA
Voice: 609-252-1606
Fax: 609-252-1607
Email:  dzorich at mindspring.com
or dianezorich at comcast.net

From lensteinbach at gmail.com  Fri Aug  1 13:12:46 2008
From: lensteinbach at gmail.com (Leonard Steinbach)
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2008 16:12:46 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Digital Promise Victory!
Message-ID: <b07138290808011312t26f83c97xdc11e2026f3c9992@mail.gmail.com>

I thought you might be interested in the passage of Digital Promise
legislation passed by both houses yesterday. What will now become the
chartered non-profit National Center for Research in Advanced Information
and Digital Technologies may really prove to be an accellerant for just the
types of programs, experiments and evaluation that MCN promotes. Funding
will be available to museums on a competitive basis, and in some respects
this program may help compensate for the demise of the Technology
Opportunities Program (TOP) several years ago. Some of you may know it as
DOIT _Digital Opportunity Investment Trust as the proposal has been called
over the six years it has been championed by Newton Minow and Lawrence
Grossman, among others.  Its formal "coalition" of supporters includes AAM
and AAMD.

Ironically, presented with the opportunity to support this legislation
several years ago, the MCN Board declined. However I am hopeful that MCN may
take an assertive role in apprising members how this program may benefit its
member institutions.


Here is a description from their website
<http://www.digitalpromise.org/>.... more below.

Digital Promise seeks to establish the National Center for Learning Science
and Technology Trust Fund based on the principles of Digital Promise.  The
Trust's goal is no less than to transform America's education, workplace
training, and lifelong learning through the development and use of the
revolutionary advanced information technologies comparable to those that
have already transformed the nation's economy, its communications system,
media, and the daily lives of its people.

The Trust will enable the nation's schools, universities, libraries,*
museums*, and public broadcasters to reach out to millions of people in
inner cities and remote regional areas, no matter how poor or deprived, in
the U.S. and throughout the world, with the best of the educational and
informational content now locked inside their walls.  It would support the
research and development of new models and prototypes of educational
content, taking full advantage of the Internet and other new digital
distribution technologies. For example, the Trust will commission
pre-competitive research and fund the development of prototypes to:

   - Demonstrate computer simulations that let learners tinker with chemical
   reactions in living cells, practice operating and repairing expensive
   equipment, or practice marketing techniques, thus making it easier to grasp
   complex concepts and transfer this understanding quickly to practical
   problems.
   - Demonstrate sophisticated help systems that provide accurate answers to
   questions using a combination of artificial intelligence and live operators.

   - Demonstrate new communication tools that could enable learners to
   collaborate in real-time on complex projects and ask for help from teachers
   and experts from around the world.
   - Demonstrate learning systems that could adapt to differences in
   student's personal interests, backgrounds, learning styles, and aptitudes.
   - Demonstrate tools that provide successively more difficult challenges
   with appropriate levels of scaffolding that motivate the learner while
   avoiding frustration or boredom.
   - Explore learning opportunities present in persistent, online learning
   environments.
   - Provide continuous measures of competence?integral to the learning
   process?that can help teachers work more effectively with individuals and
   leave a record of achievement that is compelling to students and to
   employers.
   - Demonstrate new tools that could allow continuous evaluation and
   improvement of the learning systems themselves.
   - Digitize America's collected memory stored in our nation's
   universities, libraries, museums and public television archives to make
   these materials available anytime and anywhere.



- Show quoted text -

*Digital Promise Passed by Both Houses of Congress *

*President Expected to Sign it into Law!*

* *

On Thursday, July 31, 2008, Digital Promise was passed by both the House and
Senate as part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.  It is
expected to be signed into law by President Bush within days.



Congratulations to all members of the Digital Promise team and thank you to
all of our loyal and enthusiastic supporters and coalition members!  It
could not have been done without you!  And special thanks to those members
of the Education Committees of the House and Senate whose leadership made
the National Center happen:  Representative John Yarmuth, of Louisville,
Kentucky and Senators Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Ted Kennedy of
Massachusetts, and their dedicated staffs.



The new program is entitled the "National Center for Research in Advanced
Information and Digital Technologies."  It is a Congressionally originated
501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation located within the Department of Education.
It will have a nine-member independent Board of Directors appointed by the
Secretary of Education from nominations by members of Congress.  Grants and
contracts will be awarded on merit, and policies will be developed following
the tested procedures of NSF and NIH.  Given its status as a non-profit,
independent corporation, the Center will be able to receive grants,
contracts, and philanthropic contributions, as well as federal
appropriations.  See the National Center section of the
bill<http://email.fas.org/listman/users/link.php?UserID=52846&Newsletter=418&List=2&LinkType=Send&LinkID=2059>
.



Our next challenge is to secure FY09 appropriations for the Center.  Because
of the delay in passing the Higher Education Act, it was not possible for
appropriations of the, until now, unauthorized National Center to be
included in the Labor, HHS or Education funding bills that were passed in
Committee in June.  It is widely expected that final appropriations for FY09
will not be enacted until early next year.  We are working hard to have
funding for the National Center included in final appropriations
legislation.  We are requesting $50 million for FY09.



Again, congratulations and thanks to all for our success in making the
Digital Promise a reality!

Sincerely,
The Digital Promise Team
*VICTORY!*

From akeshet at imj.org.il  Sun Aug  3 00:51:02 2008
From: akeshet at imj.org.il (akeshet at imj.org.il)
Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2008 09:51:02 +0200
Subject: [MCN-L] FW: Smithsonian & Alternate Reality Game-Playing
Message-ID: <149FDECF7500014B85D070C43C708BE703E649DC@mail3.imj.org.il>

Via  Peter Brantley:


this is a great idea, re-inventing how people
interact with art exhibits space and community. (you
have to click through to flickr to get the full effect

http://konamouse.blogspot.com/2008/08/ghosts-of-chance-aka-luces-lovers-eye.html

http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=5490189

"Now, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.,
has gone where no museum has gone before, providing a rabbit
hole for the new alternate reality game, or ARG, called
"Ghosts of a Chance."

"In partnership with the ARG design company City Mystery,
the Smithsonian has become the first museum to sponsor an
ARG, a move it hopes will inspire other museums to follow
suit.

""I hope other museums do follow, and I think they will," said
Smithsonian's Georgina Bath, the interpretive programs manager
for the Luce Foundation Center of American Art. "The idea of
game-playing is much more common in science museums, and we are
not as familiar with the practice in art museums."

"Seeking to engage their visitors at a deeper level, the museum
hopes to show artwork in a new, more intense light, allowing for
unprecedented interaction with their collections."



From Garry.Sommerfeld at ngv.vic.gov.au  Sun Aug  3 06:03:32 2008
From: Garry.Sommerfeld at ngv.vic.gov.au (Garry Sommerfeld)
Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2008 23:03:32 +1000
Subject: [MCN-L] managing digital files
Message-ID: <1F5489C08EB27247951EA3AA0C1807C51FB8B3@STREETON.boh.ngv.local>

The Gallery I work in has approximately 50 point and shoot type digital cameras being used by cataloguer's curators conservators etc.  As you can all appreciate this leads to a lot of data being added to both individual  desktop hard drives and network storage most of it is poorly documented. I am looking for a piece of software that will not allow files from either digital cameras or card readers  to be downloaded until basic data is  added to the file i.e artists name, title of work medium  location with a simple naming system. We would need a system that would support approximately 200 PC's at a reasonable cost. Regards 
Garry Sommerfeld
    


Garry Sommerfeld
Manager, Photographic Services

National Gallery of Victoria
180 St Kilda Road Melbourne Vic 3004 Australia
Telephone: +61 3 8620 2163  Mobile: 0428 365 244
Fax: +61 3 8620 2505
ngv.vic.gov.au

Keep informed of the latest NGV exhibitions, special events and programs at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia and NGV International by subscribing to NGV at RT, the NGV's free e-newsletter.

DISCLAIMER: This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for mcn-l at mcn.edu. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, copy or alter this email. WARNING: Although National Gallery of Victoria has taken reasonable precautions to ensure no viruses are present in this email, the organisation cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachment.

From jfevans at Princeton.EDU  Sun Aug  3 11:27:10 2008
From: jfevans at Princeton.EDU (Jeff Evans)
Date: Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:27:10 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] managing digital files
In-Reply-To: <1F5489C08EB27247951EA3AA0C1807C51FB8B3@STREETON.boh.ngv.local>
Message-ID: <C4BB70BE.217D%jfevans@princeton.edu>

HI Garry, you may want to look at the workflow going the other way.  When
individual users take their pics off the cameras, they "upload" them to an
asset manager running on a server somewhere on your network.  Most of those
out-of-the-box will enable you to configure the upload process to force the
user to enter data into the required fields.
(Doesn't Mac's Aperture and Adobe's Lightroom do this sort of thing ??)
I cant imagine one being able to control what individuals do with digital
files locally, esp if they are on a MAC.

Let me know if you find something - we are about to increase or "creators"
too and I would be interested if something like this really works.


Jeffrey Evans
Digital Imaging Specialist
Princeton University Art Museum
609.258.8579







On 8/3/08 9:03 AM, "Garry Sommerfeld" <Garry.Sommerfeld at ngv.vic.gov.au>
wrote:

> The Gallery I work in has approximately 50 point and shoot type digital
> cameras being used by cataloguer's curators conservators etc.  As you can all
> appreciate this leads to a lot of data being added to both individual  desktop
> hard drives and network storage most of it is poorly documented. I am looking
> for a piece of software that will not allow files from either digital cameras
> or card readers  to be downloaded until basic data is  added to the file i.e
> artists name, title of work medium  location with a simple naming system. We
> would need a system that would support approximately 200 PC's at a reasonable
> cost. Regards 
> Garry Sommerfeld
>     
> 
> 
> Garry Sommerfeld
> Manager, Photographic Services
> 
> National Gallery of Victoria
> 180 St Kilda Road Melbourne Vic 3004 Australia
> Telephone: +61 3 8620 2163  Mobile: 0428 365 244
> Fax: +61 3 8620 2505
> ngv.vic.gov.au
> 
> Keep informed of the latest NGV exhibitions, special events and programs at
> The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia and NGV International by subscribing to
> NGV at RT, the NGV's free e-newsletter.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
> intended solely for mcn-l at mcn.edu. If you are not the named addressee you
> should not disseminate, copy or alter this email. WARNING: Although National
> Gallery of Victoria has taken reasonable precautions to ensure no viruses are
> present in this email, the organisation cannot accept responsibility for any
> loss or damage arising from the use of this email or attachment.
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer
> Network (http://www.mcn.edu)
> 
> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu
> 
> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l



From Sophie.Walker at tate.org.uk  Mon Aug  4 04:44:29 2008
From: Sophie.Walker at tate.org.uk (Sophie Walker)
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 12:44:29 +0100
Subject: [MCN-L] MS Project and Other Software
Message-ID: <6E52553DDD2CF3479C1FD8BE5344132EA9B85A@TB-GALLERY-EX6.gallery.tate.org.uk>


The Tate is in the process of sourcing a reliable software package that
is capable of managing workflow and resources across departments and
sites, providing basic timelines for displays and exhibitions.  We use
the collections management system TMS (The Museum System) to record the
specific movements of our collection and short loans.  The software
would ideally have the functionality to 'talk' to TMS.

Does anyone use Microsoft Project in their institution?  If so, what for
and how well does it suit your needs?

I am particularly interested in finding out about technology that can
map resource requirements per week, per site, while simultaneously
displaying the various exhibition and display activities by gallery
location.

Thanks 
Sophie


Sophie Walker
Collections Database Officer
Tate
Block 20, John Islip Street 
London
Millbank
SW1P 4RG
+44(0) 20 7887 8983
> P Save a tree...please don't print this e-mail unless you really need
> to
> 
> 

From david at yakimavalleymuseum.org  Mon Aug  4 09:25:12 2008
From: david at yakimavalleymuseum.org (David Lynx)
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 2008 09:25:12 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] MS Project and Other Software
In-Reply-To: <6E52553DDD2CF3479C1FD8BE5344132EA9B85A@TB-GALLERY-EX6.gallery.tate.org.uk>
Message-ID: <C4BC7B78.607B%david@yakimavalleymuseum.org>

I have been looking at project management software too.  I didn't like
Microsoft Project because it didn't have a Macintosh client and wouldn't
interface with iCal and the iPhone.  I have been using dotProject, which is
Open Source.  The only problem is that it provides a lot more information
than I need, and difficult for me to customize.    I would like to find
something different, and hopefully have it based in Filemaker.


On 8/4/08 4:44 AM, "Sophie Walker" <Sophie.Walker at tate.org.uk> wrote:

> The Tate is in the process of sourcing a reliable software package that
> is capable of managing workflow and resources across departments and
> sites, providing basic timelines for displays and exhibitions.  We use
> the collections management system TMS (The Museum System) to record the
> specific movements of our collection and short loans.  The software
> would ideally have the functionality to 'talk' to TMS.
> 
> Does anyone use Microsoft Project in their institution?  If so, what for
> and how well does it suit your needs?
> 
> I am particularly interested in finding out about technology that can
> map resource requirements per week, per site, while simultaneously
> displaying the various exhibition and display activities by gallery
> location.
> 
> Thanks 
> Sophie
> 
> 
> Sophie Walker
> Collections Database Officer
> Tate
> Block 20, John Islip Street
> London
> Millbank
> SW1P 4RG
> +44(0) 20 7887 8983





From calexander at sjmusart.org  Mon Aug  4 09:42:08 2008
From: calexander at sjmusart.org (Chris Alexander)
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 09:42:08 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] Reminder: MCN Cal SIG @ SJMA
Message-ID: <E9686E889FEEB744BED9DB4E0C8B00C7021D5668@sjdc01.sj.internal>

Please RSVP by August 18th!

 

What: Museum Computer Network California Special Interest Group Annual Meeting

When: August 22nd from 9am - 4pm

Where: San Jose Museum of Art <http://sjmusart.org/content/visitUs/visitUs.phtml> 

RSVP: calexander at sjmusart.org <mailto:calexander at sjmusart.org?subject=MCN%20Cal%20SIG%20RSVP>  with "MCN Cal SIG RSVP" in the subject line.

Parking info: sjdowntownparking.com <http://www.sjdowntownparking.com/parking_map.php?PHPSESSID=2b2d9f0b4bc27a702b6ed8229b1e6e7f> 

 

As an MCN member you are cordially invited to attend the 2008 MCN Cal SIG meeting in San Jose.  Gather at the San Jose Museum of Art for coffee, conversation, learning and networking. The day includes a business meeting and presentations by staff from several local museums.  

 

The schedule will be as follows:

 

9:00 am - 9:30am          Breakfast and conversation

 

9:30am - 10:15am         Introductions and the "Official" Business Meeting

 

10:15am - 11:00am       Chris Alexander, Manager of Interactive Technology, San Jose Museum of Art

 

Chris Alexander from the San Jose Museum of Art will present the museum's holistic approach to technology, incorporating the museum's web content into various Web 2.0 websites, and its revolutionary iPod Touch tour.  Over the last couple of years the SJMA has been working toward heightening the visitor experience at the museum and technology has played a big role in this endeavor.  After the presentation attendees may try the iPod Touch tour for themselves in the exhibition Robots: Evolution of a Cultural Icon.  

 

11:00am - 11:45am       Tour of the San Jose Museum of Art and iPod Touch tour.  

 

11:45am - 1:00pm         Lunch 

(a list of local restaurants will be provided or you can eat at Caf? Too, the museum's caf?.)

 

1:00pm - 2:00 pm          Melissa Johnson, Curator of Interactive Media, history | san jos?

Sarah Puckett, Curator of Art and Photography, history | san jos?

 

In 2001 History San Jos?, a regional history museum with a collection of over 75,000 photographs, 500,000 objects, and 5,000 linear feet of archival materials, ventured in to the digital imaging world.  After attending workshops, conferences, visiting larger institutions, and researching requirements and equipment, the five person Collections & Exhibitions department felt capable of digitally documenting the collection. Since 2005, HSJ has launched five online exhibits sharing the history of the area and making a small percentage of the collection available to the public. 

 

Problem: Currently, the small staff is struggling to keep up with the demand for digital images from the public, researchers, and co-workers.  The recent requirement for "digital plans" to apply for most state and federal digitization grants has HSJ at a stand-still.  Will small to mid size museums and libraries be left behind when it comes to digitizing their collections?  How have others dealt with similar issues?  Brainstorm with HSJ Staff, all feedback and ideas are welcome!

 

2:00pm - 3:00pm           Perian Sully, Collection Information and New Media Coordinator, Judah L. Magnes Museum

Dr. Francesco Spagnolo, Head of Research, Judah L. Magnes Museum

 

The Judah L. Magnes Museum is in the midst of a huge digital initiative, and we'll hear about one of the centerpieces of this initiative, a new collection management system, IDEA at ALM, which allows the museum to completely integrate archive, library, and museum materials. Perian and Francesco will talk about how the Magnes Museum is using the IDEA at ALM collection management system to reorganize its collections into discrete intellectual sets, while defining how certain fields can be shared across these three collection types. Additionally they will discuss the benefits of cataloging in such a system and explain the greater philosophical reasoning behind this methodology. They will also highlight how shared cataloging enhances research, protects collections, increases access and interpretation, and protects professional standards.

 

3:00pm - 3:15pm           Short break

 

3:15pm - 4:00pm           Susan Grinols, Director Photo Services and Imaging, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

 

Susan has worked for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in various capacities since 1991. She currently heads the Photo Services and Imaging Department and will be discussing FAMSF's approach to archiving--solutions they've found and the challenges of using a "homegrown" 4D database system as their CMS/DAMS.

 

You must be a current MCN Member to attend.  If you are not visit www.mcn.edu <http://www.mcn.edu/>  to join today!  

 

Please RSVP to calexander at sjmusart.org <mailto:calexander at sjmusart.org?subject=MCN%20Cal%20SIG%20RSVP>  with "MCN Cal SIG RSVP" in the subject line.  Clicking on the link should input the subject line. 

 

Thanks and I look forward to seeing all of you in a month!

 

Best regards,

 

Chris Alexander | Manager of Interactive Technology

San Jose Museum of Art

110 South Market Street

San Jose, CA  95113

408-271-6875 ph.

408-294-2977 fx.

calexander at sjmusart.org <mailto:calexander at sjmusart.org> 

__________________________

 

Go to www.sjmusart.org/podcast <http://www.sjmusart.org/podcast>  to listen to our MUSE Award winning podcast or search for "SJMA" on iTunes <http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=200789487> .

Is video more your thing?  Check out our YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/sanjosemuseumofart <http://www.youtube.com/sanjosemuseumofart> 

 

 


From psully at magnes.org  Mon Aug  4 10:01:57 2008
From: psully at magnes.org (Perian Sully)
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 10:01:57 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] Titles
Message-ID: <AD775DE5635C2042BF1DCB7EED36A83B471B67@jlm-net.jlm.local>

Hello, fellow techs!

 

I've been struggling over this for a couple of weeks now and I'm not
getting anywhere. I'm being promoted to "Collections Information
Manager" and I'm also taking over the website. Even though I'll be doing
the basic webmistressy stuff, I'll also be involved with digital
strategy and thinking about how we can use web technologies to promote
our mission. Since many of us on staff have multiple roles, I'll be
allowed to have a double title, "Collections Information Manager" and
under that, this other title.

 

I don't feel that "Webmistress" or "Webmaster" is descriptive enough, so
I'm not entirely comfortable with it. Does anyone here deal with website
management and strategy? What is your title? Are you happy with it?

 

Please reply to me offlist.

 

Thanks!

 

Perian Sully

Collection Information and New Media Coordinator

Judah L. Magnes Museum

2911 Russell St.

Berkeley, CA 94705

Work: 510-549-6950 x 357

Fax: 510-849-3673

http://www.magnes.org

http://www.musematic.org

http://www.mediaandtechnology.org

 


From AHolloway at marinersmuseum.org  Mon Aug  4 10:18:18 2008
From: AHolloway at marinersmuseum.org (Anna Holloway)
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 13:18:18 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Titles
Message-ID: <419F10D4185BC14BAF9056D59B7355260173926D@data3.tmm.local>

Perian - 

Our person who does the webmistressy stuff holds the title 'Programs and
Multimedia Specialist.'  That adds a lot of syllables to a title - but
seemed to sum up what she does.

~anna

Anna Holloway, Vice President, Collections & Programs
The Mariners' Museum
757-591-7740
757-591-7312 (fax)
 
The USS Monitor Center - Now Open!!!
An Ironclad Promise of Adventure
visit us at www.marinersmuseum.org
 
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Perian Sully
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 1:02 PM
To: Museum Computer Network Listserv
Subject: [MCN-L] Titles

Hello, fellow techs!

 

I've been struggling over this for a couple of weeks now and I'm not
getting anywhere. I'm being promoted to "Collections Information
Manager" and I'm also taking over the website. Even though I'll be doing
the basic webmistressy stuff, I'll also be involved with digital
strategy and thinking about how we can use web technologies to promote
our mission. Since many of us on staff have multiple roles, I'll be
allowed to have a double title, "Collections Information Manager" and
under that, this other title.

 

I don't feel that "Webmistress" or "Webmaster" is descriptive enough, so
I'm not entirely comfortable with it. Does anyone here deal with website
management and strategy? What is your title? Are you happy with it?

 

Please reply to me offlist.

 

Thanks!

 

Perian Sully

Collection Information and New Media Coordinator

Judah L. Magnes Museum

2911 Russell St.

Berkeley, CA 94705

Work: 510-549-6950 x 357

Fax: 510-849-3673

http://www.magnes.org

http://www.musematic.org

http://www.mediaandtechnology.org

 

_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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From sweeting at frick.org  Mon Aug  4 10:18:41 2008
From: sweeting at frick.org (Sweeting III, Floyd)
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 13:18:41 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Titles
In-Reply-To: <419F10D4185BC14BAF9056D59B7355260173926D@data3.tmm.local>
Message-ID: <3C55506774456C4690AB556143F5434D032EA722@tfcmail.frick.org>

We use "Web and New Media Manager" as a title for our web person


Floyd Sweeting III  Head, Information Technology and New Media
THE FRICK COLLECTION 1 East 70th Street New York, NY 10021
Tel: 212-547-6889  Fax: 212-879-2091 www.frick.org

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Anna Holloway
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 1:18 PM
To: Museum Computer Network Listserv
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Titles

Perian - 

Our person who does the webmistressy stuff holds the title 'Programs and
Multimedia Specialist.'  That adds a lot of syllables to a title - but
seemed to sum up what she does.

~anna

Anna Holloway, Vice President, Collections & Programs
The Mariners' Museum
757-591-7740
757-591-7312 (fax)
 
The USS Monitor Center - Now Open!!!
An Ironclad Promise of Adventure
visit us at www.marinersmuseum.org
 
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Perian Sully
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 1:02 PM
To: Museum Computer Network Listserv
Subject: [MCN-L] Titles

Hello, fellow techs!

 

I've been struggling over this for a couple of weeks now and I'm not
getting anywhere. I'm being promoted to "Collections Information
Manager" and I'm also taking over the website. Even though I'll be doing
the basic webmistressy stuff, I'll also be involved with digital
strategy and thinking about how we can use web technologies to promote
our mission. Since many of us on staff have multiple roles, I'll be
allowed to have a double title, "Collections Information Manager" and
under that, this other title.

 

I don't feel that "Webmistress" or "Webmaster" is descriptive enough, so
I'm not entirely comfortable with it. Does anyone here deal with website
management and strategy? What is your title? Are you happy with it?

 

Please reply to me offlist.

 

Thanks!

 

Perian Sully

Collection Information and New Media Coordinator

Judah L. Magnes Museum

2911 Russell St.

Berkeley, CA 94705

Work: 510-549-6950 x 357

Fax: 510-849-3673

http://www.magnes.org

http://www.musematic.org

http://www.mediaandtechnology.org

 

_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l


_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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*****************************************************************************
The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to
which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged
material.  Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or
taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or
entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited.   If you received
this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any
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*****************************************************************************



From dlewisarfm at aol.com  Mon Aug  4 11:07:40 2008
From: dlewisarfm at aol.com (dlewisarfm at aol.com)
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:07:40 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Titles
In-Reply-To: <3C55506774456C4690AB556143F5434D032EA722@tfcmail.frick.org>
Message-ID: <8CAC4741E719A81-138C-760@WEBMAIL-DG10.sim.aol.com>


 It's probably not what you're looking for -- but I've used the title "webguy."?? The word WebMASTER seemed to sever, and it implied a "mastery" of skills that I simply didn't have at the time I took over management of the organization's website (I learned on-the-job by trial and error).??? 



- David - 
David Lewis, Curator
Aurora Regional Fire Museum
(and webguy for several websites)
www.AuroraRegionalFireMuseum.org



-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Anna Holloway
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 1:18 PM
To: Museum Computer Network Listserv
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Titles

Perian - 

Our person who does the webmistressy stuff holds the title 'Programs and
Multimedia Specialist.'  That adds a lot of syllables to a title - but
seemed to sum up what she does.

~anna

Anna Holloway, Vice President, Collections & Programs
The Mariners' Museum
757-591-7740
757-591-7312 (fax)
 
The USS Monitor Center - Now Open!!!
An Ironclad Promise of Adventure
visit us at www.marinersmuseum.org
 
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Perian Sully
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 1:02 PM
To: Museum Computer Network Listserv
Subject: [MCN-L] Titles

Hello, fellow techs!

 

I've been struggling over this for a couple of weeks now and I'm not
getting anywhere. I'm being promoted to "Collections Information
Manager" and I'm also taking over the website. Even though I'll be doing
the basic webmistressy stuff, I'll also be involved with digital
strategy and thinking about how we can use web technologies to promote
our mission. Since many of us on staff have multiple roles, I'll be
allowed to have a double title, "Collections Information Manager" and
under that, this other title.

 

I don't feel that "Webmistress" or "Webmaster" is descriptive enough, so
I'm not entirely comfortable with it. Does anyone here deal with website
management and strategy? What is your title? Are you happy with it?

 

Please reply to me offlist.

 

Thanks!

 

Perian Sully

Collection Information and New Media Coordinator

Judah L. Magnes Museum

2911 Russell St.

Berkeley, CA 94705

Work: 510-549-6950 x 357

Fax: 510-849-3673

http://www.magnes.org

http://www.musematic.org

http://www.mediaandtechnology.org

 

_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l


_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l

*****************************************************************************
The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to
which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged
material.  Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or
taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or
entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited.   If you received
this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any
computer.
*****************************************************************************


_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer 
Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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From Carol at hnoc.org  Mon Aug  4 14:09:48 2008
From: Carol at hnoc.org (Carol Bartels)
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 16:09:48 -0500
Subject: [MCN-L] (no subject)
Message-ID: <8C37684BDA0D424E91C45A910CE60730D5172F@royal.hnoc.loc>

 

The title for our "webmaster/new media" person was recently changed to
"manager of internet and interactive development" 


From stanorchard at mac.com  Mon Aug  4 18:43:50 2008
From: stanorchard at mac.com (Stan Orchard)
Date: Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:43:50 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] Museum internal Twitter-like service?
Message-ID: <43D5712C-D70C-48B0-8FDD-7D67D0152811@mac.com>

Here at Pacific Science Center in Seattle we're just starting to get  
moving on a staff wiki. So far things look good. But...as an avid  
Twitter/identi.ca user, I see an internal Twitter-like service as even  
more useful. Read about it here:

http://tinyurl.com/64da9g

The example there is a corporation with far-flung sales, etc. folks.  
But just inside our rather small organization we all seldom, if ever  
see and interact with each other. We're just too involved with our own  
areas. I think a non-ending, constant stream of thoughts from my  
colleagues would be most valuable. Is there anything like this being  
used anywhere in our museum/science center universe?

I can just imagine a Dennis Schatz and Heather Gibbons along with a  
Bonnie VanDorn and Lesley Lewis and Bryce Seidl and ALL those many  
others who share the collective braintrust of our industry watching  
this stream of tweets go by...seeing questions go by that they  
remember from their past and saying, 'I remember how we did that back  
then.'

Maybe an astc-sponsored service that utilizes identi.ca's open-source  
software?

Just spewing some thoughts as I watch streams of incredibly  
intelligent ideas float by.

StanO

From bwyman at denverartmuseum.org  Mon Aug  4 20:43:30 2008
From: bwyman at denverartmuseum.org (Bruce Wyman)
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2008 21:43:30 -0600
Subject: [MCN-L] Museum internal Twitter-like service?
In-Reply-To: <43D5712C-D70C-48B0-8FDD-7D67D0152811@mac.com>
References: <43D5712C-D70C-48B0-8FDD-7D67D0152811@mac.com>
Message-ID: <p0624081bc4bd7a7debf7@[192.168.0.4]>

>Is there anything like this being
>used anywhere in our museum/science center universe?

The technology department at the Denver Art Museum falls back to 
Twitter from time to time when things are really busy and we start to 
realize that we don't see each other for a couple of days. It was 
mostly just as a quick status update to the rest of the team so we 
knew who was doing what and how things were progressing.

On the whole, it was interesting. I've been the only person that's 
consistently used twitter -- http://twitter.com/bwyman, but then I've 
been the most digital of the dept for years. Users need to reach a 
certain point of casualness in conversation that wasn't second nature 
for everyone although we all agreed that it was pretty useful as a 
kind of on-going train of thought. There were certainly a few moments 
of unexpected assistance between colleagues based on what someone was 
stumbling over (and had tweeted), so that was cool. We also thought 
it'd be a good way for new hires in the dept to get a sense of who 
was doing what and how.

So, why didn't it sustain? Self-censoring was a big issue, where 
people just didn't feel like something was important enough or it 
felt like a little bit of an extra burden to tweet (really? 140 
characters was too much!?), but those were also people more inclined 
to use voicemail.

But, back to your original point, I think there's *incredible* value 
in services like Twitter behind the firewall. Whether it's directed 
communication or just watching the river flow by, it's interesting to 
get that really high-level view of that moment's mental status of the 
organization.

-bw.
-- 
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Bruce Wyman, Director of Technology
Denver Art Museum  /  100 W 14th Ave. Pkwy, Denver, CO 80204
office: 720.913.0159  /  fax: 720.913.0002
<bwyman at denverartmuseum.org>

From wjahsman at parkcitycon.com  Tue Aug  5 07:07:39 2008
From: wjahsman at parkcitycon.com (william jahsman)
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2008 07:07:39 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [MCN-L] Membership card stock and printer question
Message-ID: <319919.80812.qm@web601.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

When The Leonardo in Salt Lake City hosts Body Worlds 3 beginning next month, we plan to host a membership kiosk and sell memberships using "an ordinary printer and card stock." I'm wondering if anyone has experience doing this and might be able to help me avoid some of the pitfalls.
TIA,
Bill Jahsman
The Leonardo
801-531-9800

From CJM at mellon.org  Tue Aug  5 15:06:10 2008
From: CJM at mellon.org (Christopher J. Mackie)
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2008 18:06:10 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig
In-Reply-To: <mailman.1.1217876401.1173.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
References: <mailman.1.1217876401.1173.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818@ny2exch08.office.share.org>

Hi all; I'm writing today on behalf of Mellon's IT funding program (not
our Museums and Art Conservation Program, which is a different entity).
We're looking at an opportunity to fund a different kind of digitization
project, and I wonder if I could ask for your thoughts about its likely
usefulness in the museum/cultural heritage communities?
	
What we've got in mind is a digitization rig for small or medium-sized
2D digitization projects.  The project would use off-the-shelf hardware
and open source software, packaged carefully to be extremely easy to set
up and use, even with no prior training.  It would be able to handle
almost any kind of 2D material up to a certain size (books, flat pages,
images) non-destructively, would OCR the results, and would then deliver
the documents as special, searchable PDFs that could reformat for any
display devices (i.e., the text would 'flow' so that you could, e.g.,
read on your iPhone without having to scroll side-to-side or flip
pages). Let me emphasize that it would be built to be operated by people
with no digitization training whatsoever: staff, volunteers, students,
etc. 

The system would be easy to set up and self-calibrating; it would use
pairs of consumer-grade cameras ($250-500) from any of several
manufacturers. The software would run on any standard PC or laptop
(Mac/Win/Lin), support one-button operation, provide automatic page
de-warping, include automatic OCR, allow computer-assisted addition of
metadata, and otherwise be set up to produce professional quality output
even when used by complete amateurs. We anticipate the final cost of all
hardware and software (including the cameras and PC or laptop to run
everything), to be sub-$2,000.  

As you can infer from the above, this is not a system for digitizing
fine art at very high resolution, but it is a curation-quality
digitization system for text, whether diaries or handbills in a
historical society or books in a museum library. Our goal is to bring
digitization to the "Long Tail" of smaller collections out there in the
world that are of potential cultural significance but where the likely
audience is not large enough to attract the big, for-profit
digitizers--or where the value or fragility is such that the works could
not leave the institution to be scanned. Think of it as "Google Books
for the Rest of Us...." :-)
	
I'd really appreciate the thoughts of those of you who know museums and
cultural heritage organizations well, on three separable questions:

1. Does anyone know of any other project, currently available or in
development, that might deliver the same functionality and
price-performance?

2. If we build this, will institutions come? Are there many institutions
out there with collections (including museum libraries) that their
leaders would like to digitize, and which have labor (in some form)
available to do the work, but for which the capital costs, expertise
requirements, or other challenges of the current technology are the
limiting factor?

3. If institutions do take advantage of this service, will they make the
resulting content freely available?  (I'm not looking to rehash barriers
like copyright, but rather to solicit information/thoughts that bear on
the *willingness* of museums and cultural heritage organizations to
publish such content freely.)

Two logistical matters.  First, may I ask that replies go to the list
unless you really need confidentiality? I'd like to get as many
different views as possible, including responses-to-responses. Second,
please note that I'm soliciting feedback on these questions, not
proposals or offers to be a test site. If we do move forward, I think we
may indeed want to invite institutions to become test sites, but if so
I'll be back in touch via the MCN list: I'm not prepared to start a
wait-list today. 

(I'm also asking these questions of our friends in the library and arts
communities, so apologies in advance for any redundancy in your inboxes
:-)

Thanks!  --Chris

Christopher J. Mackie
Associate Program Officer
Research in Information Technology
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
--
282 Alexander Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
--
140 E. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10065 
--
+1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
+1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
+1 646.274.6351 (fax)
cjmackie06 @ AIM
cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
--
http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org



From rsanford at lacma.org  Tue Aug  5 17:24:39 2008
From: rsanford at lacma.org (Sanford, Robyn)
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2008 17:24:39 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] job posting: Database Specialist for The Los Angeles County
	Museum of Art
Message-ID: <785EF3E8EEBF554DBBCC6909943D22B70664FF1F@saturn.lacma.org>

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art's (LACMA) Registrar's Office seeks
a highly qualified museum professional to serve as the Database
Specialist

 

Reporting to the Associate Registrar, Database Management and Special
Projects, the Database Specialist assists with all levels of support and
maintenance for the collections management system.

 

Job Duties:

 

-          Coordinate, advise, consult, and determine standards of use
for Mimsy XG system

-          Further develop training procedures, documents and
established training programs for Mimsy XG and Crystal Reports

-          Maintain a working knowledge of MIMSY XG/Crystal Reports and
inform staff of changes or updates in both programs

-          Provide general museum-wide support for MIMSY XG users

-          Write and organize reports for all levels of museum staff and
public

-          Assist with the general administration of Mimsy XG through
ongoing development and maintenance, consulting and coordinating with IS
department regarding testing and software upgrades

-          Oversee and/or assist with data clean-up projects throughout
the Museum 

-          Maintain and update system administration manuals and
contribute to the development of documentation, including updating Mimsy
XG user manuals, and policies and procedures. 

 

 

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:

 

-          Excellent and demonstrated knowledge of MIMSY XG (or any
other relational CMS system) and Crystal Reports

-          Excellent written and oral communication skills.

-          Ability to assess priorities and work well under pressure;
excellent time management, problem solving and analytical skills

-          Ability to work with curators, donors, vendors, other museum
professionals, the public and co-workers professionally and tactfully

-          Strong organizational skills to effectively manage multiple
projects

-          Ability to work independently without constant oversight

-          Knowledge of SQL and ability to write SQL statements desired,
but not required

-          Two to four years of CMS management or advanced user
experience

-          Demonstrated experience with conducting training and writing
instructional documentation

 

Education and Experience:  

 

BA in art, art history or museum studies or at least two years
experience in museum with duties related to database support. A
combination of related education, experience and/or training will be
accepted.

 

For consideration, please submit a resume, cover letter, and a list of
references.

Email:      jobs at lacma.org

Fax:        323-857-4720


From lharper at MAG.Rochester.edu  Wed Aug  6 05:49:04 2008
From: lharper at MAG.Rochester.edu (Harper, Lucy)
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 08:49:04 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig
In-Reply-To: <71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
References: <mailman.1.1217876401.1173.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
	<71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
Message-ID: <A45FD5449371FA459B61F0D273B22A3D3110F3@ITS-EXC2.UR.Rochester.edu>

I think this would particularly helpful to small and even medium-sized
museums, particularly for archival or other text-based collections.  

Lu Harper
Librarian/Webmaster
Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester
lharper at mag.rochester.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Christopher J. Mackie
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 6:06 PM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig

Hi all; I'm writing today on behalf of Mellon's IT funding program (not
our Museums and Art Conservation Program, which is a different entity).
We're looking at an opportunity to fund a different kind of digitization
project, and I wonder if I could ask for your thoughts about its likely
usefulness in the museum/cultural heritage communities?
	
What we've got in mind is a digitization rig for small or medium-sized
2D digitization projects.  The project would use off-the-shelf hardware
and open source software, packaged carefully to be extremely easy to set
up and use, even with no prior training.  It would be able to handle
almost any kind of 2D material up to a certain size (books, flat pages,
images) non-destructively, would OCR the results, and would then deliver
the documents as special, searchable PDFs that could reformat for any
display devices (i.e., the text would 'flow' so that you could, e.g.,
read on your iPhone without having to scroll side-to-side or flip
pages). Let me emphasize that it would be built to be operated by people
with no digitization training whatsoever: staff, volunteers, students,
etc. 

The system would be easy to set up and self-calibrating; it would use
pairs of consumer-grade cameras ($250-500) from any of several
manufacturers. The software would run on any standard PC or laptop
(Mac/Win/Lin), support one-button operation, provide automatic page
de-warping, include automatic OCR, allow computer-assisted addition of
metadata, and otherwise be set up to produce professional quality output
even when used by complete amateurs. We anticipate the final cost of all
hardware and software (including the cameras and PC or laptop to run
everything), to be sub-$2,000.  

As you can infer from the above, this is not a system for digitizing
fine art at very high resolution, but it is a curation-quality
digitization system for text, whether diaries or handbills in a
historical society or books in a museum library. Our goal is to bring
digitization to the "Long Tail" of smaller collections out there in the
world that are of potential cultural significance but where the likely
audience is not large enough to attract the big, for-profit
digitizers--or where the value or fragility is such that the works could
not leave the institution to be scanned. Think of it as "Google Books
for the Rest of Us...." :-)
	
I'd really appreciate the thoughts of those of you who know museums and
cultural heritage organizations well, on three separable questions:

1. Does anyone know of any other project, currently available or in
development, that might deliver the same functionality and
price-performance?

2. If we build this, will institutions come? Are there many institutions
out there with collections (including museum libraries) that their
leaders would like to digitize, and which have labor (in some form)
available to do the work, but for which the capital costs, expertise
requirements, or other challenges of the current technology are the
limiting factor?

3. If institutions do take advantage of this service, will they make the
resulting content freely available?  (I'm not looking to rehash barriers
like copyright, but rather to solicit information/thoughts that bear on
the *willingness* of museums and cultural heritage organizations to
publish such content freely.)

Two logistical matters.  First, may I ask that replies go to the list
unless you really need confidentiality? I'd like to get as many
different views as possible, including responses-to-responses. Second,
please note that I'm soliciting feedback on these questions, not
proposals or offers to be a test site. If we do move forward, I think we
may indeed want to invite institutions to become test sites, but if so
I'll be back in touch via the MCN list: I'm not prepared to start a
wait-list today. 

(I'm also asking these questions of our friends in the library and arts
communities, so apologies in advance for any redundancy in your inboxes
:-)

Thanks!  --Chris

Christopher J. Mackie
Associate Program Officer
Research in Information Technology
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
--
282 Alexander Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
--
140 E. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10065 
--
+1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
+1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
+1 646.274.6351 (fax)
cjmackie06 @ AIM
cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
--
http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org


_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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From DeborahDiemente at worcesterart.org  Wed Aug  6 06:22:22 2008
From: DeborahDiemente at worcesterart.org (Deborah Diemente)
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 09:22:22 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig
In-Reply-To: <71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
Message-ID: <63AC21AF352C9F45B16312C9527FCDB7013AF8A9@exch01.worcesterart.org>


This would be extremely useful for museum records and archives.  Our director is very concerned about the information accumulated over the past 100 years which is filling dozens of file cabinets and hundreds of boxes in our basement. It is important not only as a history of this museum but of museums in general.  The material includes things like scrapbooks of old local newspaper clippings which are unlikely ever to be available on the internet. There is no index so searchable digitized files would actually make this information useable.  But, without the possibility of funding the labor involved, we might not be able to take advantage of the efficient process.  We do have access to interns and work study students but rarely find them reliable enough to carry out a project on their own. A project coordinator would still be needed. This could be a step in the right direction however.


Deborah Diemente, Registrar
Worcester Art Museum
55 Salisbury Street
Worcester, MA 01609-3196
508-799-4406 x.3028
fax: 508-798-8498
deborahdiemente at worcesterart.org


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu]On Behalf Of
Christopher J. Mackie
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 6:06 PM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig


Hi all; I'm writing today on behalf of Mellon's IT funding program (not
our Museums and Art Conservation Program, which is a different entity).
We're looking at an opportunity to fund a different kind of digitization
project, and I wonder if I could ask for your thoughts about its likely
usefulness in the museum/cultural heritage communities?
	
What we've got in mind is a digitization rig for small or medium-sized
2D digitization projects.  The project would use off-the-shelf hardware
and open source software, packaged carefully to be extremely easy to set
up and use, even with no prior training.  It would be able to handle
almost any kind of 2D material up to a certain size (books, flat pages,
images) non-destructively, would OCR the results, and would then deliver
the documents as special, searchable PDFs that could reformat for any
display devices (i.e., the text would 'flow' so that you could, e.g.,
read on your iPhone without having to scroll side-to-side or flip
pages). Let me emphasize that it would be built to be operated by people
with no digitization training whatsoever: staff, volunteers, students,
etc. 

The system would be easy to set up and self-calibrating; it would use
pairs of consumer-grade cameras ($250-500) from any of several
manufacturers. The software would run on any standard PC or laptop
(Mac/Win/Lin), support one-button operation, provide automatic page
de-warping, include automatic OCR, allow computer-assisted addition of
metadata, and otherwise be set up to produce professional quality output
even when used by complete amateurs. We anticipate the final cost of all
hardware and software (including the cameras and PC or laptop to run
everything), to be sub-$2,000.  

As you can infer from the above, this is not a system for digitizing
fine art at very high resolution, but it is a curation-quality
digitization system for text, whether diaries or handbills in a
historical society or books in a museum library. Our goal is to bring
digitization to the "Long Tail" of smaller collections out there in the
world that are of potential cultural significance but where the likely
audience is not large enough to attract the big, for-profit
digitizers--or where the value or fragility is such that the works could
not leave the institution to be scanned. Think of it as "Google Books
for the Rest of Us...." :-)
	
I'd really appreciate the thoughts of those of you who know museums and
cultural heritage organizations well, on three separable questions:

1. Does anyone know of any other project, currently available or in
development, that might deliver the same functionality and
price-performance?

2. If we build this, will institutions come? Are there many institutions
out there with collections (including museum libraries) that their
leaders would like to digitize, and which have labor (in some form)
available to do the work, but for which the capital costs, expertise
requirements, or other challenges of the current technology are the
limiting factor?

3. If institutions do take advantage of this service, will they make the
resulting content freely available?  (I'm not looking to rehash barriers
like copyright, but rather to solicit information/thoughts that bear on
the *willingness* of museums and cultural heritage organizations to
publish such content freely.)

Two logistical matters.  First, may I ask that replies go to the list
unless you really need confidentiality? I'd like to get as many
different views as possible, including responses-to-responses. Second,
please note that I'm soliciting feedback on these questions, not
proposals or offers to be a test site. If we do move forward, I think we
may indeed want to invite institutions to become test sites, but if so
I'll be back in touch via the MCN list: I'm not prepared to start a
wait-list today. 

(I'm also asking these questions of our friends in the library and arts
communities, so apologies in advance for any redundancy in your inboxes
:-)

Thanks!  --Chris

Christopher J. Mackie
Associate Program Officer
Research in Information Technology
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
--
282 Alexander Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
--
140 E. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10065 
--
+1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
+1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
+1 646.274.6351 (fax)
cjmackie06 @ AIM
cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
--
http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org


_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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From srcall at mohistory.org  Wed Aug  6 06:51:44 2008
From: srcall at mohistory.org (Steve Call)
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:51:44 -0500
Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig
In-Reply-To: <71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
References: <mailman.1.1217876401.1173.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
	<71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
Message-ID: <4899AC70.1020900@mohistory.org>

All,
Sounds very interesting to me.  What do you think?

Thanks,

Steve

Christopher J. Mackie wrote:
> Hi all; I'm writing today on behalf of Mellon's IT funding program (not
> our Museums and Art Conservation Program, which is a different entity).
> We're looking at an opportunity to fund a different kind of digitization
> project, and I wonder if I could ask for your thoughts about its likely
> usefulness in the museum/cultural heritage communities?
> 	
> What we've got in mind is a digitization rig for small or medium-sized
> 2D digitization projects.  The project would use off-the-shelf hardware
> and open source software, packaged carefully to be extremely easy to set
> up and use, even with no prior training.  It would be able to handle
> almost any kind of 2D material up to a certain size (books, flat pages,
> images) non-destructively, would OCR the results, and would then deliver
> the documents as special, searchable PDFs that could reformat for any
> display devices (i.e., the text would 'flow' so that you could, e.g.,
> read on your iPhone without having to scroll side-to-side or flip
> pages). Let me emphasize that it would be built to be operated by people
> with no digitization training whatsoever: staff, volunteers, students,
> etc. 
>
> The system would be easy to set up and self-calibrating; it would use
> pairs of consumer-grade cameras ($250-500) from any of several
> manufacturers. The software would run on any standard PC or laptop
> (Mac/Win/Lin), support one-button operation, provide automatic page
> de-warping, include automatic OCR, allow computer-assisted addition of
> metadata, and otherwise be set up to produce professional quality output
> even when used by complete amateurs. We anticipate the final cost of all
> hardware and software (including the cameras and PC or laptop to run
> everything), to be sub-$2,000.  
>
> As you can infer from the above, this is not a system for digitizing
> fine art at very high resolution, but it is a curation-quality
> digitization system for text, whether diaries or handbills in a
> historical society or books in a museum library. Our goal is to bring
> digitization to the "Long Tail" of smaller collections out there in the
> world that are of potential cultural significance but where the likely
> audience is not large enough to attract the big, for-profit
> digitizers--or where the value or fragility is such that the works could
> not leave the institution to be scanned. Think of it as "Google Books
> for the Rest of Us...." :-)
> 	
> I'd really appreciate the thoughts of those of you who know museums and
> cultural heritage organizations well, on three separable questions:
>
> 1. Does anyone know of any other project, currently available or in
> development, that might deliver the same functionality and
> price-performance?
>
> 2. If we build this, will institutions come? Are there many institutions
> out there with collections (including museum libraries) that their
> leaders would like to digitize, and which have labor (in some form)
> available to do the work, but for which the capital costs, expertise
> requirements, or other challenges of the current technology are the
> limiting factor?
>
> 3. If institutions do take advantage of this service, will they make the
> resulting content freely available?  (I'm not looking to rehash barriers
> like copyright, but rather to solicit information/thoughts that bear on
> the *willingness* of museums and cultural heritage organizations to
> publish such content freely.)
>
> Two logistical matters.  First, may I ask that replies go to the list
> unless you really need confidentiality? I'd like to get as many
> different views as possible, including responses-to-responses. Second,
> please note that I'm soliciting feedback on these questions, not
> proposals or offers to be a test site. If we do move forward, I think we
> may indeed want to invite institutions to become test sites, but if so
> I'll be back in touch via the MCN list: I'm not prepared to start a
> wait-list today. 
>
> (I'm also asking these questions of our friends in the library and arts
> communities, so apologies in advance for any redundancy in your inboxes
> :-)
>
> Thanks!  --Chris
>
> Christopher J. Mackie
> Associate Program Officer
> Research in Information Technology
> The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
> --
> 282 Alexander Rd.
> Princeton, NJ 08540
> --
> 140 E. 62nd St.
> New York, NY 10065 
> --
> +1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
> +1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
> +1 646.274.6351 (fax)
> cjmackie06 @ AIM
> cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
> --
> http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)
>
> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu
>
> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
>
>
>   

From matt.morgan at metmuseum.org  Wed Aug  6 07:50:22 2008
From: matt.morgan at metmuseum.org (Morgan, Matt)
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:50:22 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig
In-Reply-To: <71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
Message-ID: <C4BF326E.BBEA%matt.morgan@metmuseum.org>

In response to your question #2, "if we build it, will they come?", the
answer is basically "no," in my experience developing open-source tools for
museum use. Even institutions that really ought to be using what you built
may need a lot of help in understanding that. And there will be others that
could use it, and would, if it weren't for that one little thing they wish
were different ...

Your question is smart: you will have to do a lot of work to get places to
know about it and use it, and to the extent that you can build it so that
different institutions can attach to it in different ways ("I love it but I
want the data to go straight into [insert name of application/storage device
here]") and build their own layers on top of it, it will be more usable by
more places. Of course, that approach can appear to complicate the software
to the places that want the out-of-the-box solution, so perhaps you should
do both--i.e., build the turnkey solution, but build it in a series of
layers, some of which are optional.

I think it's a great idea and if you succeed at it the community will
seriously owe you one.

Matt


On 8/5/08 6:06 PM, "Christopher J. Mackie" <CJM at mellon.org> wrote:

> Hi all; I'm writing today on behalf of Mellon's IT funding program (not
> our Museums and Art Conservation Program, which is a different entity).
> We're looking at an opportunity to fund a different kind of digitization
> project, and I wonder if I could ask for your thoughts about its likely
> usefulness in the museum/cultural heritage communities?
> 
> What we've got in mind is a digitization rig for small or medium-sized
> 2D digitization projects.  The project would use off-the-shelf hardware
> and open source software, packaged carefully to be extremely easy to set
> up and use, even with no prior training.  It would be able to handle
> almost any kind of 2D material up to a certain size (books, flat pages,
> images) non-destructively, would OCR the results, and would then deliver
> the documents as special, searchable PDFs that could reformat for any
> display devices (i.e., the text would 'flow' so that you could, e.g.,
> read on your iPhone without having to scroll side-to-side or flip
> pages). Let me emphasize that it would be built to be operated by people
> with no digitization training whatsoever: staff, volunteers, students,
> etc. 
> 
> The system would be easy to set up and self-calibrating; it would use
> pairs of consumer-grade cameras ($250-500) from any of several
> manufacturers. The software would run on any standard PC or laptop
> (Mac/Win/Lin), support one-button operation, provide automatic page
> de-warping, include automatic OCR, allow computer-assisted addition of
> metadata, and otherwise be set up to produce professional quality output
> even when used by complete amateurs. We anticipate the final cost of all
> hardware and software (including the cameras and PC or laptop to run
> everything), to be sub-$2,000.
> 
> As you can infer from the above, this is not a system for digitizing
> fine art at very high resolution, but it is a curation-quality
> digitization system for text, whether diaries or handbills in a
> historical society or books in a museum library. Our goal is to bring
> digitization to the "Long Tail" of smaller collections out there in the
> world that are of potential cultural significance but where the likely
> audience is not large enough to attract the big, for-profit
> digitizers--or where the value or fragility is such that the works could
> not leave the institution to be scanned. Think of it as "Google Books
> for the Rest of Us...." :-)
> 
> I'd really appreciate the thoughts of those of you who know museums and
> cultural heritage organizations well, on three separable questions:
> 
> 1. Does anyone know of any other project, currently available or in
> development, that might deliver the same functionality and
> price-performance?
> 
> 2. If we build this, will institutions come? Are there many institutions
> out there with collections (including museum libraries) that their
> leaders would like to digitize, and which have labor (in some form)
> available to do the work, but for which the capital costs, expertise
> requirements, or other challenges of the current technology are the
> limiting factor?
> 
> 3. If institutions do take advantage of this service, will they make the
> resulting content freely available?  (I'm not looking to rehash barriers
> like copyright, but rather to solicit information/thoughts that bear on
> the *willingness* of museums and cultural heritage organizations to
> publish such content freely.)
> 
> Two logistical matters.  First, may I ask that replies go to the list
> unless you really need confidentiality? I'd like to get as many
> different views as possible, including responses-to-responses. Second,
> please note that I'm soliciting feedback on these questions, not
> proposals or offers to be a test site. If we do move forward, I think we
> may indeed want to invite institutions to become test sites, but if so
> I'll be back in touch via the MCN list: I'm not prepared to start a
> wait-list today. 
> 
> (I'm also asking these questions of our friends in the library and arts
> communities, so apologies in advance for any redundancy in your inboxes
> :-)
> 
> Thanks!  --Chris
> 
> Christopher J. Mackie
> Associate Program Officer
> Research in Information Technology
> The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
> --
> 282 Alexander Rd.
> Princeton, NJ 08540
> --
> 140 E. 62nd St.
> New York, NY 10065
> --
> +1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
> +1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
> +1 646.274.6351 (fax)
> cjmackie06 @ AIM
> cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
> --
> http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer
> Network (http://www.mcn.edu)
> 
> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu
> 
> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l


From dwiggins at simmons.edu  Wed Aug  6 08:18:27 2008
From: dwiggins at simmons.edu (David Dwiggins)
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 11:18:27 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig
In-Reply-To: <C4BF326E.BBEA%matt.morgan@metmuseum.org>
References: <71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
	<C4BF326E.BBEA%matt.morgan@metmuseum.org>
Message-ID: <e8de49ed0808060818n1c586b32tfd2e17a685f8bdc7@mail.gmail.com>

I agree with this. When I initially read the idea, I found it very
appealing. But I paused a bit when I read the part about creating
specialized PDFs as the primary output format. While this might be fine as
one option, it's important to remember that even small museums and archives
may have existing procedures and systems that they want to interface with.
And from a preservation perspective, being able to choose multiple output
formats is a real benefit.

I really like the idea of building the system in layers with standard APIs
in between them, so that people can then write creative solutions that sit
on top of/in between them. IE, the Flickr model. You can choose the level of
complexity you want. If you just want to upload your vacation pictures, you
can do that very easily, with user friendly tools like the Flickr Uploadr,
the web interface, etc. But if you want to, there's a rich API there that
lets you do things like write your own batch uploader program, manipulate
your photos online, access the data in a variety of ways, etc.

In the case of this proposal, for example, if the dewarping software for
this worked really well, it would be nice if there were a way for someone to
write a script that would invoke it on images captured through some other
method, rather than being locked within this one workflow. I think this
would spur a lot of creativity and rapid improvement in the system.

Ideally, I think there would be enough hooks that other open source projects
or software vendors would easily be able to take advantage of this system as
a data source. (IE, direct paths from this into software like Archivist's
Toolkit, OpenCollection, PastPerfect, Minisis, TMS, Extensis Portfolio,
Greenstone, etc.)

I think developing standardized hardware and software tools for this would
be a huge contribution, though, and I'd certainly love to see it happen. I
think this is seen as something that's too complicated for a lot of places,
and as a result worthy projects don't get done, or people waste huge amounts
of time with flatbed scanners simply because they are commodity hardware and
well understood.

-David Dwiggins
Systems Librarian/Archivist,
Historic New England
ddwiggins [at] historicnewengland [dot] org




On Wed, Aug 6, 2008 at 10:50 AM, Morgan, Matt <matt.morgan at metmuseum.org>wrote:

> In response to your question #2, "if we build it, will they come?", the
> answer is basically "no," in my experience developing open-source tools for
> museum use. Even institutions that really ought to be using what you built
> may need a lot of help in understanding that. And there will be others that
> could use it, and would, if it weren't for that one little thing they wish
> were different ...
>
> Your question is smart: you will have to do a lot of work to get places to
> know about it and use it, and to the extent that you can build it so that
> different institutions can attach to it in different ways ("I love it but I
> want the data to go straight into [insert name of application/storage
> device
> here]") and build their own layers on top of it, it will be more usable by
> more places. Of course, that approach can appear to complicate the software
> to the places that want the out-of-the-box solution, so perhaps you should
> do both--i.e., build the turnkey solution, but build it in a series of
> layers, some of which are optional.
>
> I think it's a great idea and if you succeed at it the community will
> seriously owe you one.
>
> Matt
>

From deborahwythe at hotmail.com  Wed Aug  6 08:52:03 2008
From: deborahwythe at hotmail.com (Deborah Wythe)
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 11:52:03 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig
In-Reply-To: <71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
References: <mailman.1.1217876401.1173.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
	<71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
Message-ID: <BLU126-W40274AE497E2DA279826E8CF7A0@phx.gbl>


Some of the responses already bring up other issues to think about:It's not just the digitization rig and the accompanying software. Once you have something that handles the production end, you have to manage all of the files.And, if you want them to be accessible, you have to have a way to capture and manage the image metadata.Both of these things can be costly. Do people have the network space for hundreds or thousands of images? Do they have an effective backup system to protect the files? How are people to going to gain access to the files, both to manage them and as end users? If you really want an effective turn key system, it can't just be the digitization rig -- it's got to take into account what happens downstream. I know the Mellon Foundation has been supporting some open source solutions on the data side. Are you envisioning one of these dovetailing with the "hardware/software" package you're talking about here?Deb WytheBrooklyn MuseumDigital Collections and Services deborahwythe at hotmail.com > Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2008 18:06:10 -0400> From: CJM at mellon.org> To: mcn-l at mcn.edu> Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig> > Hi all; I'm writing today on behalf of Mellon's IT funding program (not> our Museums and Art Conservation Program, which is a different entity).> We're looking at an opportunity to fund a different kind of digitization> project, and I wonder if I could ask for your thoughts about its likely> usefulness in the museum/cultural heritage communities?> 	> What we've got in mind is a digitization rig for small or medium-sized> 2D digitization projects.  The project would use off-the-shelf hardware> and open source software, packaged carefully to be extremely easy to set> up and use, even with no prior training.  It would be able to handle> almost any kind of 2D material up to a certain size (books, flat pages,> images) non-destructively, would OCR the results, and would then deliver> the documents as special, searchable PDFs that could reformat for any> display devices (i.e., the text would 'flow' so that you could, e.g.,> read on your iPhone without having to scroll side-to-side or flip> pages). Let me emphasize that it would be built to be operated by people> with no digitization training whatsoever: staff, volunteers, students,> etc. > > The system would be easy to set up and self-calibrating; it would use> pairs of consumer-grade cameras ($250-500) from any of several> manufacturers. The software would run on any standard PC or laptop> (Mac/Win/Lin), support one-button operation, provide automatic page> de-warping, include automatic OCR, allow computer-assisted addition of> metadata, and otherwise be set up to produce professional quality output> even when used by complete amateurs. We anticipate the final cost of all> hardware and software (including the cameras and PC or laptop to run> everything), to be sub-$2,000.  > > As you can infer from the above, this is not a system for digitizing> fine art at very high resolution, but it is a curation-quality> digitization system for text, whether diaries or handbills in a> historical society or books in a museum library. Our goal is to bring> digitization to the "Long Tail" of smaller collections out there in the> world that are of potential cultural significance but where the likely> audience is not large enough to attract the big, for-profit> digitizers--or where the value or fragility is such that the works could> not leave the institution to be scanned. Think of it as "Google Books> for the Rest of Us...." :-)> 	> I'd really appreciate the thoughts of those of you who know museums and> cultural heritage organizations well, on three separable questions:> > 1. Does anyone know of any other project, currently available or in> development, that might deliver the same functionality and> price-performance?> > 2. If we build this, will institutions come? Are there many institutions> out there with collections (including museum libraries) that their> leaders would like to digitize, and which have labor (in some form)> available to do the work, but for which the capital costs, expertise> requirements, or other challenges of the current technology are the> limiting factor?> > 3. If institutions do take advantage of this service, will they make the> resulting content freely available?  (I'm not looking to rehash barriers> like copyright, but rather to solicit information/thoughts that bear on> the *willingness* of museums and cultural heritage organizations to> publish such content freely.)> > Two logistical matters.  First, may I ask that replies go to the list> unless you really need confidentiality? I'd like to get as many> different views as possible, including responses-to-responses. Second,> please note that I'm soliciting feedback on these questions, not> proposals or offers to be a test site. If we do move forward, I think we> may indeed want to invite institutions to become test sites, but if so> I'll be back in touch via the MCN list: I'm not prepared to start a> wait-list today. > > (I'm also asking these questions of our friends in the library and arts> communities, so apologies in advance for any redundancy in your inboxes> :-)> > Thanks!  --Chris> > Christopher J. Mackie> Associate Program Officer> Research in Information Technology> The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation> --> 282 Alexander Rd.> Princeton, NJ 08540> --> 140 E. 62nd St.> New York, NY 10065 > --> +1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)> +1 609.933.1877 (mobile)> +1 646.274.6351 (fax)> cjmackie06 @ AIM> cjmackie5 @ Yahoo> --> http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org> > > _______________________________________________> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)> > To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu> > To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
_________________________________________________________________
Get more from your digital life.  Find out how.
http://www.windowslive.com/default.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_Home2_082008

From Wendy.Sporleder at slam.org  Wed Aug  6 10:10:29 2008
From: Wendy.Sporleder at slam.org (Wendy Sporleder)
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 12:10:29 -0500
Subject: [MCN-L] Membership card stock and printer question
In-Reply-To: <319919.80812.qm@web601.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
References: <319919.80812.qm@web601.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <DC6C03D5D76AFF40BEE6C816B4E81C11022517F7@Mail.stlartmuseum.org>

What system do you use for storing Membership data and/or
selling/entering Membership gifts? 


Wendy Sporleder 
Database Administrator 

Saint Louis Art Museum 
One Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park 
Saint Louis, MO.  63110 
314.655.5318 
wendy.sporleder at slam.org 




-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
william jahsman
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 9:08 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Membership card stock and printer question

When The Leonardo in Salt Lake City hosts Body Worlds 3 beginning next
month, we plan to host a membership kiosk and sell memberships using "an
ordinary printer and card stock." I'm wondering if anyone has experience
doing this and might be able to help me avoid some of the pitfalls.
TIA,
Bill Jahsman
The Leonardo
801-531-9800
_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l

From dthompson at mfah.org  Wed Aug  6 10:30:41 2008
From: dthompson at mfah.org (Thompson, Dave)
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 12:30:41 -0500
Subject: [MCN-L] Membership card stock and printer question
References: <319919.80812.qm@web601.biz.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
	<DC6C03D5D76AFF40BEE6C816B4E81C11022517F7@Mail.stlartmuseum.org>
Message-ID: <128692D10E069046A3158305E82EDE1CD092FD@mfah-exmail.mfah.local>

 At the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston we use Sage Millennium as our
primary donor/member database. We've integrated Millennium with our
ticketing system, Siriusware, so that we can sell "live" memberships on
site and online and then automatically update Millennium with those
sales.  Millennium manages the donor/member relationships, where
Siriusware manages access to the museum.

Let me know if you'd like any additional information.


Dave Thompson

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
PO Box 6826 Houston, Texas 77265-6826
5100 Montrose Boulevard Houston, Texas 77006
713.639.7580 office
281.330.3803 mobile
www.mfah.org



-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Wendy Sporleder
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 12:10 PM
To: Museum Computer Network Listserv
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Membership card stock and printer question

What system do you use for storing Membership data and/or
selling/entering Membership gifts? 


Wendy Sporleder
Database Administrator 

Saint Louis Art Museum
One Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park
Saint Louis, MO.  63110
314.655.5318
wendy.sporleder at slam.org 




-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
william jahsman
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 9:08 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Membership card stock and printer question

When The Leonardo in Salt Lake City hosts Body Worlds 3 beginning next
month, we plan to host a membership kiosk and sell memberships using "an
ordinary printer and card stock." I'm wondering if anyone has experience
doing this and might be able to help me avoid some of the pitfalls.
TIA,
Bill Jahsman
The Leonardo
801-531-9800
_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l

From JShubitowski at getty.edu  Wed Aug  6 11:22:02 2008
From: JShubitowski at getty.edu (Joe Shubitowski)
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:22:02 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig
In-Reply-To: <71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
References: <mailman.1.1217876401.1173.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
	<71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
Message-ID: <4899895A.F4C3.0002.0@getty.edu>

Chris,

What you are describing sounds a lot like an Internet Archives Scribe station "junior edition". We actually have a single Scribe installed now in-house and are doing 2D special collections material on it. It does just about everything you describe below...but it also has hooks into all the IA infrastructure for post-processing. I would think much of that functionality could be brought local, though. The cameras are pretty decent and those alone would cost more than the price you have spec'ed out. I am sure that a compromise could be made in this area. The scanner and separate foldout table run on standard PCs running Ubuntu Linix.

Maybe Mellon should approach Brewster about "commoditizing" the Scribe for more widespread use in the cultural heritage marketplace?? Maybe with the caveat that these institutions pledge to contribute public domain material to OCA or ....?? Just a thought.

Hope you are well,

Joe

-- 

Joseph M. Shubitowski
Head, Information Systems
Getty Research Institute
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles CA 90049-1688
Voice: 310-440-6394
Fax: 310-440-7780
jshubitowski at getty.edu 

>>> On 8/5/2008 at 3:06 PM, in message
<71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818 at ny2exch08.office.share.org>,
"Christopher J. Mackie" <CJM at mellon.org> wrote:
> Hi all; I'm writing today on behalf of Mellon's IT funding program (not
> our Museums and Art Conservation Program, which is a different entity).
> We're looking at an opportunity to fund a different kind of digitization
> project, and I wonder if I could ask for your thoughts about its likely
> usefulness in the museum/cultural heritage communities?
> 	
> What we've got in mind is a digitization rig for small or medium-sized
> 2D digitization projects.  The project would use off-the-shelf hardware
> and open source software, packaged carefully to be extremely easy to set
> up and use, even with no prior training.  It would be able to handle
> almost any kind of 2D material up to a certain size (books, flat pages,
> images) non-destructively, would OCR the results, and would then deliver
> the documents as special, searchable PDFs that could reformat for any
> display devices (i.e., the text would 'flow' so that you could, e.g.,
> read on your iPhone without having to scroll side-to-side or flip
> pages). Let me emphasize that it would be built to be operated by people
> with no digitization training whatsoever: staff, volunteers, students,
> etc. 
> 
> The system would be easy to set up and self-calibrating; it would use
> pairs of consumer-grade cameras ($250-500) from any of several
> manufacturers. The software would run on any standard PC or laptop
> (Mac/Win/Lin), support one-button operation, provide automatic page
> de-warping, include automatic OCR, allow computer-assisted addition of
> metadata, and otherwise be set up to produce professional quality output
> even when used by complete amateurs. We anticipate the final cost of all
> hardware and software (including the cameras and PC or laptop to run
> everything), to be sub-$2,000.  
> 
> As you can infer from the above, this is not a system for digitizing
> fine art at very high resolution, but it is a curation-quality
> digitization system for text, whether diaries or handbills in a
> historical society or books in a museum library. Our goal is to bring
> digitization to the "Long Tail" of smaller collections out there in the
> world that are of potential cultural significance but where the likely
> audience is not large enough to attract the big, for-profit
> digitizers--or where the value or fragility is such that the works could
> not leave the institution to be scanned. Think of it as "Google Books
> for the Rest of Us...." :-)
> 	
> I'd really appreciate the thoughts of those of you who know museums and
> cultural heritage organizations well, on three separable questions:
> 
> 1. Does anyone know of any other project, currently available or in
> development, that might deliver the same functionality and
> price-performance?
> 
> 2. If we build this, will institutions come? Are there many institutions
> out there with collections (including museum libraries) that their
> leaders would like to digitize, and which have labor (in some form)
> available to do the work, but for which the capital costs, expertise
> requirements, or other challenges of the current technology are the
> limiting factor?
> 
> 3. If institutions do take advantage of this service, will they make the
> resulting content freely available?  (I'm not looking to rehash barriers
> like copyright, but rather to solicit information/thoughts that bear on
> the *willingness* of museums and cultural heritage organizations to
> publish such content freely.)
> 
> Two logistical matters.  First, may I ask that replies go to the list
> unless you really need confidentiality? I'd like to get as many
> different views as possible, including responses-to-responses. Second,
> please note that I'm soliciting feedback on these questions, not
> proposals or offers to be a test site. If we do move forward, I think we
> may indeed want to invite institutions to become test sites, but if so
> I'll be back in touch via the MCN list: I'm not prepared to start a
> wait-list today. 
> 
> (I'm also asking these questions of our friends in the library and arts
> communities, so apologies in advance for any redundancy in your inboxes
> :-)
> 
> Thanks!  --Chris
> 
> Christopher J. Mackie
> Associate Program Officer
> Research in Information Technology
> The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
> --
> 282 Alexander Rd.
> Princeton, NJ 08540
> --
> 140 E. 62nd St.
> New York, NY 10065 
> --
> +1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
> +1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
> +1 646.274.6351 (fax)
> cjmackie06 @ AIM
> cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
> --
> http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer 
> Network (http://www.mcn.edu)
> 
> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu 
> 
> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l

From rcherry at skirball.org  Wed Aug  6 12:12:15 2008
From: rcherry at skirball.org (Cherry, Rich)
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 12:12:15 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig
In-Reply-To: <71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
References: <mailman.1.1217876401.1173.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
	<71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9818@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
Message-ID: <2A6CDDE8F1CB5D428E7CA6014794A582014E31EE@scc-mail.skirball.org>

In my experience it's the upfront labor (including impact on existing
staff) and long term labor and maintenance costs that prevent large
scale digitization in both small, medium and large institutions, not the
initial capital costs of the hardware and software.  If Mellon funded an
entry level position with the package then you would see a high level of
interest.  

Rich

Rich Cherry
Director of Operations
Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Work: (310) 440-4777
Fax: (310) 440-4595
rcherry at skirball.org
  

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Christopher J. Mackie
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 3:06 PM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig

Hi all; I'm writing today on behalf of Mellon's IT funding program (not
our Museums and Art Conservation Program, which is a different entity).
We're looking at an opportunity to fund a different kind of digitization
project, and I wonder if I could ask for your thoughts about its likely
usefulness in the museum/cultural heritage communities?
	
What we've got in mind is a digitization rig for small or medium-sized
2D digitization projects.  The project would use off-the-shelf hardware
and open source software, packaged carefully to be extremely easy to set
up and use, even with no prior training.  It would be able to handle
almost any kind of 2D material up to a certain size (books, flat pages,
images) non-destructively, would OCR the results, and would then deliver
the documents as special, searchable PDFs that could reformat for any
display devices (i.e., the text would 'flow' so that you could, e.g.,
read on your iPhone without having to scroll side-to-side or flip
pages). Let me emphasize that it would be built to be operated by people
with no digitization training whatsoever: staff, volunteers, students,
etc. 

The system would be easy to set up and self-calibrating; it would use
pairs of consumer-grade cameras ($250-500) from any of several
manufacturers. The software would run on any standard PC or laptop
(Mac/Win/Lin), support one-button operation, provide automatic page
de-warping, include automatic OCR, allow computer-assisted addition of
metadata, and otherwise be set up to produce professional quality output
even when used by complete amateurs. We anticipate the final cost of all
hardware and software (including the cameras and PC or laptop to run
everything), to be sub-$2,000.  

As you can infer from the above, this is not a system for digitizing
fine art at very high resolution, but it is a curation-quality
digitization system for text, whether diaries or handbills in a
historical society or books in a museum library. Our goal is to bring
digitization to the "Long Tail" of smaller collections out there in the
world that are of potential cultural significance but where the likely
audience is not large enough to attract the big, for-profit
digitizers--or where the value or fragility is such that the works could
not leave the institution to be scanned. Think of it as "Google Books
for the Rest of Us...." :-)
	
I'd really appreciate the thoughts of those of you who know museums and
cultural heritage organizations well, on three separable questions:

1. Does anyone know of any other project, currently available or in
development, that might deliver the same functionality and
price-performance?

2. If we build this, will institutions come? Are there many institutions
out there with collections (including museum libraries) that their
leaders would like to digitize, and which have labor (in some form)
available to do the work, but for which the capital costs, expertise
requirements, or other challenges of the current technology are the
limiting factor?

3. If institutions do take advantage of this service, will they make the
resulting content freely available?  (I'm not looking to rehash barriers
like copyright, but rather to solicit information/thoughts that bear on
the *willingness* of museums and cultural heritage organizations to
publish such content freely.)

Two logistical matters.  First, may I ask that replies go to the list
unless you really need confidentiality? I'd like to get as many
different views as possible, including responses-to-responses. Second,
please note that I'm soliciting feedback on these questions, not
proposals or offers to be a test site. If we do move forward, I think we
may indeed want to invite institutions to become test sites, but if so
I'll be back in touch via the MCN list: I'm not prepared to start a
wait-list today. 

(I'm also asking these questions of our friends in the library and arts
communities, so apologies in advance for any redundancy in your inboxes
:-)

Thanks!  --Chris

Christopher J. Mackie
Associate Program Officer
Research in Information Technology
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
--
282 Alexander Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
--
140 E. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10065
--
+1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
+1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
+1 646.274.6351 (fax)
cjmackie06 @ AIM
cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
--
http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org


_______________________________________________
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Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

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From B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl  Thu Aug  7 03:54:28 2008
From: B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl (Bas Nederveen)
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 12:54:28 +0200
Subject: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers
Message-ID: <1480E15259241746B6F724AAB8F2B1497043180FD5@AMSTERDAM1-12.rijksmuseum.intra>

"meaningless" inventory numbers


The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is exploring the possibility to introduce "meaningless" inventory numbers, i.e. plain numbers without any references to additional information, such as for example purchase date, department or object status. We would therefore like to get in contact with institutions which have experience in this matter. Since this matter relates to database management it seemed appropriate to try MCN-L.

We are particularly interested in the following:

How do you catalogue related items such as services or (photo's in) photo albums? These item usually have a group record and separate object records. How do you record relations between them?

Are you facing difficulties in daily practice if information can no longer be deduced from the inventory number? For example in your warehouse, while documenting etc. Are related object still easy to find (without immediate access to a computer)?

What do your inventory numbers look like?

Are you following any (inter)national standards?

Sincerely,


Bas Nederveen



Drs. B. Nederveen
Documentalist, Afdeling Collectieregistratie & Documentatie
Documentalist, Registration & Documentation Department
T +31 (0)20 67 47 230
Bezoekadres/Visitors' address
Frans van Mierisstraat 92, 1071 RZ Amsterdam
Vrijdag afwezig/Fridays absent

De Meesterwerken/ The Masterpieces
Rijksmuseum is dagelijks open van 9-18 uur. Op vrijdag van 9-20.30 uur met speciaal avondprogramma.
Rijksmuseum is open daily from 9 am - 6 pm. On Friday from 9 am to 8.30 pm.
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl>

_______________________________________
Rijksmuseum
Postbus/PO Box 74888, 1070 DN Amsterdam
Nederland / The Netherlands
T +31 (0) 20 6747000
F +31 (0) 20 6747001
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/>





From robm at rom.on.ca  Thu Aug  7 07:04:21 2008
From: robm at rom.on.ca (Robert Mason)
Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:04:21 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers
In-Reply-To: <1480E15259241746B6F724AAB8F2B1497043180FD5@AMSTERDAM1-12.rijksmuseum.intra>
References: <1480E15259241746B6F724AAB8F2B1497043180FD5@AMSTERDAM1-12.rijksmuseum.intra>
Message-ID: <489AC8A4.6BCF.0070.0@rom.on.ca>

Here at the Royal Ontario Museum we have a system in which we have the year as the first element, then a batch number, and then the unique identifier, sometimes with a further number for multiple component objects. The IT dept, however, likes to use the unique identifier from the database, which is just a number, so the curatorial types are always talking about the "Accession number" and the IT people are always talking about the "RID#". Curatorial resists this, however, as people actually remember what the numbers mean, for instance I know that accession number 988.117.32 would be an artefact from excavations in Fustat, Egypt - all the 988.117. numbers are. Similarly people can remember specific objects and their histories from the accession number. So personally, I'd have to say meaningful numbers are a good thing. On the database, however, any link to the main museum image bank, the web, etc is done through IT's RID#, so in a way, we have the both of both worlds, but as long as you make sure you have a meaningful number that is unique for each object, it should work without a meaningless number.
 
Robert Mason
 
_____________________________________________
Dr. Robert B. J. Mason (E-mail: robm at rom.on.ca; fax (416) 586-5877)
Dept of World Cultures, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2C6, CANADA
Associate Professor, Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of Toronto, 4 Bancroft Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1C1, CANADA
web: http://www.utoronto.ca/nmc/mason/mason.html 

>>> Bas Nederveen <B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl> 8/7/2008 6:54 AM >>>
"meaningless" inventory numbers


The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is exploring the possibility to introduce "meaningless" inventory numbers, i.e. plain numbers without any references to additional information, such as for example purchase date, department or object status. We would therefore like to get in contact with institutions which have experience in this matter. Since this matter relates to database management it seemed appropriate to try MCN-L.

We are particularly interested in the following:

How do you catalogue related items such as services or (photo's in) photo albums? These item usually have a group record and separate object records. How do you record relations between them?

Are you facing difficulties in daily practice if information can no longer be deduced from the inventory number? For example in your warehouse, while documenting etc. Are related object still easy to find (without immediate access to a computer)?

What do your inventory numbers look like?

Are you following any (inter)national standards?

Sincerely,


Bas Nederveen



Drs. B. Nederveen
Documentalist, Afdeling Collectieregistratie & Documentatie
Documentalist, Registration & Documentation Department
T +31 (0)20 67 47 230
Bezoekadres/Visitors' address
Frans van Mierisstraat 92, 1071 RZ Amsterdam
Vrijdag afwezig/Fridays absent

De Meesterwerken/ The Masterpieces
Rijksmuseum is dagelijks open van 9-18 uur. Op vrijdag van 9-20.30 uur met speciaal avondprogramma.
Rijksmuseum is open daily from 9 am - 6 pm. On Friday from 9 am to 8.30 pm.
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl ( http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/ )>

_______________________________________
Rijksmuseum
Postbus/PO Box 74888, 1070 DN Amsterdam
Nederland / The Netherlands
T +31 (0) 20 6747000
F +31 (0) 20 6747001
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/>




_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu 

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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From CJM at mellon.org  Thu Aug  7 08:12:46 2008
From: CJM at mellon.org (Christopher J. Mackie)
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 11:12:46 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig
In-Reply-To: <mailman.1.1218049202.7386.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
References: <mailman.1.1218049202.7386.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9828@ny2exch08.office.share.org>

Thanks to everyone who responded to my query yesterday about
digitization rigs. The responses were extremely helpful, and I am most
grateful. 

There were so many responses on and offline, some of which include
several back-and-forths, that I'm not going to attempt a summary of the
questions and concerns; instead, let me respond by providing what I hope
will be a clearer and more comprehensive explanation of what we're
talking about (with my apologies for not making all of it clearer the
first time :-).
	
1) The focus of the project is on the software, not the hardware. We're
using off-the-shelf, consumer-grade hardware so that we don't have to
think about hardware at all; the whole reason to create the software
now, as some of you noted, is that the hardware has reached the point
where it's no longer the bottleneck. The sub-$2,000 configuration we
describe will produce 600dpi output, for example--and runs fast enough
that the page-turner, not the imaging hardware, is the throughput
bottleneck. (For those who really want to know, it's a two-camera,
stereo rig that shoots both pages of a book at once and uses the stereo
plus some other tricks to dewarp and align text.)

2) The software will be, literally, one-button. Anyone who can turn a
page and press a button will be able to use it--no training, no special
skills required. Someone will have to assemble the rig (we anticipate a
one-sheet instruction set, with room for many pictures :-), but once
it's up, it will keep itself in calibration and perform all of the
ancillary tasks of digitizing--dewarping, aligning, etc.--without user
input. It will auto-structure the text, but there will also be
opportunities for user interaction.

3) The PDF output is the only *final* output we have discussed, and it's
required for the 'flowing' of text for reader device independence. But
the system preserves interim formats as well, including the original
scanned TIFFs and the interim hOCR format, so getting data into other
formats will be relatively straightforward. 

4) The metadata to be input will be at the discretion of the institution
doing the digitizing, and can be applied at the level of the individual
image or collection of images (e.g., the book, or even a collection of
books).

5) The software is SOA and also scriptable, so it can easily be
decomposed and extended (e.g., it will use the OCRopus open-source OCR
system, which can itself be implemented as a set of services). We're
going to build a seamless wrapper for institutions that don't have the
tech capacity to do their own customization, but that won't prevent
institutions that have the chops from doing whatever they want with it.
As you might suspect from this, by the way, the software will be
web-based and multi-user; this means that a larger institution could set
up several volunteer-operated rigs, all feeding one staffer who's doing
QA and adding/reviewing metadata. 

6) The system will include automated open archiving online (i.e., not at
institutional expense) for both the raw images and the finished outputs
(perhaps also the interim formats), with a stable, permanent URL;
institutions that want to host locally will be able to do that
instead/in addition. To respond in particular to Joe's point about
Internet Archive; we've talked with IA already. I don't want to speak
for them, but it's safe to say that we've taken their views into account
and I think they'll be very pleased by what's delivered, should we move
forward. 

7) The model we're thinking about is a "Long Tail" model; while it's
entirely possible that even 'big' digitizers might benefit from the
software, our primary purpose is to extend the capability to small
institutions with small collections. In the model we envision, these
smaller institutions won't be devoting staff--or anyone--full-time to
the project, but will be digitizing using opportunistic labor
(volunteers, interns, min-wage teens, etc.) as available. Staff will
most likely only engage in small quantities, for QA and metadata
purposes. This model trades time for money: it removes the labor
bottleneck by allowing an institution to pay nearly nothing as long as
it's willing to wait a while for the output, instead of getting results
quickly but paying a lot for them. In short, we're envisioning a very
different kind of 'scalability' than the one(s) that many of you
mentioned. 

8) Several people inquired about the flowing PDFs. The technology will
be fully open-source, so it will also be usable by projects other than
this. 

9) One thing nobody mentioned, because I didn't mention it in the first
place: because this project will use OCRopus, it has the potential to be
used for texts in many languages (including math and chem formulae), not
just English. How quickly and well that capability emerges will depend
on how big and multi-lingual a community forms around OCRopus, but at
least, unlike many commercial OCR products, there's hope.... 

As for the questions I asked originally, here's what I think I heard:

1) Setting aside the concerns about whether/how the technology will
work, many of you feel that this is likely to be quite valuable. Of
those who do, most of you think that small institutions will be willing
to publish most of the materials openly, provided they are supported
(with hosting, etc.) in doing so. 

2) Quite a few of you remain skeptical that even a low-cost rig will
enable small institutions to digitize, because you believe that labor
remains the true bottleneck. I'd be interested to know if that remains
true even in the context of the "Long Tail" model I described in (7),
above, or whether you were thinking implicitly about a 'big'
digitization project on fixed timelines.

Again, thanks *very* much to everyone who took the trouble to respond.
We're still quite a ways from a final decision, so if you think of
anything else you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to get in
touch.

All best,  --Chris

Christopher J. Mackie
Associate Program Officer
Research in Information Technology
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
--
282 Alexander Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
--
140 E. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10065 
--
+1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
+1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
+1 646.274.6351 (fax)
cjmackie06 @ AIM
cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
--
http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org







 

From psully at magnes.org  Thu Aug  7 09:07:35 2008
From: psully at magnes.org (Perian Sully)
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 09:07:35 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers
References: <1480E15259241746B6F724AAB8F2B1497043180FD5@AMSTERDAM1-12.rijksmuseum.intra>
	<489AC8A4.6BCF.0070.0@rom.on.ca>
Message-ID: <AD775DE5635C2042BF1DCB7EED36A83B471D95@jlm-net.jlm.local>

I second Robert. One of the beautiful things about accession numbers is
that they are meaningful and useful at a glance. We also use the classic
trinomial accession number method, with some extra complications (if
you're interested, I'd be happy to forward the descriptions of each part
of the number. It can get quite complex for us, but it works). 

For things like photos in photo albums, if the photo comes out of the
album for separate display, that one photograph might become something
like 2008.12.3a <- the "a" refers to the photograph itself, because it
is a part of the whole album.

For artist portfolios, which have sheets which are designed to come out
and be displayed separately, the number could be as large as
2008.12.4.1-15 (for a portfolio with 13 prints, plus a colophon and a
hard cover - 15 pieces total)

In our CMS, we have fields which pertain to Other Numbers. These could
be temporary numbers, numbers the donor assigned to the piece before we
received it, incorrect numbers (there might be paperwork floating around
referencing the incorrect number), etc. I would caution against labeling
the works themselves with a "meaningless" number. We were just
discussing this ourselves, and realized that while the RID# is unique to
each record, there is the chance that if we ever migrate the system
again. As each software package and database structure is different, a
new database may not be able to import the RID# of the previous system.

There are some cases in which we will use the RID# - temporary loans for
exhibition, for example - but for our collections, we'll stick with the
standard.

Hope this helps!

Perian Sully
Collection Information and New Media Coordinator
Judah L. Magnes Museum


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Robert Mason
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 7:04 AM
To: 'mcn-l at mcn.edu'
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers

Here at the Royal Ontario Museum we have a system in which we have the
year as the first element, then a batch number, and then the unique
identifier, sometimes with a further number for multiple component
objects. The IT dept, however, likes to use the unique identifier from
the database, which is just a number, so the curatorial types are always
talking about the "Accession number" and the IT people are always
talking about the "RID#". Curatorial resists this, however, as people
actually remember what the numbers mean, for instance I know that
accession number 988.117.32 would be an artefact from excavations in
Fustat, Egypt - all the 988.117. numbers are. Similarly people can
remember specific objects and their histories from the accession number.
So personally, I'd have to say meaningful numbers are a good thing. On
the database, however, any link to the main museum image bank, the web,
etc is done through IT's RID#, so in a way, we have the both of both
worlds, but as lo
 ng as you make sure you have a meaningful number that is unique for
each object, it should work without a meaningless number.
 
Robert Mason
 
_____________________________________________
Dr. Robert B. J. Mason (E-mail: robm at rom.on.ca; fax (416) 586-5877)
Dept of World Cultures, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto,
Ontario, M5S 2C6, CANADA
Associate Professor, Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University
of Toronto, 4 Bancroft Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1C1, CANADA
web: http://www.utoronto.ca/nmc/mason/mason.html 

>>> Bas Nederveen <B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl> 8/7/2008 6:54 AM >>>
"meaningless" inventory numbers


The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is exploring the possibility to introduce
"meaningless" inventory numbers, i.e. plain numbers without any
references to additional information, such as for example purchase date,
department or object status. We would therefore like to get in contact
with institutions which have experience in this matter. Since this
matter relates to database management it seemed appropriate to try
MCN-L.

We are particularly interested in the following:

How do you catalogue related items such as services or (photo's in)
photo albums? These item usually have a group record and separate object
records. How do you record relations between them?

Are you facing difficulties in daily practice if information can no
longer be deduced from the inventory number? For example in your
warehouse, while documenting etc. Are related object still easy to find
(without immediate access to a computer)?

What do your inventory numbers look like?

Are you following any (inter)national standards?

Sincerely,


Bas Nederveen



Drs. B. Nederveen
Documentalist, Afdeling Collectieregistratie & Documentatie
Documentalist, Registration & Documentation Department
T +31 (0)20 67 47 230
Bezoekadres/Visitors' address
Frans van Mierisstraat 92, 1071 RZ Amsterdam
Vrijdag afwezig/Fridays absent

De Meesterwerken/ The Masterpieces
Rijksmuseum is dagelijks open van 9-18 uur. Op vrijdag van 9-20.30 uur
met speciaal avondprogramma.
Rijksmuseum is open daily from 9 am - 6 pm. On Friday from 9 am to 8.30
pm.
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl (
http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/ )>

_______________________________________
Rijksmuseum
Postbus/PO Box 74888, 1070 DN Amsterdam
Nederland / The Netherlands
T +31 (0) 20 6747000
F +31 (0) 20 6747001
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/>




_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu 

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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From mmisunas at sfmoma.org  Thu Aug  7 09:24:34 2008
From: mmisunas at sfmoma.org (Misunas, Marla)
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 09:24:34 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers
In-Reply-To: <489AC8A4.6BCF.0070.0@rom.on.ca>
References: <1480E15259241746B6F724AAB8F2B1497043180FD5@AMSTERDAM1-12.rijksmuseum.intra>
	<489AC8A4.6BCF.0070.0@rom.on.ca>
Message-ID: <45058F8692E66640955EC9882C7C48430434C680@monet.SFMOMA.ORG>

SFMOMA uses a similar typical system but we no longer use the "batch"
method which had--for us--formerly referred to a group of objects given
by a single donor.  We have local variations that group objects that
need to be shown together like a multi-part sculpture (we use a letter
series: 2000.19.A-F) or prints in a portfolio, which can be taken apart
and shown separately (2000.20.1-99).

Our digital asset management system displays the accession number for
each object, but it links behind the scenes based on the CMS' internal
ID number.
That way the Media Library doesn't get confused if something changes--it
always links back to EmbARK's internal ID number.

For those of us who don't think in binary code, we like seeing the
"human readable" number, which is meaningful to us; and we let the
machine deal with the internal numbers.  This seems to be universal
throughout our staff, whether they are curators, info management, or
IT--we all use the same vocabulary.  Sounds like we are on the same page
with you guys, Robert.


Marla Misunas
Collections Information Manager
Collections Information and Access
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
415-357-4186 (voice)
Check out SFMOMA Collections Online
www.sfmoma.org
__________________________________
 
Past President, Museum Computer Network
http://www.mcn.edu
-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Robert Mason
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 7:04 AM
To: 'mcn-l at mcn.edu'
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers

Here at the Royal Ontario Museum we have a system in which we have the
year as the first element, then a batch number, and then the unique
identifier, sometimes with a further number for multiple component
objects. The IT dept, however, likes to use the unique identifier from
the database, which is just a number, so the curatorial types are always
talking about the "Accession number" and the IT people are always
talking about the "RID#". Curatorial resists this, however, as people
actually remember what the numbers mean, for instance I know that
accession number 988.117.32 would be an artefact from excavations in
Fustat, Egypt - all the 988.117. numbers are. Similarly people can
remember specific objects and their histories from the accession number.
So personally, I'd have to say meaningful numbers are a good thing. On
the database, however, any link to the main museum image bank, the web,
etc is done through IT's RID#, so in a way, we have the both of both
worlds, but as lo
 ng as you make sure you have a meaningful number that is unique for
each object, it should work without a meaningless number.
 
Robert Mason
 
_____________________________________________
Dr. Robert B. J. Mason (E-mail: robm at rom.on.ca; fax (416) 586-5877)
Dept of World Cultures, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto,
Ontario, M5S 2C6, CANADA
Associate Professor, Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University
of Toronto, 4 Bancroft Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1C1, CANADA
web: http://www.utoronto.ca/nmc/mason/mason.html 

>>> Bas Nederveen <B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl> 8/7/2008 6:54 AM >>>
"meaningless" inventory numbers


The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is exploring the possibility to introduce
"meaningless" inventory numbers, i.e. plain numbers without any
references to additional information, such as for example purchase date,
department or object status. We would therefore like to get in contact
with institutions which have experience in this matter. Since this
matter relates to database management it seemed appropriate to try
MCN-L.

We are particularly interested in the following:

How do you catalogue related items such as services or (photo's in)
photo albums? These item usually have a group record and separate object
records. How do you record relations between them?

Are you facing difficulties in daily practice if information can no
longer be deduced from the inventory number? For example in your
warehouse, while documenting etc. Are related object still easy to find
(without immediate access to a computer)?

What do your inventory numbers look like?

Are you following any (inter)national standards?

Sincerely,


Bas Nederveen



Drs. B. Nederveen
Documentalist, Afdeling Collectieregistratie & Documentatie
Documentalist, Registration & Documentation Department
T +31 (0)20 67 47 230
Bezoekadres/Visitors' address
Frans van Mierisstraat 92, 1071 RZ Amsterdam
Vrijdag afwezig/Fridays absent

De Meesterwerken/ The Masterpieces
Rijksmuseum is dagelijks open van 9-18 uur. Op vrijdag van 9-20.30 uur
met speciaal avondprogramma.
Rijksmuseum is open daily from 9 am - 6 pm. On Friday from 9 am to 8.30
pm.
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl (
http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/ )>

_______________________________________
Rijksmuseum
Postbus/PO Box 74888, 1070 DN Amsterdam
Nederland / The Netherlands
T +31 (0) 20 6747000
F +31 (0) 20 6747001
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/>




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The information contained in this electronic mail message (including any attachments) is confidential information that may be covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC Sections 2510-2521, intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above, and may be privileged.  If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication, or the taking of any action based on it, is strictly prohibited.  If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify me and delete the original message.  Thank you


From psully at magnes.org  Thu Aug  7 09:30:25 2008
From: psully at magnes.org (Perian Sully)
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 09:30:25 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig
References: <mailman.1.1218049202.7386.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
	<71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9828@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
Message-ID: <AD775DE5635C2042BF1DCB7EED36A83B471D9C@jlm-net.jlm.local>

Dear Chris:

Fantastic discussion. Thank you.

Small and mid-sized institutions have three major problems: 1) staff 2)
funding and 3) expertise. Many of them are definitely feeling the
pressure to digitize and image their collections, and some strides have
certainly been made, but some of the common questions which come up have
to do with the setup, equipment, and standards. Having a reliable,
easy-to-use, and flexible system would certainly be of interest to many
smaller historical institutions.

We at the Magnes recently received a donation which will allow us to
purchase the BookSnap system for our rare book collection:
http://booksnap.atiz.com/ The rig itself is $1909.60, with all the
shipping and tax and software, and it requires two Canon cameras (we
opted for two Canon Powershot G9 cameras for $449 each) and a Windows
OS. The Windows requirement is a bit of a problem, since the lab it is
going into will be running iMacs (since it's a public lab, we're not
going to use virtualization software on those machines, as far as I
know).

Have you considered putting the question to the RCAAM or SAA listservs?
I suspect that many folks on those listservs would be willing to provide
"lively" feedback about what their specific needs might be, especially
since it's likely that they'll be the ones manning the rig. I'd be happy
to forward to RCAAM, if you would like.

Best,

Perian Sully
Collection Information Manager
Judah L. Magnes Museum


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Christopher J. Mackie
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 8:13 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig

Thanks to everyone who responded to my query yesterday about
digitization rigs. The responses were extremely helpful, and I am most
grateful. 

There were so many responses on and offline, some of which include
several back-and-forths, that I'm not going to attempt a summary of the
questions and concerns; instead, let me respond by providing what I hope
will be a clearer and more comprehensive explanation of what we're
talking about (with my apologies for not making all of it clearer the
first time :-).
	
1) The focus of the project is on the software, not the hardware. We're
using off-the-shelf, consumer-grade hardware so that we don't have to
think about hardware at all; the whole reason to create the software
now, as some of you noted, is that the hardware has reached the point
where it's no longer the bottleneck. The sub-$2,000 configuration we
describe will produce 600dpi output, for example--and runs fast enough
that the page-turner, not the imaging hardware, is the throughput
bottleneck. (For those who really want to know, it's a two-camera,
stereo rig that shoots both pages of a book at once and uses the stereo
plus some other tricks to dewarp and align text.)

2) The software will be, literally, one-button. Anyone who can turn a
page and press a button will be able to use it--no training, no special
skills required. Someone will have to assemble the rig (we anticipate a
one-sheet instruction set, with room for many pictures :-), but once
it's up, it will keep itself in calibration and perform all of the
ancillary tasks of digitizing--dewarping, aligning, etc.--without user
input. It will auto-structure the text, but there will also be
opportunities for user interaction.

3) The PDF output is the only *final* output we have discussed, and it's
required for the 'flowing' of text for reader device independence. But
the system preserves interim formats as well, including the original
scanned TIFFs and the interim hOCR format, so getting data into other
formats will be relatively straightforward. 

4) The metadata to be input will be at the discretion of the institution
doing the digitizing, and can be applied at the level of the individual
image or collection of images (e.g., the book, or even a collection of
books).

5) The software is SOA and also scriptable, so it can easily be
decomposed and extended (e.g., it will use the OCRopus open-source OCR
system, which can itself be implemented as a set of services). We're
going to build a seamless wrapper for institutions that don't have the
tech capacity to do their own customization, but that won't prevent
institutions that have the chops from doing whatever they want with it.
As you might suspect from this, by the way, the software will be
web-based and multi-user; this means that a larger institution could set
up several volunteer-operated rigs, all feeding one staffer who's doing
QA and adding/reviewing metadata. 

6) The system will include automated open archiving online (i.e., not at
institutional expense) for both the raw images and the finished outputs
(perhaps also the interim formats), with a stable, permanent URL;
institutions that want to host locally will be able to do that
instead/in addition. To respond in particular to Joe's point about
Internet Archive; we've talked with IA already. I don't want to speak
for them, but it's safe to say that we've taken their views into account
and I think they'll be very pleased by what's delivered, should we move
forward. 

7) The model we're thinking about is a "Long Tail" model; while it's
entirely possible that even 'big' digitizers might benefit from the
software, our primary purpose is to extend the capability to small
institutions with small collections. In the model we envision, these
smaller institutions won't be devoting staff--or anyone--full-time to
the project, but will be digitizing using opportunistic labor
(volunteers, interns, min-wage teens, etc.) as available. Staff will
most likely only engage in small quantities, for QA and metadata
purposes. This model trades time for money: it removes the labor
bottleneck by allowing an institution to pay nearly nothing as long as
it's willing to wait a while for the output, instead of getting results
quickly but paying a lot for them. In short, we're envisioning a very
different kind of 'scalability' than the one(s) that many of you
mentioned. 

8) Several people inquired about the flowing PDFs. The technology will
be fully open-source, so it will also be usable by projects other than
this. 

9) One thing nobody mentioned, because I didn't mention it in the first
place: because this project will use OCRopus, it has the potential to be
used for texts in many languages (including math and chem formulae), not
just English. How quickly and well that capability emerges will depend
on how big and multi-lingual a community forms around OCRopus, but at
least, unlike many commercial OCR products, there's hope.... 

As for the questions I asked originally, here's what I think I heard:

1) Setting aside the concerns about whether/how the technology will
work, many of you feel that this is likely to be quite valuable. Of
those who do, most of you think that small institutions will be willing
to publish most of the materials openly, provided they are supported
(with hosting, etc.) in doing so. 

2) Quite a few of you remain skeptical that even a low-cost rig will
enable small institutions to digitize, because you believe that labor
remains the true bottleneck. I'd be interested to know if that remains
true even in the context of the "Long Tail" model I described in (7),
above, or whether you were thinking implicitly about a 'big'
digitization project on fixed timelines.

Again, thanks *very* much to everyone who took the trouble to respond.
We're still quite a ways from a final decision, so if you think of
anything else you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to get in
touch.

All best,  --Chris

Christopher J. Mackie
Associate Program Officer
Research in Information Technology
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
--
282 Alexander Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
--
140 E. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10065 
--
+1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
+1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
+1 646.274.6351 (fax)
cjmackie06 @ AIM
cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
--
http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org







 
_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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From mstein at mfah.org  Thu Aug  7 09:44:37 2008
From: mstein at mfah.org (Stein, Marty)
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 11:44:37 -0500
Subject: [MCN-L] Position Annoucement - Collection Photographer,
	The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Message-ID: <128692D10E069046A3158305E82EDE1C012F0BC5@mfah-exmail.mfah.local>

Hello,

Please accept my apologies for cross-posting.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has a new position opening for a
Collection Photographer.  If you would like more information, please
contact me at mstein at mfah.org or go to our website:
www.mfah.org/employment.

Thank you and have a wonderful day!

Marty Stein

Marcia (Marty) Stein
Photographic and Imaging Services Manager
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
PO Box 6826
Houston, Texas 77265-6826
Phone: (713) 639-7525
Fax: (713) 639-7557
Email: mstein at mfah.org



Position Available
				
Title:			Collection Photographer
Reports To:		Photographic and Imaging Services Manager
Date Needed:		September 2008
Pay Type:		Salaried, Nonexempt, Full Time, 35 hours/week
Salary:			Commensurate with Experience and Education
Benefits:		Group Medical and Dental Insurance, Life and
Long Term
			Disability Insurance, Pension Plan, Credit
Union, Flexible
			Compensation Plan, Paid Time Off, Reserve Time
Off, and 
			Holiday Pay
Work Schedule:	Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Work Location:		Beck Building, a non-smoking facility

Responsibilities:
*	Photograph objects from the permanent collection of the Museum
of Fine Arts, Houston, including Bayou Bend and Rienzi
*	Photograph, as needed, objects on loan to the MFAH for
exhibition and research
*	Photograph installations of exhibitions at MFAH, Bayou Bend,
Rienzi and Glassell School of Art
*	Photograph interior and exterior views of MFAH architecture
*	Photograph, as needed, after-hours MFAH events
*	Coordinate photography schedule with Chief Registrar,
Photographic and Imaging Services Manager, and Assistant Registrar
*	Consult with museum staff including curators, registrars,
preparators, conservators, and designers to gather information to
determine how objects should be photographed for specific projects
*	Coordinate movement of artworks with preparators and moves
objects within photography studio
*	Stay apprised of the applications for new technology and advise
supervisor of the applications for new technology
*	Other tasks as assigned
	
Skills, Knowledge and Abilities::
*	Must posses a broad knowledge of film-based and digital
photographic processes, methods and new technologies
*	Must be able to work with a variety of museum staff and function
within a team-oriented department
*	Must have command of a variety of professional cameras and
equipment including large format, medium format, 35mm, copystand,
electronic strobe, continuous lighting, and diffusers
*	Must be able to maintain photographic equipment and lenses in
accordance with accepted policies of the department
*	Must have the ability to judge and correct digital proofs,
color, contrast, and density when compared to original objects
*	Must have knowledge of specialized software applications
(Photoshop, Bridge, Capture One, Eye One) used to manipulate, print and
save images
*	Must have the ability to use cross platform computers, operating
systems and applications
	

*	Must be able to organize time and schedules efficiently in the
absence of direct supervision
*	Must posses knowledge of museum and art handling procedures

	Education and Experience:  
*	BFA in photography and knowledge of art history preferred
*	A combination of experience gathered from technical photography
school study, apprenticeship and on-the-job training
*	Minimum of five years work experience in photography
*	Experience utilizing professional digital camera systems
*	Demonstrated ability to discriminate and adjust fine tonal
variations and color fidelity of digital reproductions against original
objects
*	A portfolio of work required
	
How to Apply:  
Send resume to Human Resources, Job 022, P.O. Box 6826, Houston TX
77265-6826; 
Fax 713-639-7597 or email: jobs at mfah.org or apply at
www.mfah.org/employment



Marcia (Marty) Stein
Photographic Services Manager
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
PO Box 6826
Houston, Texas 77265-6826
Phone: (713) 639-7525
Fax: (713) 639-7557
Email: mstein at mfah.org



From rcherry at skirball.org  Thu Aug  7 14:49:06 2008
From: rcherry at skirball.org (Cherry, Rich)
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 14:49:06 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig
In-Reply-To: <71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9828@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
References: <mailman.1.1218049202.7386.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
	<71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9828@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
Message-ID: <2A6CDDE8F1CB5D428E7CA6014794A582014E328D@scc-mail.skirball.org>

I think your answers address some of the labor issues but not all.  I
don't want to sound like I am against this (as I am not) but I think
there are some major practical issues that cannot be addressed with
interns and volunteers in most cases:

Who leads the project (gets the institution behind it, finds the free
labor source, finds space, organizes tasks and manages a schedule)?
Who selects the material?
Who moves the material to the location for scanning (is the free labor a
security issue?)?
Who reviews the material to see if there are copyright issues?
Who proofs the final product to see if errors were made?
Where will the product live when the funding for online archives
disappears?
If there is no cataloging for access other than the OCR is the only use
a huge repository of unconnected individual pages or if its books and
collections who catalogs them and connects them?

I think some institutions will find a way to accomplish the tasks above
and I think that the product described below would help them but my
guess is that if they can get the buy in required to expend the effort
listed above that very few would be stopped because of the software
being a little expensive or hard to use.  

To put it another way:  I don't think there are a lot of institutions
sitting on the fence waiting for a low cost software solution to the
problem.  They are trying to figure out the challenges listed above. 

I do think that the online archive piece might move a few organizations
closer to doing it.  It might even be more attractive if some of the OCR
processing took place there as well.

Is part of the plan to use something like Amazon Web Services for this?

Rich


Rich Cherry
Director of Operations
Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Work: (310) 440-4777
Fax: (310) 440-4595
rcherry at skirball.org



-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Christopher J. Mackie
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 8:13 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig

Thanks to everyone who responded to my query yesterday about
digitization rigs. The responses were extremely helpful, and I am most
grateful. 

There were so many responses on and offline, some of which include
several back-and-forths, that I'm not going to attempt a summary of the
questions and concerns; instead, let me respond by providing what I hope
will be a clearer and more comprehensive explanation of what we're
talking about (with my apologies for not making all of it clearer the
first time :-).
	
1) The focus of the project is on the software, not the hardware. We're
using off-the-shelf, consumer-grade hardware so that we don't have to
think about hardware at all; the whole reason to create the software
now, as some of you noted, is that the hardware has reached the point
where it's no longer the bottleneck. The sub-$2,000 configuration we
describe will produce 600dpi output, for example--and runs fast enough
that the page-turner, not the imaging hardware, is the throughput
bottleneck. (For those who really want to know, it's a two-camera,
stereo rig that shoots both pages of a book at once and uses the stereo
plus some other tricks to dewarp and align text.)

2) The software will be, literally, one-button. Anyone who can turn a
page and press a button will be able to use it--no training, no special
skills required. Someone will have to assemble the rig (we anticipate a
one-sheet instruction set, with room for many pictures :-), but once
it's up, it will keep itself in calibration and perform all of the
ancillary tasks of digitizing--dewarping, aligning, etc.--without user
input. It will auto-structure the text, but there will also be
opportunities for user interaction.

3) The PDF output is the only *final* output we have discussed, and it's
required for the 'flowing' of text for reader device independence. But
the system preserves interim formats as well, including the original
scanned TIFFs and the interim hOCR format, so getting data into other
formats will be relatively straightforward. 

4) The metadata to be input will be at the discretion of the institution
doing the digitizing, and can be applied at the level of the individual
image or collection of images (e.g., the book, or even a collection of
books).

5) The software is SOA and also scriptable, so it can easily be
decomposed and extended (e.g., it will use the OCRopus open-source OCR
system, which can itself be implemented as a set of services). We're
going to build a seamless wrapper for institutions that don't have the
tech capacity to do their own customization, but that won't prevent
institutions that have the chops from doing whatever they want with it.
As you might suspect from this, by the way, the software will be
web-based and multi-user; this means that a larger institution could set
up several volunteer-operated rigs, all feeding one staffer who's doing
QA and adding/reviewing metadata. 

6) The system will include automated open archiving online (i.e., not at
institutional expense) for both the raw images and the finished outputs
(perhaps also the interim formats), with a stable, permanent URL;
institutions that want to host locally will be able to do that
instead/in addition. To respond in particular to Joe's point about
Internet Archive; we've talked with IA already. I don't want to speak
for them, but it's safe to say that we've taken their views into account
and I think they'll be very pleased by what's delivered, should we move
forward. 

7) The model we're thinking about is a "Long Tail" model; while it's
entirely possible that even 'big' digitizers might benefit from the
software, our primary purpose is to extend the capability to small
institutions with small collections. In the model we envision, these
smaller institutions won't be devoting staff--or anyone--full-time to
the project, but will be digitizing using opportunistic labor
(volunteers, interns, min-wage teens, etc.) as available. Staff will
most likely only engage in small quantities, for QA and metadata
purposes. This model trades time for money: it removes the labor
bottleneck by allowing an institution to pay nearly nothing as long as
it's willing to wait a while for the output, instead of getting results
quickly but paying a lot for them. In short, we're envisioning a very
different kind of 'scalability' than the one(s) that many of you
mentioned. 

8) Several people inquired about the flowing PDFs. The technology will
be fully open-source, so it will also be usable by projects other than
this. 

9) One thing nobody mentioned, because I didn't mention it in the first
place: because this project will use OCRopus, it has the potential to be
used for texts in many languages (including math and chem formulae), not
just English. How quickly and well that capability emerges will depend
on how big and multi-lingual a community forms around OCRopus, but at
least, unlike many commercial OCR products, there's hope.... 

As for the questions I asked originally, here's what I think I heard:

1) Setting aside the concerns about whether/how the technology will
work, many of you feel that this is likely to be quite valuable. Of
those who do, most of you think that small institutions will be willing
to publish most of the materials openly, provided they are supported
(with hosting, etc.) in doing so. 

2) Quite a few of you remain skeptical that even a low-cost rig will
enable small institutions to digitize, because you believe that labor
remains the true bottleneck. I'd be interested to know if that remains
true even in the context of the "Long Tail" model I described in (7),
above, or whether you were thinking implicitly about a 'big'
digitization project on fixed timelines.

Again, thanks *very* much to everyone who took the trouble to respond.
We're still quite a ways from a final decision, so if you think of
anything else you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to get in
touch.

All best,  --Chris

Christopher J. Mackie
Associate Program Officer
Research in Information Technology
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
--
282 Alexander Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
--
140 E. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10065
--
+1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
+1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
+1 646.274.6351 (fax)
cjmackie06 @ AIM
cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
--
http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org







 
_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l

From lisai at rocketmail.com  Thu Aug  7 15:38:13 2008
From: lisai at rocketmail.com (Lisa Iversen)
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 15:38:13 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [MCN-L] Classes at Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies
Message-ID: <120096.38116.qm@web59606.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>

Register now! 815-244-1173 
Classes at The Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies in Mt. Carroll, IL
www.campbellcenter.org
?
Care of Paper Artifacts -- August 11-14
Instructor: Susan Russick, Book and Paper Conservator
?
Care of Book Collections -- August 14-16
Instructor: Betsy Palmer-Eldridge, Book Conservator 
?
Care of Oversize Paper Artifacts -- August 18-20
Instructor: Mary Todd Glaser, Book and Paper Conservator
?
Gilding I -- August 20-23
Instructor: Hubert Baija, Senior Conservator Rijksmuseum, Netherlands? 
?
Microscopy for the Conservator -- August 25-29
Instructor: Gary Laughlin, President, Senior Researcher and Instructor, McCrone Research Institute
?
Emergency Preparedness, Response & Recovery -- September 2-5
Instructors: Hilary Kaplan, Senior Conservator, NARA, and K. Sharon Bennett, Archivist
?
Care of Textiles I -- September 3-6
Instructor: Harold Mailand, Textile Conservator 
?
Care of Textiles III -- September 8-11
Instructor: Harold Mailand, Textile Conservator
?
Exhibit Design for Small Museums with Limited Resources -- September 8-11
Instructor: Earl Lock, Exhibit Fabricator/Mountmaker 
?
Exhibit Lighting Workshop -- September 12
Instructor: John Aldridge, Layman Design 
?
Mannequin Workshop -- September 15-18
Instructor: Helen Alten, Objects Conservator
?
Matting & Hinging Workshop -- September 15-18
Instructor: Susan Russick, Book and Paper Conservator
?
Care of Ethnographic Collections -- September 22-25
Instructor: Julia Fenn, Objects Conservator
?
Repair and Maintenance of Book Collections -- October 6-9
Instructor: Garry Harrison, Head of Circulating Collections Conservation, Indiana University
?
Biofilms for Conservators -- October 6-10
Instructor: Mary-Lou Florian, Consultant, Research Associate-Emerita, Royal British Columbia Museum
?
Water & Collections Spaces: A Drying Overview -- October 10
Instructor: Garry Harrison, Head of Circulating Collections Conservation, Indiana University
?
?
Contact us at 815-244-1173 for a full catalog of classes offered at The Campbell Center, or visit our web site at www.campbellcenter.org. Core Course certificate programs for Beginning and Mid-Career Professionals, Senior Professional Certificates in Care of Books and Paper, Exhibits, Technical Specialty, Care of 2-Dimensional Works of Art, Care of Photographic Collections, and General Collections Care are available. Please ask?about our scholarship programs.


      

From ReneeM at lacma.org  Fri Aug  8 14:25:37 2008
From: ReneeM at lacma.org (Montgomery, Renee)
Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2008 14:25:37 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] Your Risk Management Practices
In-Reply-To: <785EF3E8EEBF554DBBCC6909943D22B7059517F8@saturn.lacma.org>
References: <785EF3E8EEBF554DBBCC6909943D22B7059517F8@saturn.lacma.org>
Message-ID: <831DFF518273CF47835B4CF4331D6D2F3D3EA8@saturn.lacma.org>

Thank you to those of you who responded to my informal survey regarding
museum risk management practices.  If you didn't reply but would
nevertheless like to be included on an ongoing informal listserve on
this topic, please let me know.  Thank you.

Renee Montgomery
Assistant Director
Risk Management and Collections Information
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
E reneem at lacma.org
T 323 857-6059

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Cho, Shelly
Sent: Friday, August 01, 2008 10:25 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Your Risk Management Practices

Subject:  Your Risk Management Practices

 

I'm doing a survey of risk management practices in museums.  I'm
interested in hearing from you if:

 

-Your museum has a formal position of risk manager  - for collections
and/or other property or buildings; or if you contract out these
services; or if you are assisted by a city or county risk manager.

 

- You make regular or occasional risk management assessments - either
internally or by hiring someone to come in and review particular
situations.  Such assessments might include an annual walk-through to
identify hazardous conditions.  It might also include a follow-up or
post mortem meeting after the occurrence of a leak or natural disaster,
for instance, to evaluate the staff's response and remedy. 

 

Any information regarding your institution's practices in managing risk
or controlling loss to collections is desired.

 

In return, if you request it I will share our own risk management
policies and procedures.

 

Renee Montgomery

Assistant Director,   Risk Management and Collections Information

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

E reneem at lacma.org

T 323 857-6059

 

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From CJM at mellon.org  Fri Aug  8 14:54:06 2008
From: CJM at mellon.org (Christopher J. Mackie)
Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2008 17:54:06 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig (Cherry, Rich)
In-Reply-To: <mailman.1.1218222002.13618.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
References: <mailman.1.1218222002.13618.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9851@ny2exch08.office.share.org>

Rich; responses to your questions/concerns inline.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Cherry, Rich" <rcherry at skirball.org>

<snip>

Who leads the project (gets the institution behind it, finds the free
labor source, finds space, organizes tasks and manages a schedule)?

> One goal is to reduce the costs, space, and skill-demands
substantially enough that this becomes far less challenging. The
software has workflow and project management capabilities inherent. 
 
Who selects the material? Who moves the material to the location for
scanning (is the free labor a security issue)? Who reviews the material
to see if there are copyright issues?

> All good questions. Remember that we're not trying to reproduce the
Million Book Project; the goal is to help with lots of small
collections, for which, taken individually, these questions are not
impossibly intimidating. 
	
Who proofs the final product to see if errors were made?

> The software supports real-time QA for common errors; some additional
work might be required, presumably by a staffer. How much work that is
depends on the quality of the source, etc. The new software should
reduce the QA load as compared to anything else we've seen. If you're
scanning ordinary books of reasonable quality, the staffer's effort
should be minimal. Fixing OCR is, of course, another story. 

Where will the product live when the funding for online archives
disappears?

> The product will support one-button archiving online; if you're OK
with Internet Archive as a host, this problem is solved. Proprietary
content is your problem. 

If there is no cataloging for access other than the OCR is the only use
a huge repository of unconnected individual pages or if its books and
collections who catalogs them and connects them?

> The software automatically structures documents, including books and
collections; one of its improvements over commercial OCR (both accuracy
and usability) is that it's *designed* for compound docs, as well as
individual pages. How much human effort is required is a function of how
much individualized metadata entry you want to do; the system will
automate all the batch stuff, but if you want to markup each word, you
can. 

I do think that the online archive piece might move a few organizations
closer to doing it.  It might even be more attractive if some of the OCR
processing took place there as well. Is part of the plan to use
something like Amazon Web Services for this?

> We've been talking about this. It's possible one of the 'big'
digitizers might be willing to do remote OCR--but we're focusing on
small projects, and the OCR runs fine on a laptop, so I'm not sure why
this is necessary? Remember that we're not trying to put Google out of
business; we're trying to help with materials that wouldn't make it to
Google or IA on their own.

--Chris

From akeshet at imj.org.il  Sat Aug  9 01:59:05 2008
From: akeshet at imj.org.il (akeshet at imj.org.il)
Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2008 10:59:05 +0200
Subject: [MCN-L] FW:  RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig
Message-ID: <149FDECF7500014B85D070C43C708BE703E64A42@mail3.imj.org.il>

I've been following this discussion, and for what it's worth, I must say that I fully support those
who have emphasized the labor issues.  There's no lack of software (or hardware) solutions.  The REAL 
problem is capable manpower, and what it costs.  That goes for museums of any size. 
 
The "one-button, anyone can do it" idea is usually misleading. Before and after that "for dummies" methodology can be used, a lot of professional staff has to do a lot of work -- there is a huge "labor bottleneck" involved in any project of this kind.  That costs time and money, and that is the real problem in search of a funding solution.
 
 
Amalyah Keshet
Head of Image Resources & Copyright Management
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
 
 
________________________________

From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu on behalf of Cherry, Rich
Sent: Fri 08/08/2008 00:49
To: Museum Computer Network Listserv
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig

I think your answers address some of the labor issues but not all.  I
don't want to sound like I am against this (as I am not) but I think
there are some major practical issues that cannot be addressed with
interns and volunteers in most cases:

Who leads the project (gets the institution behind it, finds the free
labor source, finds space, organizes tasks and manages a schedule)?
Who selects the material?
Who moves the material to the location for scanning (is the free labor a
security issue?)?
Who reviews the material to see if there are copyright issues?
Who proofs the final product to see if errors were made?
Where will the product live when the funding for online archives
disappears?
If there is no cataloging for access other than the OCR is the only use
a huge repository of unconnected individual pages or if its books and
collections who catalogs them and connects them?

I think some institutions will find a way to accomplish the tasks above
and I think that the product described below would help them but my
guess is that if they can get the buy in required to expend the effort
listed above that very few would be stopped because of the software
being a little expensive or hard to use. 

To put it another way:  I don't think there are a lot of institutions
sitting on the fence waiting for a low cost software solution to the
problem.  They are trying to figure out the challenges listed above.

I do think that the online archive piece might move a few organizations
closer to doing it.  It might even be more attractive if some of the OCR
processing took place there as well.

Is part of the plan to use something like Amazon Web Services for this?

Rich


Rich Cherry
Director of Operations
Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Work: (310) 440-4777
Fax: (310) 440-4595
rcherry at skirball.org



-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Christopher J. Mackie
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 8:13 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig

Thanks to everyone who responded to my query yesterday about
digitization rigs. The responses were extremely helpful, and I am most
grateful.

There were so many responses on and offline, some of which include
several back-and-forths, that I'm not going to attempt a summary of the
questions and concerns; instead, let me respond by providing what I hope
will be a clearer and more comprehensive explanation of what we're
talking about (with my apologies for not making all of it clearer the
first time :-).
       
1) The focus of the project is on the software, not the hardware. We're
using off-the-shelf, consumer-grade hardware so that we don't have to
think about hardware at all; the whole reason to create the software
now, as some of you noted, is that the hardware has reached the point
where it's no longer the bottleneck. The sub-$2,000 configuration we
describe will produce 600dpi output, for example--and runs fast enough
that the page-turner, not the imaging hardware, is the throughput
bottleneck. (For those who really want to know, it's a two-camera,
stereo rig that shoots both pages of a book at once and uses the stereo
plus some other tricks to dewarp and align text.)

2) The software will be, literally, one-button. Anyone who can turn a
page and press a button will be able to use it--no training, no special
skills required. Someone will have to assemble the rig (we anticipate a
one-sheet instruction set, with room for many pictures :-), but once
it's up, it will keep itself in calibration and perform all of the
ancillary tasks of digitizing--dewarping, aligning, etc.--without user
input. It will auto-structure the text, but there will also be
opportunities for user interaction.

3) The PDF output is the only *final* output we have discussed, and it's
required for the 'flowing' of text for reader device independence. But
the system preserves interim formats as well, including the original
scanned TIFFs and the interim hOCR format, so getting data into other
formats will be relatively straightforward.

4) The metadata to be input will be at the discretion of the institution
doing the digitizing, and can be applied at the level of the individual
image or collection of images (e.g., the book, or even a collection of
books).

5) The software is SOA and also scriptable, so it can easily be
decomposed and extended (e.g., it will use the OCRopus open-source OCR
system, which can itself be implemented as a set of services). We're
going to build a seamless wrapper for institutions that don't have the
tech capacity to do their own customization, but that won't prevent
institutions that have the chops from doing whatever they want with it.
As you might suspect from this, by the way, the software will be
web-based and multi-user; this means that a larger institution could set
up several volunteer-operated rigs, all feeding one staffer who's doing
QA and adding/reviewing metadata.

6) The system will include automated open archiving online (i.e., not at
institutional expense) for both the raw images and the finished outputs
(perhaps also the interim formats), with a stable, permanent URL;
institutions that want to host locally will be able to do that
instead/in addition. To respond in particular to Joe's point about
Internet Archive; we've talked with IA already. I don't want to speak
for them, but it's safe to say that we've taken their views into account
and I think they'll be very pleased by what's delivered, should we move
forward.

7) The model we're thinking about is a "Long Tail" model; while it's
entirely possible that even 'big' digitizers might benefit from the
software, our primary purpose is to extend the capability to small
institutions with small collections. In the model we envision, these
smaller institutions won't be devoting staff--or anyone--full-time to
the project, but will be digitizing using opportunistic labor
(volunteers, interns, min-wage teens, etc.) as available. Staff will
most likely only engage in small quantities, for QA and metadata
purposes. This model trades time for money: it removes the labor
bottleneck by allowing an institution to pay nearly nothing as long as
it's willing to wait a while for the output, instead of getting results
quickly but paying a lot for them. In short, we're envisioning a very
different kind of 'scalability' than the one(s) that many of you
mentioned.

8) Several people inquired about the flowing PDFs. The technology will
be fully open-source, so it will also be usable by projects other than
this.

9) One thing nobody mentioned, because I didn't mention it in the first
place: because this project will use OCRopus, it has the potential to be
used for texts in many languages (including math and chem formulae), not
just English. How quickly and well that capability emerges will depend
on how big and multi-lingual a community forms around OCRopus, but at
least, unlike many commercial OCR products, there's hope....

As for the questions I asked originally, here's what I think I heard:

1) Setting aside the concerns about whether/how the technology will
work, many of you feel that this is likely to be quite valuable. Of
those who do, most of you think that small institutions will be willing
to publish most of the materials openly, provided they are supported
(with hosting, etc.) in doing so.

2) Quite a few of you remain skeptical that even a low-cost rig will
enable small institutions to digitize, because you believe that labor
remains the true bottleneck. I'd be interested to know if that remains
true even in the context of the "Long Tail" model I described in (7),
above, or whether you were thinking implicitly about a 'big'
digitization project on fixed timelines.

Again, thanks *very* much to everyone who took the trouble to respond.
We're still quite a ways from a final decision, so if you think of
anything else you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to get in
touch.

All best,  --Chris

Christopher J. Mackie
Associate Program Officer
Research in Information Technology
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
--
282 Alexander Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
--
140 E. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10065
--
+1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
+1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
+1 646.274.6351 (fax)
cjmackie06 @ AIM
cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
--
http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org








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From rcherry at skirball.org  Sat Aug  9 22:25:23 2008
From: rcherry at skirball.org (Cherry, Rich)
Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2008 22:25:23 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig (Cherry, Rich)
In-Reply-To: <71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9851@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
References: <mailman.1.1218222002.13618.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
	<71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9851@ny2exch08.office.share.org>
Message-ID: <2A6CDDE8F1CB5D428E7CA6014794A582014E331D@scc-mail.skirball.org>

A medium size museum might conservatively have 5000 boxes of archival
material with lets say very conservatively 2000 pages per box, or 10
million pages to digitize, many of which are fragile or subject to
copyright.  Many organizations this size struggle to have folder level
documentation on their collection of boxes.  So let an intern start
scanning... lets say they are amazing and they can scan 500 pages a day,
5 days a week.  At that amazing rate you will be done in about 75 years
if your institution does not create another 10 million pages in those 75
years.   

However lets say you invest in 6 staff for 2 years and find the most
important documents in the 10 million pages... lets say they find 50,000
of them.  You scan them, organize them, catalog them, get permission to
republish online.  This results in something that the institution,
scholars and the public can use immediately.

I think the second scenario is how a museum person would approach the
problem you are trying to solve.  The best solution is probably
somewhere in the middle but it inevitably requires staff support to
succeed.

Rich  

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Christopher J. Mackie
Sent: Friday, August 08, 2008 2:54 PM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig (Cherry, Rich)

Rich; responses to your questions/concerns inline.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Cherry, Rich" <rcherry at skirball.org>

<snip>

Who leads the project (gets the institution behind it, finds the free
labor source, finds space, organizes tasks and manages a schedule)?

> One goal is to reduce the costs, space, and skill-demands
substantially enough that this becomes far less challenging. The
software has workflow and project management capabilities inherent. 
 
Who selects the material? Who moves the material to the location for
scanning (is the free labor a security issue)? Who reviews the material
to see if there are copyright issues?

> All good questions. Remember that we're not trying to reproduce the
Million Book Project; the goal is to help with lots of small
collections, for which, taken individually, these questions are not
impossibly intimidating. 
	
Who proofs the final product to see if errors were made?

> The software supports real-time QA for common errors; some additional
work might be required, presumably by a staffer. How much work that is
depends on the quality of the source, etc. The new software should
reduce the QA load as compared to anything else we've seen. If you're
scanning ordinary books of reasonable quality, the staffer's effort
should be minimal. Fixing OCR is, of course, another story. 

Where will the product live when the funding for online archives
disappears?

> The product will support one-button archiving online; if you're OK
with Internet Archive as a host, this problem is solved. Proprietary
content is your problem. 

If there is no cataloging for access other than the OCR is the only use
a huge repository of unconnected individual pages or if its books and
collections who catalogs them and connects them?

> The software automatically structures documents, including books and
collections; one of its improvements over commercial OCR (both accuracy
and usability) is that it's *designed* for compound docs, as well as
individual pages. How much human effort is required is a function of how
much individualized metadata entry you want to do; the system will
automate all the batch stuff, but if you want to markup each word, you
can. 

I do think that the online archive piece might move a few organizations
closer to doing it.  It might even be more attractive if some of the OCR
processing took place there as well. Is part of the plan to use
something like Amazon Web Services for this?

> We've been talking about this. It's possible one of the 'big'
digitizers might be willing to do remote OCR--but we're focusing on
small projects, and the OCR runs fine on a laptop, so I'm not sure why
this is necessary? Remember that we're not trying to put Google out of
business; we're trying to help with materials that wouldn't make it to
Google or IA on their own.

--Chris
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From simon.tanner at kcl.ac.uk  Sun Aug 10 09:31:31 2008
From: simon.tanner at kcl.ac.uk (Tanner, Simon)
Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:31:31 +0100
Subject: [MCN-L] FW:  RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig
In-Reply-To: <149FDECF7500014B85D070C43C708BE703E64A42@mail3.imj.org.il>
References: <149FDECF7500014B85D070C43C708BE703E64A42@mail3.imj.org.il>
Message-ID: <489F17E3.1080004@kcl.ac.uk>

First up - there are several single button solutions out there already 
(and many that deliver something more useful than PDF - like structured 
XML). So why build another mouse trap?

Secondly, I wrote a handbook on cost reduction for digitisation for 
Minerva: see here:
http://www.minervaeurope.org/publications/costreduction.htm

The problem is not the technology/software it is the labour and person 
hours required. Any time human intervention is required the costs go up.

A real problem for museums is that a very large proportion of their 
materials require some form of special handling. So the costs of 
removing the item from its preservation enclosure and getting it to the 
scan mechanism and then replacing it in its preservation mechanism far 
outweighs the cost of pressing the button to image the thing.

I have set up dozens of point and click solutions that are extremely 
easy to use or are automated page turning solutions. The staffing issue 
never goes away though and is still the defining cost issue. One very 
well known institution has automated page turning scanners with staff 
sat watching it do its job to ensure it doesn't foul up - this seemingly 
nonsensical approach necessitated by the nature of the core materials. 
Google bookscan (anecdotally) is rejecting 3-5% of library books from 
its mass digitisation program purely on format and condition - so 
automated imaging is never a 100% solution.

The other real problem is that many of the collections are under 
catalogued and to make the digital objects useful then requires high 
amounts of human intervention for adding metadata. There is thus a 
dichotomy in being able to deliver far more images than can be 
effectively managed and described in ways that add value to the content 
and context. So unless the content is text driven and self describing 
(which pretty much means science and newspaper type content only) then 
there is are a lot of metadata costs around this.

I want significant amounts of content to be available online and for 
large scale digitisation to happen - I have worked on many such 
projects. What I think there is too much focus upon is the "technology 
will save us" thinking about these issues. It is only a partial solution 
and to raise it to the level of panacea is a mistake.

PS. all our research shows that the long tail economic model does not 
apply very well to museum collections - hence my scepticism.

Best,
	Simon Tanner
	King's College London

akeshet at imj.org.il wrote:
> I've been following this discussion, and for what it's worth, I must say that I fully support those
> who have emphasized the labor issues.  There's no lack of software (or hardware) solutions.  The REAL
> problem is capable manpower, and what it costs.  That goes for museums of any size.
> 
> The "one-button, anyone can do it" idea is usually misleading. Before and after that "for dummies" methodology can be used, a lot of professional staff has to do a lot of work -- there is a huge "labor bottleneck" involved in any project of this kind.  That costs time and money, and that is the real problem in search of a funding solution.
> 
> 
> Amalyah Keshet
> Head of Image Resources & Copyright Management
> The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> 
> From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu on behalf of Cherry, Rich
> Sent: Fri 08/08/2008 00:49
> To: Museum Computer Network Listserv
> Subject: Re: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig
> 
> I think your answers address some of the labor issues but not all.  I
> don't want to sound like I am against this (as I am not) but I think
> there are some major practical issues that cannot be addressed with
> interns and volunteers in most cases:
> 
> Who leads the project (gets the institution behind it, finds the free
> labor source, finds space, organizes tasks and manages a schedule)?
> Who selects the material?
> Who moves the material to the location for scanning (is the free labor a
> security issue?)?
> Who reviews the material to see if there are copyright issues?
> Who proofs the final product to see if errors were made?
> Where will the product live when the funding for online archives
> disappears?
> If there is no cataloging for access other than the OCR is the only use
> a huge repository of unconnected individual pages or if its books and
> collections who catalogs them and connects them?
> 
> I think some institutions will find a way to accomplish the tasks above
> and I think that the product described below would help them but my
> guess is that if they can get the buy in required to expend the effort
> listed above that very few would be stopped because of the software
> being a little expensive or hard to use.
> 
> To put it another way:  I don't think there are a lot of institutions
> sitting on the fence waiting for a low cost software solution to the
> problem.  They are trying to figure out the challenges listed above.
> 
> I do think that the online archive piece might move a few organizations
> closer to doing it.  It might even be more attractive if some of the OCR
> processing took place there as well.
> 
> Is part of the plan to use something like Amazon Web Services for this?
> 
> Rich
> 
> 
> Rich Cherry
> Director of Operations
> Skirball Cultural Center
> 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
> Los Angeles, CA 90049
> Work: (310) 440-4777
> Fax: (310) 440-4595
> rcherry at skirball.org
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
> Christopher J. Mackie
> Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 8:13 AM
> To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
> Subject: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig
> 
> Thanks to everyone who responded to my query yesterday about
> digitization rigs. The responses were extremely helpful, and I am most
> grateful.
> 
> There were so many responses on and offline, some of which include
> several back-and-forths, that I'm not going to attempt a summary of the
> questions and concerns; instead, let me respond by providing what I hope
> will be a clearer and more comprehensive explanation of what we're
> talking about (with my apologies for not making all of it clearer the
> first time :-).
> 
> 1) The focus of the project is on the software, not the hardware. We're
> using off-the-shelf, consumer-grade hardware so that we don't have to
> think about hardware at all; the whole reason to create the software
> now, as some of you noted, is that the hardware has reached the point
> where it's no longer the bottleneck. The sub-$2,000 configuration we
> describe will produce 600dpi output, for example--and runs fast enough
> that the page-turner, not the imaging hardware, is the throughput
> bottleneck. (For those who really want to know, it's a two-camera,
> stereo rig that shoots both pages of a book at once and uses the stereo
> plus some other tricks to dewarp and align text.)
> 
> 2) The software will be, literally, one-button. Anyone who can turn a
> page and press a button will be able to use it--no training, no special
> skills required. Someone will have to assemble the rig (we anticipate a
> one-sheet instruction set, with room for many pictures :-), but once
> it's up, it will keep itself in calibration and perform all of the
> ancillary tasks of digitizing--dewarping, aligning, etc.--without user
> input. It will auto-structure the text, but there will also be
> opportunities for user interaction.
> 
> 3) The PDF output is the only *final* output we have discussed, and it's
> required for the 'flowing' of text for reader device independence. But
> the system preserves interim formats as well, including the original
> scanned TIFFs and the interim hOCR format, so getting data into other
> formats will be relatively straightforward.
> 
> 4) The metadata to be input will be at the discretion of the institution
> doing the digitizing, and can be applied at the level of the individual
> image or collection of images (e.g., the book, or even a collection of
> books).
> 
> 5) The software is SOA and also scriptable, so it can easily be
> decomposed and extended (e.g., it will use the OCRopus open-source OCR
> system, which can itself be implemented as a set of services). We're
> going to build a seamless wrapper for institutions that don't have the
> tech capacity to do their own customization, but that won't prevent
> institutions that have the chops from doing whatever they want with it.
> As you might suspect from this, by the way, the software will be
> web-based and multi-user; this means that a larger institution could set
> up several volunteer-operated rigs, all feeding one staffer who's doing
> QA and adding/reviewing metadata.
> 
> 6) The system will include automated open archiving online (i.e., not at
> institutional expense) for both the raw images and the finished outputs
> (perhaps also the interim formats), with a stable, permanent URL;
> institutions that want to host locally will be able to do that
> instead/in addition. To respond in particular to Joe's point about
> Internet Archive; we've talked with IA already. I don't want to speak
> for them, but it's safe to say that we've taken their views into account
> and I think they'll be very pleased by what's delivered, should we move
> forward.
> 
> 7) The model we're thinking about is a "Long Tail" model; while it's
> entirely possible that even 'big' digitizers might benefit from the
> software, our primary purpose is to extend the capability to small
> institutions with small collections. In the model we envision, these
> smaller institutions won't be devoting staff--or anyone--full-time to
> the project, but will be digitizing using opportunistic labor
> (volunteers, interns, min-wage teens, etc.) as available. Staff will
> most likely only engage in small quantities, for QA and metadata
> purposes. This model trades time for money: it removes the labor
> bottleneck by allowing an institution to pay nearly nothing as long as
> it's willing to wait a while for the output, instead of getting results
> quickly but paying a lot for them. In short, we're envisioning a very
> different kind of 'scalability' than the one(s) that many of you
> mentioned.
> 
> 8) Several people inquired about the flowing PDFs. The technology will
> be fully open-source, so it will also be usable by projects other than
> this.
> 
> 9) One thing nobody mentioned, because I didn't mention it in the first
> place: because this project will use OCRopus, it has the potential to be
> used for texts in many languages (including math and chem formulae), not
> just English. How quickly and well that capability emerges will depend
> on how big and multi-lingual a community forms around OCRopus, but at
> least, unlike many commercial OCR products, there's hope....
> 
> As for the questions I asked originally, here's what I think I heard:
> 
> 1) Setting aside the concerns about whether/how the technology will
> work, many of you feel that this is likely to be quite valuable. Of
> those who do, most of you think that small institutions will be willing
> to publish most of the materials openly, provided they are supported
> (with hosting, etc.) in doing so.
> 
> 2) Quite a few of you remain skeptical that even a low-cost rig will
> enable small institutions to digitize, because you believe that labor
> remains the true bottleneck. I'd be interested to know if that remains
> true even in the context of the "Long Tail" model I described in (7),
> above, or whether you were thinking implicitly about a 'big'
> digitization project on fixed timelines.
> 
> Again, thanks *very* much to everyone who took the trouble to respond.
> We're still quite a ways from a final decision, so if you think of
> anything else you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to get in
> touch.
> 
> All best,  --Chris
> 
> Christopher J. Mackie
> Associate Program Officer
> Research in Information Technology
> The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
> --
> 282 Alexander Rd.
> Princeton, NJ 08540
> --
> 140 E. 62nd St.
> New York, NY 10065
> --
> +1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
> +1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
> +1 646.274.6351 (fax)
> cjmackie06 @ AIM
> cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
> --
> http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
> Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)
> 
> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu
> 
> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
> _______________________________________________
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> 
> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu
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> 
> _______________________________________________
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> 
> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu
> 
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-- 
Simon Tanner
Director,  King's Digital Consultancy Services,
King's College London,
Centre for Computing in the Humanities,
26-29 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5RL
Tel: +44 (0)7887 691716 or Admin: +44 (0)20 7848 2861
Email: simon.tanner at kcl.ac.uk
http://www.kdcs.kcl.ac.uk/

From sivia.sadofsky at ubc.ca  Mon Aug 11 10:10:34 2008
From: sivia.sadofsky at ubc.ca (Sivia Sadofsky)
Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:10:34 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] Museum of Anthropology at UBC issues RFP for Archival
 Records and Digital Asset Management
Message-ID: <C4C5C09A.1341%sivia.sadofsky@ubc.ca>

The University of British Columbia  has issued and RFP inviting proposals to
supply, deliver, install and support at Digital Asset Management System
(DAMs) and/or an Archival Management System.

For full details, please see the RFP by following this steps:

    To view the RFP, navigate to www.bcbid.ca
    under Browse BCbid select browse for opportunities
    under Browse opportunities select browse by organization
    scroll down and select University of British Columbia
    select RFP2008010212
    select supplier attachments exist
    click on word symbol to download

Respondents may address responses to one or both of the required systems.
The University is interested in receiving proposals from Respondents with a
commercial application, as well as Respondents who can provide and/or
customize and open-source solution.

Any questions should be directed to
Janet Lodge, 
Procurement Officer,
UBC Supply Management
phone: (604) 822-2861
fax: (604) 822-3261
email: janet.lodge at ubc.ca
web address: www.supplymanagement.ubc.ca
<http://www.supplymanagement.ubc.ca/>




From calexander at sjmusart.org  Mon Aug 11 12:11:22 2008
From: calexander at sjmusart.org (Chris Alexander)
Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2008 12:11:22 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] Reminder: MCN Cal SIG @ SJMA
Message-ID: <E9686E889FEEB744BED9DB4E0C8B00C7021D56AE@sjdc01.sj.internal>

Hope you can make it!

 

Please RSVP by August 18th!

 

What: Museum Computer Network California Special Interest Group Annual Meeting

When: August 22nd from 9am - 4pm

Where: San Jose Museum of Art <http://sjmusart.org/content/visitUs/visitUs.phtml> 

RSVP: calexander at sjmusart.org <mailto:calexander at sjmusart.org?subject=MCN%20Cal%20SIG%20RSVP>  with "MCN Cal SIG RSVP" in the subject line.

Parking info: sjdowntownparking.com <http://www.sjdowntownparking.com/parking_map.php?PHPSESSID=2b2d9f0b4bc27a702b6ed8229b1e6e7f> 

 

As an MCN member you are cordially invited to attend the 2008 MCN Cal SIG meeting in San Jose.  Gather at the San Jose Museum of Art for coffee, conversation, learning and networking. The day includes a business meeting and presentations by staff from several local museums.  

 

The schedule will be as follows:

 

9:00 am - 9:30am          Breakfast and conversation

 

9:30am - 10:15am         Introductions and the "Official" Business Meeting

 

10:15am - 11:00am       Chris Alexander, Manager of Interactive Technology, San Jose Museum of Art

 

Chris Alexander from the San Jose Museum of Art will present the museum's holistic approach to technology, incorporating the museum's web content into various Web 2.0 websites, and its revolutionary iPod Touch tour.  Over the last couple of years the SJMA has been working toward heightening the visitor experience at the museum and technology has played a big role in this endeavor.  After the presentation attendees may try the iPod Touch tour for themselves in the exhibition Robots: Evolution of a Cultural Icon.  

 

11:00am - 11:45am       Tour of the San Jose Museum of Art and iPod Touch tour.  

 

11:45am - 1:00pm         Lunch 

(a list of local restaurants will be provided or you can eat at Caf? Too, the museum's caf?.)

 

1:00pm - 2:00 pm          Melissa Johnson, Curator of Interactive Media, history | san jos?

Sarah Puckett, Curator of Art and Photography, history | san jos?

 

In 2001 History San Jos?, a regional history museum with a collection of over 75,000 photographs, 500,000 objects, and 5,000 linear feet of archival materials, ventured in to the digital imaging world.  After attending workshops, conferences, visiting larger institutions, and researching requirements and equipment, the five person Collections & Exhibitions department felt capable of digitally documenting the collection. Since 2005, HSJ has launched five online exhibits sharing the history of the area and making a small percentage of the collection available to the public. 

 

Problem: Currently, the small staff is struggling to keep up with the demand for digital images from the public, researchers, and co-workers.  The recent requirement for "digital plans" to apply for most state and federal digitization grants has HSJ at a stand-still.  Will small to mid size museums and libraries be left behind when it comes to digitizing their collections?  How have others dealt with similar issues?  Brainstorm with HSJ Staff, all feedback and ideas are welcome!

 

2:00pm - 3:00pm           Perian Sully, Collection Information and New Media Coordinator, Judah L. Magnes Museum

Dr. Francesco Spagnolo, Head of Research, Judah L. Magnes Museum

 

The Judah L. Magnes Museum is in the midst of a huge digital initiative, and we'll hear about one of the centerpieces of this initiative, a new collection management system, IDEA at ALM, which allows the museum to completely integrate archive, library, and museum materials. Perian and Francesco will talk about how the Magnes Museum is using the IDEA at ALM collection management system to reorganize its collections into discrete intellectual sets, while defining how certain fields can be shared across these three collection types. Additionally they will discuss the benefits of cataloging in such a system and explain the greater philosophical reasoning behind this methodology. They will also highlight how shared cataloging enhances research, protects collections, increases access and interpretation, and protects professional standards.

 

3:00pm - 3:15pm           Short break

 

3:15pm - 4:00pm           Susan Grinols, Director Photo Services and Imaging, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

 

Susan has worked for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in various capacities since 1991. She currently heads the Photo Services and Imaging Department and will be discussing FAMSF's approach to archiving--solutions they've found and the challenges of using a "homegrown" 4D database system as their CMS/DAMS.

 

You must be a current MCN Member to attend.  If you are not visit www.mcn.edu <http://www.mcn.edu/>  to join today!  

 

Please RSVP to calexander at sjmusart.org <mailto:calexander at sjmusart.org?subject=MCN%20Cal%20SIG%20RSVP>  with "MCN Cal SIG RSVP" in the subject line.  Clicking on the link should input the subject line. 

 

Thanks and I look forward to seeing all of you in a month!

 

Best regards,

 

Chris Alexander | Manager of Interactive Technology

San Jose Museum of Art

110 South Market Street

San Jose, CA  95113

408-271-6875 ph.

408-294-2977 fx.

calexander at sjmusart.org <mailto:calexander at sjmusart.org> 

__________________________

 

Go to www.sjmusart.org/podcast <http://www.sjmusart.org/podcast>  to listen to our MUSE Award winning podcast or search for "SJMA" on iTunes <http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=200789487> .

Is video more your thing?  Check out our YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/sanjosemuseumofart <http://www.youtube.com/sanjosemuseumofart> 

 

 


From marty at fsu.edu  Mon Aug 11 12:40:36 2008
From: marty at fsu.edu (Paul Marty)
Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:40:36 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] CFP: Digital Convergence (2nd Call)
Message-ID: <CC0AA694-1F75-46C8-AECD-5297C8F6DF26@fsu.edu>

CALL FOR PAPERS

Digital Convergence: Libraries, Archives, and Museums in the  
Information Age

Three Special Issues of Library Quarterly, Archival Science, and  
Museum Management and Curatorship


PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The editors of Library Quarterly, Archival Science, and Museum  
Management and Curatorship are pleased to announce plans for three  
special issues exploring the shared information needs and challenges  
facing libraries, archives, and museums in the information age; the  
overlapping educational goals of library and information science,  
archival studies, and museum studies programs; and areas of  
convergence for educators and professionals working to meet user needs  
in libraries, archives, and museums.

The resulting three separate issues of Library Quarterly, Archival  
Science, and Museum Management and Curatorship will be published at  
approximately the same time (end of 2009), and all three issues will  
be Guest Edited by Dr. Paul F. Marty, College of Information, Florida  
State University.

The impetus for this project stems from a recent conference, sponsored  
by the IMLS, on the need for information professionals who can  
transcend the traditional boundaries between libraries, archives, and  
museums to meet user needs in the information age (see: http://chips.ci.fsu.edu 
).

The increased use of and reliance on digital resources has blurred  
traditional distinctions between information organizations, leading to  
a digital convergence of libraries, archives, and museums. In light of  
this convergence, there is a need for more research examining how  
libraries, archives, and museums can collaborate and combine forces to  
better serve their users, many of whom do not clearly distinguish  
among different institutions or the information resources they manage.

We are looking for papers addressing one or more of the following  
three broad questions in ways that cut across the traditional  
distinctions between libraries, archives, and museums:

1. What are the information needs of libraries, archives, and museums  
in the information age, both internally (staff and other  
professionals) and externally (public services)? How can new  
information technologies support information professionals as they  
adapt to meet these needs?

2. What are the roles and responsibilities of information  
professionals in libraries, archives, and museums in the information  
age? What are the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to  
succeed at their jobs (e.g. intellectual property, information  
management, digital preservation, etc.)?

3. What kinds of educational programs best prepare information  
professionals to meet the needs of libraries, archives, and museums in  
the information age, including degree and non-degree programs? How are  
these programs currently preparing their students, and what potential  
is there for sharing expertise across programs?

While authors may choose to focus primarily on libraries, archives, or  
museums (depending on their interests and expertise), each article  
should attempt to explore issues of convergence across libraries,  
archives, and museums.


IMPORTANT DATES

  * Optional Abstract: September 1, 2008

  * Submission Deadline: December 1, 2008

  * Review Decisions: February 1, 2009

  * Final Versions Due: June 1, 2009

  * Publication: End of 2009


SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

If you wish, you may submit an optional abstract (by email to Paul  
Marty at marty at fsu.edu) for feedback by September 1, 2008 (please  
indicate the journal to which you plan to submit).

Please direct your submission to the journal that most closely matches  
the particular focus of your article, research, or discipline, as  
follows:

  * Library Quarterly, follow submission instructions at http://www.editorialmanager.com/lq/

  * Archival Science, follow submission instructions at http://www.editorialmanager.com/arcs/
    (When specifying "Article type" please select the "Special Issue  
on Digital Convergence")

  * Museum Management and Curatorship, please email submissions  
directly to Paul Marty at marty at fsu.edu.
    (Please see instructions for authors at www.informaworld.com/rmmc)

Please mark your submission as being intended for the special issue on  
digital convergence.

If you have any questions about the special issues, please contact  
Paul Marty at marty at fsu.edu.

A PDF version of this CFP is available at: http://marty.ci.fsu.edu/misc/cfp_digitalconvergence.pdf


--------------
Paul F. Marty, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, College of Information, Florida State University
240 Louis Shores Building, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2100
http://marty.ci.fsu.edu/ ? 850.644.5133 ? marty at fsu.edu


From rjurban at illinois.edu  Tue Aug 12 07:18:23 2008
From: rjurban at illinois.edu (Richard Urban)
Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2008 09:18:23 -0500
Subject: [MCN-L] Metadata for You and Me in Atlanta - last workshop!
Message-ID: <9AA2F7FE-7D57-426C-B086-F0041B2FC076@illinois.edu>

*****************************************************************
Metadata for You & Me: A Workshop on Shareable Metadata

http://images.library.uiuc.edu/projects/mym
******************************************************************

Metadata aggregations such as OAIster <http://www.oaister.org> and  
the  IMLS Digital Collections and Content Project (http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu 
) have shown that metadata designed for diverse local environments  
may  fall short in providing the information needed for useful  
discovery in  the aggregated environment. Metadata for You & Me  
workshops assist  metadata planners in analyzing and implementing the  
changes that need  to be made to local metadata to prepare it for  
sharing with  aggregations, other institutions, and more widely.  
Topics to be covered include:

*  the current state of sharing metadata
* "the six Cs and lots of Ss" framework for shareable metadata
* an analysis of shareable properties for various classes of metadata   
elements
* practical advice for implementing these principles.

The content of workshops is based on the Best Practices for Shareable   
Metadata, an initiative of the Digital Library Federation and the   
National Science Digital Library, that provides guidance for creating   
metadata that can be easily understood, processed and used outside of   
its local environment.

Registration is now open for the following workshop:
Onsite Workshop
SOLINET (http://www.solinet.net/), Atlanta, GA
August 28, 2008
9-4 pm
(Scholarship Deadline, Aug. 15, 2008)
(Registration Open Until Filled)
Register at: http://images.library.uiuc.edu/projects/mym/register.html


Pre-requisites

***************

Metadata for You & Me is intended for professionals engaged in  
sharing  metadata resources with colleagues, regional and state-wide  
consortia,  Open Archives Initiative harvesters and service providers,  
or other  metadata sharing partners. It is not intended as a basic  
training  program in metadata. Ideally participants should have:

* Familiarity with metadata standards such as Dublin Core, VRACore,   
MARC, MODS, etc.

* Familiarity with the concepts of metadata aggregation or  
federation,  such as Z39.50, Open Archives Initiative, metasearch,  
etc. (technical  knowledge of the protocols is not required.)

* Familiarity with your local metadata, such as standards and   
controlled vocabularies used, systems employed, etc.


Scholarships

***************
Metadata for You and Me is now offering a limited number of   
scholarships for upcoming workshops.  Visit the Scholarships page (http://images.library.uiuc.edu/projects/mym/scholarships.html 
) to find out if you qualify.

From B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl  Wed Aug 13 01:52:14 2008
From: B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl (Bas Nederveen)
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:52:14 +0200
Subject: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers (Bas Nederveen)
In-Reply-To: <mailman.1.1218135601.10685.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
References: <mailman.1.1218135601.10685.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <1480E15259241746B6F724AAB8F2B14970E2A20E61@AMSTERDAM1-12.rijksmuseum.intra>

Dear all,

Thank you so much for your reactions so far. The trinomial accession number appears to be widespread and apparently no-one seems to experience problems with it. Our major problem is not the numeric part of the accession number, which is a (sort of) trinomial number, but the overwhelming number of inconstant prefixes we have. This is why we want to get rid of as much meaning in our accession number as possible. The examples of trinomial accession numbers I have seen so far didn't have a prefix and therefore they may work for us. However, I noticed that most accession numbers contain a year (meaning). Is this a gesture towards users or is it a necessity?

Kind regards,

Bas Nederveen



Drs. B. Nederveen
Documentalist, Afdeling Collectieregistratie & Documentatie
Documentalist, Registration & Documentation Department
T +31 (0)20 67 47 230
Bezoekadres/Visitors' address
Frans van Mierisstraat 92, 1071 RZ Amsterdam
Vrijdag afwezig/Fridays absent

-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] Namens mcn-l-request at mcn.edu
Verzonden: donderdag 7 augustus 2008 21:00
Aan: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Onderwerp: mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 7

Send mcn-l mailing list submissions to
        mcn-l at mcn.edu

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When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of mcn-l digest..."


Today's Topics:

   1. Re: Low-cost digitization rig (Cherry, Rich)
   2. "meaningless" inventory numbers (Bas Nederveen)
   3. Re: "meaningless" inventory numbers (Robert Mason)
   4. RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig (Christopher J. Mackie)
   5. Re: "meaningless" inventory numbers (Perian Sully)
   6. Re: "meaningless" inventory numbers (Misunas, Marla)
   7. Re: RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig (Perian Sully)
   8. Position Annoucement - Collection Photographer,   The Museum of
      Fine Arts, Houston (Stein, Marty)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 12:12:15 -0700
From: "Cherry, Rich" <rcherry at skirball.org>
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig
To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
        <2A6CDDE8F1CB5D428E7CA6014794A582014E31EE at scc-mail.skirball.org>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

In my experience it's the upfront labor (including impact on existing
staff) and long term labor and maintenance costs that prevent large
scale digitization in both small, medium and large institutions, not the
initial capital costs of the hardware and software.  If Mellon funded an
entry level position with the package then you would see a high level of
interest.

Rich

Rich Cherry
Director of Operations
Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Work: (310) 440-4777
Fax: (310) 440-4595
rcherry at skirball.org


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Christopher J. Mackie
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 3:06 PM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig

Hi all; I'm writing today on behalf of Mellon's IT funding program (not
our Museums and Art Conservation Program, which is a different entity).
We're looking at an opportunity to fund a different kind of digitization
project, and I wonder if I could ask for your thoughts about its likely
usefulness in the museum/cultural heritage communities?

What we've got in mind is a digitization rig for small or medium-sized
2D digitization projects.  The project would use off-the-shelf hardware
and open source software, packaged carefully to be extremely easy to set
up and use, even with no prior training.  It would be able to handle
almost any kind of 2D material up to a certain size (books, flat pages,
images) non-destructively, would OCR the results, and would then deliver
the documents as special, searchable PDFs that could reformat for any
display devices (i.e., the text would 'flow' so that you could, e.g.,
read on your iPhone without having to scroll side-to-side or flip
pages). Let me emphasize that it would be built to be operated by people
with no digitization training whatsoever: staff, volunteers, students,
etc.

The system would be easy to set up and self-calibrating; it would use
pairs of consumer-grade cameras ($250-500) from any of several
manufacturers. The software would run on any standard PC or laptop
(Mac/Win/Lin), support one-button operation, provide automatic page
de-warping, include automatic OCR, allow computer-assisted addition of
metadata, and otherwise be set up to produce professional quality output
even when used by complete amateurs. We anticipate the final cost of all
hardware and software (including the cameras and PC or laptop to run
everything), to be sub-$2,000.

As you can infer from the above, this is not a system for digitizing
fine art at very high resolution, but it is a curation-quality
digitization system for text, whether diaries or handbills in a
historical society or books in a museum library. Our goal is to bring
digitization to the "Long Tail" of smaller collections out there in the
world that are of potential cultural significance but where the likely
audience is not large enough to attract the big, for-profit
digitizers--or where the value or fragility is such that the works could
not leave the institution to be scanned. Think of it as "Google Books
for the Rest of Us...." :-)

I'd really appreciate the thoughts of those of you who know museums and
cultural heritage organizations well, on three separable questions:

1. Does anyone know of any other project, currently available or in
development, that might deliver the same functionality and
price-performance?

2. If we build this, will institutions come? Are there many institutions
out there with collections (including museum libraries) that their
leaders would like to digitize, and which have labor (in some form)
available to do the work, but for which the capital costs, expertise
requirements, or other challenges of the current technology are the
limiting factor?

3. If institutions do take advantage of this service, will they make the
resulting content freely available?  (I'm not looking to rehash barriers
like copyright, but rather to solicit information/thoughts that bear on
the *willingness* of museums and cultural heritage organizations to
publish such content freely.)

Two logistical matters.  First, may I ask that replies go to the list
unless you really need confidentiality? I'd like to get as many
different views as possible, including responses-to-responses. Second,
please note that I'm soliciting feedback on these questions, not
proposals or offers to be a test site. If we do move forward, I think we
may indeed want to invite institutions to become test sites, but if so
I'll be back in touch via the MCN list: I'm not prepared to start a
wait-list today.

(I'm also asking these questions of our friends in the library and arts
communities, so apologies in advance for any redundancy in your inboxes
:-)

Thanks!  --Chris

Christopher J. Mackie
Associate Program Officer
Research in Information Technology
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
--
282 Alexander Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
--
140 E. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10065
--
+1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
+1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
+1 646.274.6351 (fax)
cjmackie06 @ AIM
cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
--
http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org


_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 12:54:28 +0200
From: Bas Nederveen <B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl>
Subject: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers
To: "'mcn-l at mcn.edu'" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
        <1480E15259241746B6F724AAB8F2B1497043180FD5 at AMSTERDAM1-12.rijksmuseum.intra>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

"meaningless" inventory numbers


The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is exploring the possibility to introduce "meaningless" inventory numbers, i.e. plain numbers without any references to additional information, such as for example purchase date, department or object status. We would therefore like to get in contact with institutions which have experience in this matter. Since this matter relates to database management it seemed appropriate to try MCN-L.

We are particularly interested in the following:

How do you catalogue related items such as services or (photo's in) photo albums? These item usually have a group record and separate object records. How do you record relations between them?

Are you facing difficulties in daily practice if information can no longer be deduced from the inventory number? For example in your warehouse, while documenting etc. Are related object still easy to find (without immediate access to a computer)?

What do your inventory numbers look like?

Are you following any (inter)national standards?

Sincerely,


Bas Nederveen



Drs. B. Nederveen
Documentalist, Afdeling Collectieregistratie & Documentatie
Documentalist, Registration & Documentation Department
T +31 (0)20 67 47 230
Bezoekadres/Visitors' address
Frans van Mierisstraat 92, 1071 RZ Amsterdam
Vrijdag afwezig/Fridays absent

De Meesterwerken/ The Masterpieces
Rijksmuseum is dagelijks open van 9-18 uur. Op vrijdag van 9-20.30 uur met speciaal avondprogramma.
Rijksmuseum is open daily from 9 am - 6 pm. On Friday from 9 am to 8.30 pm.
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl>

_______________________________________
Rijksmuseum
Postbus/PO Box 74888, 1070 DN Amsterdam
Nederland / The Netherlands
T +31 (0) 20 6747000
F +31 (0) 20 6747001
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/>






------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:04:21 -0400
From: "Robert Mason" <robm at rom.on.ca>
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers
To: "'mcn-l at mcn.edu'" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <489AC8A4.6BCF.0070.0 at rom.on.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Here at the Royal Ontario Museum we have a system in which we have the year as the first element, then a batch number, and then the unique identifier, sometimes with a further number for multiple component objects. The IT dept, however, likes to use the unique identifier from the database, which is just a number, so the curatorial types are always talking about the "Accession number" and the IT people are always talking about the "RID#". Curatorial resists this, however, as people actually remember what the numbers mean, for instance I know that accession number 988.117.32 would be an artefact from excavations in Fustat, Egypt - all the 988.117. numbers are. Similarly people can remember specific objects and their histories from the accession number. So personally, I'd have to say meaningful numbers are a good thing. On the database, however, any link to the main museum image bank, the web, etc is done through IT's RID#, so in a way, we have the both of both worlds, but as lo
 ng as you make sure you have a meaningful number that is unique for each object, it should work without a meaningless number.

Robert Mason

_____________________________________________
Dr. Robert B. J. Mason (E-mail: robm at rom.on.ca; fax (416) 586-5877)
Dept of World Cultures, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2C6, CANADA
Associate Professor, Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of Toronto, 4 Bancroft Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1C1, CANADA
web: http://www.utoronto.ca/nmc/mason/mason.html

>>> Bas Nederveen <B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl> 8/7/2008 6:54 AM >>>
"meaningless" inventory numbers


The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is exploring the possibility to introduce "meaningless" inventory numbers, i.e. plain numbers without any references to additional information, such as for example purchase date, department or object status. We would therefore like to get in contact with institutions which have experience in this matter. Since this matter relates to database management it seemed appropriate to try MCN-L.

We are particularly interested in the following:

How do you catalogue related items such as services or (photo's in) photo albums? These item usually have a group record and separate object records. How do you record relations between them?

Are you facing difficulties in daily practice if information can no longer be deduced from the inventory number? For example in your warehouse, while documenting etc. Are related object still easy to find (without immediate access to a computer)?

What do your inventory numbers look like?

Are you following any (inter)national standards?

Sincerely,


Bas Nederveen



Drs. B. Nederveen
Documentalist, Afdeling Collectieregistratie & Documentatie
Documentalist, Registration & Documentation Department
T +31 (0)20 67 47 230
Bezoekadres/Visitors' address
Frans van Mierisstraat 92, 1071 RZ Amsterdam
Vrijdag afwezig/Fridays absent

De Meesterwerken/ The Masterpieces
Rijksmuseum is dagelijks open van 9-18 uur. Op vrijdag van 9-20.30 uur met speciaal avondprogramma.
Rijksmuseum is open daily from 9 am - 6 pm. On Friday from 9 am to 8.30 pm.
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl ( http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/ )>

_______________________________________
Rijksmuseum
Postbus/PO Box 74888, 1070 DN Amsterdam
Nederland / The Netherlands
T +31 (0) 20 6747000
F +31 (0) 20 6747001
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/>




_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 11:12:46 -0400
From: "Christopher J. Mackie" <CJM at mellon.org>
Subject: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig
To: <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
        <71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9828 at ny2exch08.office.share.org>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

Thanks to everyone who responded to my query yesterday about
digitization rigs. The responses were extremely helpful, and I am most
grateful.

There were so many responses on and offline, some of which include
several back-and-forths, that I'm not going to attempt a summary of the
questions and concerns; instead, let me respond by providing what I hope
will be a clearer and more comprehensive explanation of what we're
talking about (with my apologies for not making all of it clearer the
first time :-).

1) The focus of the project is on the software, not the hardware. We're
using off-the-shelf, consumer-grade hardware so that we don't have to
think about hardware at all; the whole reason to create the software
now, as some of you noted, is that the hardware has reached the point
where it's no longer the bottleneck. The sub-$2,000 configuration we
describe will produce 600dpi output, for example--and runs fast enough
that the page-turner, not the imaging hardware, is the throughput
bottleneck. (For those who really want to know, it's a two-camera,
stereo rig that shoots both pages of a book at once and uses the stereo
plus some other tricks to dewarp and align text.)

2) The software will be, literally, one-button. Anyone who can turn a
page and press a button will be able to use it--no training, no special
skills required. Someone will have to assemble the rig (we anticipate a
one-sheet instruction set, with room for many pictures :-), but once
it's up, it will keep itself in calibration and perform all of the
ancillary tasks of digitizing--dewarping, aligning, etc.--without user
input. It will auto-structure the text, but there will also be
opportunities for user interaction.

3) The PDF output is the only *final* output we have discussed, and it's
required for the 'flowing' of text for reader device independence. But
the system preserves interim formats as well, including the original
scanned TIFFs and the interim hOCR format, so getting data into other
formats will be relatively straightforward.

4) The metadata to be input will be at the discretion of the institution
doing the digitizing, and can be applied at the level of the individual
image or collection of images (e.g., the book, or even a collection of
books).

5) The software is SOA and also scriptable, so it can easily be
decomposed and extended (e.g., it will use the OCRopus open-source OCR
system, which can itself be implemented as a set of services). We're
going to build a seamless wrapper for institutions that don't have the
tech capacity to do their own customization, but that won't prevent
institutions that have the chops from doing whatever they want with it.
As you might suspect from this, by the way, the software will be
web-based and multi-user; this means that a larger institution could set
up several volunteer-operated rigs, all feeding one staffer who's doing
QA and adding/reviewing metadata.

6) The system will include automated open archiving online (i.e., not at
institutional expense) for both the raw images and the finished outputs
(perhaps also the interim formats), with a stable, permanent URL;
institutions that want to host locally will be able to do that
instead/in addition. To respond in particular to Joe's point about
Internet Archive; we've talked with IA already. I don't want to speak
for them, but it's safe to say that we've taken their views into account
and I think they'll be very pleased by what's delivered, should we move
forward.

7) The model we're thinking about is a "Long Tail" model; while it's
entirely possible that even 'big' digitizers might benefit from the
software, our primary purpose is to extend the capability to small
institutions with small collections. In the model we envision, these
smaller institutions won't be devoting staff--or anyone--full-time to
the project, but will be digitizing using opportunistic labor
(volunteers, interns, min-wage teens, etc.) as available. Staff will
most likely only engage in small quantities, for QA and metadata
purposes. This model trades time for money: it removes the labor
bottleneck by allowing an institution to pay nearly nothing as long as
it's willing to wait a while for the output, instead of getting results
quickly but paying a lot for them. In short, we're envisioning a very
different kind of 'scalability' than the one(s) that many of you
mentioned.

8) Several people inquired about the flowing PDFs. The technology will
be fully open-source, so it will also be usable by projects other than
this.

9) One thing nobody mentioned, because I didn't mention it in the first
place: because this project will use OCRopus, it has the potential to be
used for texts in many languages (including math and chem formulae), not
just English. How quickly and well that capability emerges will depend
on how big and multi-lingual a community forms around OCRopus, but at
least, unlike many commercial OCR products, there's hope....

As for the questions I asked originally, here's what I think I heard:

1) Setting aside the concerns about whether/how the technology will
work, many of you feel that this is likely to be quite valuable. Of
those who do, most of you think that small institutions will be willing
to publish most of the materials openly, provided they are supported
(with hosting, etc.) in doing so.

2) Quite a few of you remain skeptical that even a low-cost rig will
enable small institutions to digitize, because you believe that labor
remains the true bottleneck. I'd be interested to know if that remains
true even in the context of the "Long Tail" model I described in (7),
above, or whether you were thinking implicitly about a 'big'
digitization project on fixed timelines.

Again, thanks *very* much to everyone who took the trouble to respond.
We're still quite a ways from a final decision, so if you think of
anything else you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to get in
touch.

All best,  --Chris

Christopher J. Mackie
Associate Program Officer
Research in Information Technology
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
--
282 Alexander Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
--
140 E. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10065
--
+1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
+1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
+1 646.274.6351 (fax)
cjmackie06 @ AIM
cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
--
http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org










------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 09:07:35 -0700
From: "Perian Sully" <psully at magnes.org>
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers
To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <AD775DE5635C2042BF1DCB7EED36A83B471D95 at jlm-net.jlm.local>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

I second Robert. One of the beautiful things about accession numbers is
that they are meaningful and useful at a glance. We also use the classic
trinomial accession number method, with some extra complications (if
you're interested, I'd be happy to forward the descriptions of each part
of the number. It can get quite complex for us, but it works).

For things like photos in photo albums, if the photo comes out of the
album for separate display, that one photograph might become something
like 2008.12.3a <- the "a" refers to the photograph itself, because it
is a part of the whole album.

For artist portfolios, which have sheets which are designed to come out
and be displayed separately, the number could be as large as
2008.12.4.1-15 (for a portfolio with 13 prints, plus a colophon and a
hard cover - 15 pieces total)

In our CMS, we have fields which pertain to Other Numbers. These could
be temporary numbers, numbers the donor assigned to the piece before we
received it, incorrect numbers (there might be paperwork floating around
referencing the incorrect number), etc. I would caution against labeling
the works themselves with a "meaningless" number. We were just
discussing this ourselves, and realized that while the RID# is unique to
each record, there is the chance that if we ever migrate the system
again. As each software package and database structure is different, a
new database may not be able to import the RID# of the previous system.

There are some cases in which we will use the RID# - temporary loans for
exhibition, for example - but for our collections, we'll stick with the
standard.

Hope this helps!

Perian Sully
Collection Information and New Media Coordinator
Judah L. Magnes Museum


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Robert Mason
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 7:04 AM
To: 'mcn-l at mcn.edu'
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers

Here at the Royal Ontario Museum we have a system in which we have the
year as the first element, then a batch number, and then the unique
identifier, sometimes with a further number for multiple component
objects. The IT dept, however, likes to use the unique identifier from
the database, which is just a number, so the curatorial types are always
talking about the "Accession number" and the IT people are always
talking about the "RID#". Curatorial resists this, however, as people
actually remember what the numbers mean, for instance I know that
accession number 988.117.32 would be an artefact from excavations in
Fustat, Egypt - all the 988.117. numbers are. Similarly people can
remember specific objects and their histories from the accession number.
So personally, I'd have to say meaningful numbers are a good thing. On
the database, however, any link to the main museum image bank, the web,
etc is done through IT's RID#, so in a way, we have the both of both
worlds, but as lo
 ng as you make sure you have a meaningful number that is unique for
each object, it should work without a meaningless number.

Robert Mason

_____________________________________________
Dr. Robert B. J. Mason (E-mail: robm at rom.on.ca; fax (416) 586-5877)
Dept of World Cultures, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto,
Ontario, M5S 2C6, CANADA
Associate Professor, Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University
of Toronto, 4 Bancroft Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1C1, CANADA
web: http://www.utoronto.ca/nmc/mason/mason.html

>>> Bas Nederveen <B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl> 8/7/2008 6:54 AM >>>
"meaningless" inventory numbers


The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is exploring the possibility to introduce
"meaningless" inventory numbers, i.e. plain numbers without any
references to additional information, such as for example purchase date,
department or object status. We would therefore like to get in contact
with institutions which have experience in this matter. Since this
matter relates to database management it seemed appropriate to try
MCN-L.

We are particularly interested in the following:

How do you catalogue related items such as services or (photo's in)
photo albums? These item usually have a group record and separate object
records. How do you record relations between them?

Are you facing difficulties in daily practice if information can no
longer be deduced from the inventory number? For example in your
warehouse, while documenting etc. Are related object still easy to find
(without immediate access to a computer)?

What do your inventory numbers look like?

Are you following any (inter)national standards?

Sincerely,


Bas Nederveen



Drs. B. Nederveen
Documentalist, Afdeling Collectieregistratie & Documentatie
Documentalist, Registration & Documentation Department
T +31 (0)20 67 47 230
Bezoekadres/Visitors' address
Frans van Mierisstraat 92, 1071 RZ Amsterdam
Vrijdag afwezig/Fridays absent

De Meesterwerken/ The Masterpieces
Rijksmuseum is dagelijks open van 9-18 uur. Op vrijdag van 9-20.30 uur
met speciaal avondprogramma.
Rijksmuseum is open daily from 9 am - 6 pm. On Friday from 9 am to 8.30
pm.
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl (
http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/ )>

_______________________________________
Rijksmuseum
Postbus/PO Box 74888, 1070 DN Amsterdam
Nederland / The Netherlands
T +31 (0) 20 6747000
F +31 (0) 20 6747001
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/>




_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 09:24:34 -0700
From: "Misunas, Marla" <mmisunas at sfmoma.org>
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers
To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
        <45058F8692E66640955EC9882C7C48430434C680 at monet.SFMOMA.ORG>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

SFMOMA uses a similar typical system but we no longer use the "batch"
method which had--for us--formerly referred to a group of objects given
by a single donor.  We have local variations that group objects that
need to be shown together like a multi-part sculpture (we use a letter
series: 2000.19.A-F) or prints in a portfolio, which can be taken apart
and shown separately (2000.20.1-99).

Our digital asset management system displays the accession number for
each object, but it links behind the scenes based on the CMS' internal
ID number.
That way the Media Library doesn't get confused if something changes--it
always links back to EmbARK's internal ID number.

For those of us who don't think in binary code, we like seeing the
"human readable" number, which is meaningful to us; and we let the
machine deal with the internal numbers.  This seems to be universal
throughout our staff, whether they are curators, info management, or
IT--we all use the same vocabulary.  Sounds like we are on the same page
with you guys, Robert.


Marla Misunas
Collections Information Manager
Collections Information and Access
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
415-357-4186 (voice)
Check out SFMOMA Collections Online
www.sfmoma.org
__________________________________

Past President, Museum Computer Network
http://www.mcn.edu
-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Robert Mason
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 7:04 AM
To: 'mcn-l at mcn.edu'
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers

Here at the Royal Ontario Museum we have a system in which we have the
year as the first element, then a batch number, and then the unique
identifier, sometimes with a further number for multiple component
objects. The IT dept, however, likes to use the unique identifier from
the database, which is just a number, so the curatorial types are always
talking about the "Accession number" and the IT people are always
talking about the "RID#". Curatorial resists this, however, as people
actually remember what the numbers mean, for instance I know that
accession number 988.117.32 would be an artefact from excavations in
Fustat, Egypt - all the 988.117. numbers are. Similarly people can
remember specific objects and their histories from the accession number.
So personally, I'd have to say meaningful numbers are a good thing. On
the database, however, any link to the main museum image bank, the web,
etc is done through IT's RID#, so in a way, we have the both of both
worlds, but as lo
 ng as you make sure you have a meaningful number that is unique for
each object, it should work without a meaningless number.

Robert Mason

_____________________________________________
Dr. Robert B. J. Mason (E-mail: robm at rom.on.ca; fax (416) 586-5877)
Dept of World Cultures, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto,
Ontario, M5S 2C6, CANADA
Associate Professor, Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University
of Toronto, 4 Bancroft Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1C1, CANADA
web: http://www.utoronto.ca/nmc/mason/mason.html

>>> Bas Nederveen <B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl> 8/7/2008 6:54 AM >>>
"meaningless" inventory numbers


The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is exploring the possibility to introduce
"meaningless" inventory numbers, i.e. plain numbers without any
references to additional information, such as for example purchase date,
department or object status. We would therefore like to get in contact
with institutions which have experience in this matter. Since this
matter relates to database management it seemed appropriate to try
MCN-L.

We are particularly interested in the following:

How do you catalogue related items such as services or (photo's in)
photo albums? These item usually have a group record and separate object
records. How do you record relations between them?

Are you facing difficulties in daily practice if information can no
longer be deduced from the inventory number? For example in your
warehouse, while documenting etc. Are related object still easy to find
(without immediate access to a computer)?

What do your inventory numbers look like?

Are you following any (inter)national standards?

Sincerely,


Bas Nederveen



Drs. B. Nederveen
Documentalist, Afdeling Collectieregistratie & Documentatie
Documentalist, Registration & Documentation Department
T +31 (0)20 67 47 230
Bezoekadres/Visitors' address
Frans van Mierisstraat 92, 1071 RZ Amsterdam
Vrijdag afwezig/Fridays absent

De Meesterwerken/ The Masterpieces
Rijksmuseum is dagelijks open van 9-18 uur. Op vrijdag van 9-20.30 uur
met speciaal avondprogramma.
Rijksmuseum is open daily from 9 am - 6 pm. On Friday from 9 am to 8.30
pm.
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl (
http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/ )>

_______________________________________
Rijksmuseum
Postbus/PO Box 74888, 1070 DN Amsterdam
Nederland / The Netherlands
T +31 (0) 20 6747000
F +31 (0) 20 6747001
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/>




_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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The information contained in this electronic mail message (including any attachments) is confidential information that may be covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC Sections 2510-2521, intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above, and may be privileged.  If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication, or the taking of any action based on it, is strictly prohibited.  If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify me and delete the original message.  Thank you



------------------------------

Message: 7
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 09:30:25 -0700
From: "Perian Sully" <psully at magnes.org>
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig
To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <AD775DE5635C2042BF1DCB7EED36A83B471D9C at jlm-net.jlm.local>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

Dear Chris:

Fantastic discussion. Thank you.

Small and mid-sized institutions have three major problems: 1) staff 2)
funding and 3) expertise. Many of them are definitely feeling the
pressure to digitize and image their collections, and some strides have
certainly been made, but some of the common questions which come up have
to do with the setup, equipment, and standards. Having a reliable,
easy-to-use, and flexible system would certainly be of interest to many
smaller historical institutions.

We at the Magnes recently received a donation which will allow us to
purchase the BookSnap system for our rare book collection:
http://booksnap.atiz.com/ The rig itself is $1909.60, with all the
shipping and tax and software, and it requires two Canon cameras (we
opted for two Canon Powershot G9 cameras for $449 each) and a Windows
OS. The Windows requirement is a bit of a problem, since the lab it is
going into will be running iMacs (since it's a public lab, we're not
going to use virtualization software on those machines, as far as I
know).

Have you considered putting the question to the RCAAM or SAA listservs?
I suspect that many folks on those listservs would be willing to provide
"lively" feedback about what their specific needs might be, especially
since it's likely that they'll be the ones manning the rig. I'd be happy
to forward to RCAAM, if you would like.

Best,

Perian Sully
Collection Information Manager
Judah L. Magnes Museum


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Christopher J. Mackie
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 8:13 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig

Thanks to everyone who responded to my query yesterday about
digitization rigs. The responses were extremely helpful, and I am most
grateful.

There were so many responses on and offline, some of which include
several back-and-forths, that I'm not going to attempt a summary of the
questions and concerns; instead, let me respond by providing what I hope
will be a clearer and more comprehensive explanation of what we're
talking about (with my apologies for not making all of it clearer the
first time :-).

1) The focus of the project is on the software, not the hardware. We're
using off-the-shelf, consumer-grade hardware so that we don't have to
think about hardware at all; the whole reason to create the software
now, as some of you noted, is that the hardware has reached the point
where it's no longer the bottleneck. The sub-$2,000 configuration we
describe will produce 600dpi output, for example--and runs fast enough
that the page-turner, not the imaging hardware, is the throughput
bottleneck. (For those who really want to know, it's a two-camera,
stereo rig that shoots both pages of a book at once and uses the stereo
plus some other tricks to dewarp and align text.)

2) The software will be, literally, one-button. Anyone who can turn a
page and press a button will be able to use it--no training, no special
skills required. Someone will have to assemble the rig (we anticipate a
one-sheet instruction set, with room for many pictures :-), but once
it's up, it will keep itself in calibration and perform all of the
ancillary tasks of digitizing--dewarping, aligning, etc.--without user
input. It will auto-structure the text, but there will also be
opportunities for user interaction.

3) The PDF output is the only *final* output we have discussed, and it's
required for the 'flowing' of text for reader device independence. But
the system preserves interim formats as well, including the original
scanned TIFFs and the interim hOCR format, so getting data into other
formats will be relatively straightforward.

4) The metadata to be input will be at the discretion of the institution
doing the digitizing, and can be applied at the level of the individual
image or collection of images (e.g., the book, or even a collection of
books).

5) The software is SOA and also scriptable, so it can easily be
decomposed and extended (e.g., it will use the OCRopus open-source OCR
system, which can itself be implemented as a set of services). We're
going to build a seamless wrapper for institutions that don't have the
tech capacity to do their own customization, but that won't prevent
institutions that have the chops from doing whatever they want with it.
As you might suspect from this, by the way, the software will be
web-based and multi-user; this means that a larger institution could set
up several volunteer-operated rigs, all feeding one staffer who's doing
QA and adding/reviewing metadata.

6) The system will include automated open archiving online (i.e., not at
institutional expense) for both the raw images and the finished outputs
(perhaps also the interim formats), with a stable, permanent URL;
institutions that want to host locally will be able to do that
instead/in addition. To respond in particular to Joe's point about
Internet Archive; we've talked with IA already. I don't want to speak
for them, but it's safe to say that we've taken their views into account
and I think they'll be very pleased by what's delivered, should we move
forward.

7) The model we're thinking about is a "Long Tail" model; while it's
entirely possible that even 'big' digitizers might benefit from the
software, our primary purpose is to extend the capability to small
institutions with small collections. In the model we envision, these
smaller institutions won't be devoting staff--or anyone--full-time to
the project, but will be digitizing using opportunistic labor
(volunteers, interns, min-wage teens, etc.) as available. Staff will
most likely only engage in small quantities, for QA and metadata
purposes. This model trades time for money: it removes the labor
bottleneck by allowing an institution to pay nearly nothing as long as
it's willing to wait a while for the output, instead of getting results
quickly but paying a lot for them. In short, we're envisioning a very
different kind of 'scalability' than the one(s) that many of you
mentioned.

8) Several people inquired about the flowing PDFs. The technology will
be fully open-source, so it will also be usable by projects other than
this.

9) One thing nobody mentioned, because I didn't mention it in the first
place: because this project will use OCRopus, it has the potential to be
used for texts in many languages (including math and chem formulae), not
just English. How quickly and well that capability emerges will depend
on how big and multi-lingual a community forms around OCRopus, but at
least, unlike many commercial OCR products, there's hope....

As for the questions I asked originally, here's what I think I heard:

1) Setting aside the concerns about whether/how the technology will
work, many of you feel that this is likely to be quite valuable. Of
those who do, most of you think that small institutions will be willing
to publish most of the materials openly, provided they are supported
(with hosting, etc.) in doing so.

2) Quite a few of you remain skeptical that even a low-cost rig will
enable small institutions to digitize, because you believe that labor
remains the true bottleneck. I'd be interested to know if that remains
true even in the context of the "Long Tail" model I described in (7),
above, or whether you were thinking implicitly about a 'big'
digitization project on fixed timelines.

Again, thanks *very* much to everyone who took the trouble to respond.
We're still quite a ways from a final decision, so if you think of
anything else you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to get in
touch.

All best,  --Chris

Christopher J. Mackie
Associate Program Officer
Research in Information Technology
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
--
282 Alexander Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
--
140 E. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10065
--
+1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
+1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
+1 646.274.6351 (fax)
cjmackie06 @ AIM
cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
--
http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org








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------------------------------

Message: 8
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 11:44:37 -0500
From: "Stein, Marty" <mstein at mfah.org>
Subject: [MCN-L] Position Annoucement - Collection Photographer,        The
        Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>,
        <RCAAM at SI-LISTSERV.SI.EDU>, <VRA-L at listserv.uark.edu>
Message-ID:
        <128692D10E069046A3158305E82EDE1C012F0BC5 at mfah-exmail.mfah.local>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

Hello,

Please accept my apologies for cross-posting.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has a new position opening for a
Collection Photographer.  If you would like more information, please
contact me at mstein at mfah.org or go to our website:
www.mfah.org/employment.

Thank you and have a wonderful day!

Marty Stein

Marcia (Marty) Stein
Photographic and Imaging Services Manager
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
PO Box 6826
Houston, Texas 77265-6826
Phone: (713) 639-7525
Fax: (713) 639-7557
Email: mstein at mfah.org



Position Available

Title:                  Collection Photographer
Reports To:             Photographic and Imaging Services Manager
Date Needed:            September 2008
Pay Type:               Salaried, Nonexempt, Full Time, 35 hours/week
Salary:                 Commensurate with Experience and Education
Benefits:               Group Medical and Dental Insurance, Life and
Long Term
                        Disability Insurance, Pension Plan, Credit
Union, Flexible
                        Compensation Plan, Paid Time Off, Reserve Time
Off, and
                        Holiday Pay
Work Schedule:  Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Work Location:          Beck Building, a non-smoking facility

Responsibilities:
*       Photograph objects from the permanent collection of the Museum
of Fine Arts, Houston, including Bayou Bend and Rienzi
*       Photograph, as needed, objects on loan to the MFAH for
exhibition and research
*       Photograph installations of exhibitions at MFAH, Bayou Bend,
Rienzi and Glassell School of Art
*       Photograph interior and exterior views of MFAH architecture
*       Photograph, as needed, after-hours MFAH events
*       Coordinate photography schedule with Chief Registrar,
Photographic and Imaging Services Manager, and Assistant Registrar
*       Consult with museum staff including curators, registrars,
preparators, conservators, and designers to gather information to
determine how objects should be photographed for specific projects
*       Coordinate movement of artworks with preparators and moves
objects within photography studio
*       Stay apprised of the applications for new technology and advise
supervisor of the applications for new technology
*       Other tasks as assigned

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities::
*       Must posses a broad knowledge of film-based and digital
photographic processes, methods and new technologies
*       Must be able to work with a variety of museum staff and function
within a team-oriented department
*       Must have command of a variety of professional cameras and
equipment including large format, medium format, 35mm, copystand,
electronic strobe, continuous lighting, and diffusers
*       Must be able to maintain photographic equipment and lenses in
accordance with accepted policies of the department
*       Must have the ability to judge and correct digital proofs,
color, contrast, and density when compared to original objects
*       Must have knowledge of specialized software applications
(Photoshop, Bridge, Capture One, Eye One) used to manipulate, print and
save images
*       Must have the ability to use cross platform computers, operating
systems and applications


*       Must be able to organize time and schedules efficiently in the
absence of direct supervision
*       Must posses knowledge of museum and art handling procedures

        Education and Experience:
*       BFA in photography and knowledge of art history preferred
*       A combination of experience gathered from technical photography
school study, apprenticeship and on-the-job training
*       Minimum of five years work experience in photography
*       Experience utilizing professional digital camera systems
*       Demonstrated ability to discriminate and adjust fine tonal
variations and color fidelity of digital reproductions against original
objects
*       A portfolio of work required

How to Apply:
Send resume to Human Resources, Job 022, P.O. Box 6826, Houston TX
77265-6826;
Fax 713-639-7597 or email: jobs at mfah.org or apply at
www.mfah.org/employment



Marcia (Marty) Stein
Photographic Services Manager
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
PO Box 6826
Houston, Texas 77265-6826
Phone: (713) 639-7525
Fax: (713) 639-7557
Email: mstein at mfah.org




------------------------------

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End of mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 7
************************************

From mmisunas at sfmoma.org  Wed Aug 13 09:00:25 2008
From: mmisunas at sfmoma.org (Misunas, Marla)
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:00:25 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers (Bas Nederveen)
In-Reply-To: <1480E15259241746B6F724AAB8F2B14970E2A20E61@AMSTERDAM1-12.rijksmuseum.intra>
References: <mailman.1.1218135601.10685.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
	<1480E15259241746B6F724AAB8F2B14970E2A20E61@AMSTERDAM1-12.rijksmuseum.intra>
Message-ID: <45058F8692E66640955EC9882C7C48430438EDE8@monet.SFMOMA.ORG>

Having the year in the accession number makes it easier for us to sort
and group objects chronologically based on the year they came in to the
collection.  It was much more important before we could sort
electronically
but it does help us organize information in a human-readable fashion
since there are plenty of other documents we use (including object
labels) which are not electronic.  Using the year in the number probably
doesn't mean much to the average museum visitor but it is very helpful
for staff.


Marla Misunas
Collections Information Manager
Collections Information and Access
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
415-357-4186 (voice)
Check out SFMOMA Collections Online
www.sfmoma.org
__________________________________
 
Past President, Museum Computer Network
http://www.mcn.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Bas Nederveen
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 1:52 AM
To: 'mcn-l at mcn.edu'
Subject: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers (Bas Nederveen)

Dear all,

Thank you so much for your reactions so far. The trinomial accession
number appears to be widespread and apparently no-one seems to
experience problems with it. Our major problem is not the numeric part
of the accession number, which is a (sort of) trinomial number, but the
overwhelming number of inconstant prefixes we have. This is why we want
to get rid of as much meaning in our accession number as possible. The
examples of trinomial accession numbers I have seen so far didn't have a
prefix and therefore they may work for us. However, I noticed that most
accession numbers contain a year (meaning). Is this a gesture towards
users or is it a necessity?

Kind regards,

Bas Nederveen



Drs. B. Nederveen
Documentalist, Afdeling Collectieregistratie & Documentatie
Documentalist, Registration & Documentation Department
T +31 (0)20 67 47 230
Bezoekadres/Visitors' address
Frans van Mierisstraat 92, 1071 RZ Amsterdam
Vrijdag afwezig/Fridays absent

-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] Namens
mcn-l-request at mcn.edu
Verzonden: donderdag 7 augustus 2008 21:00
Aan: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Onderwerp: mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 7

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: Low-cost digitization rig (Cherry, Rich)
   2. "meaningless" inventory numbers (Bas Nederveen)
   3. Re: "meaningless" inventory numbers (Robert Mason)
   4. RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig (Christopher J. Mackie)
   5. Re: "meaningless" inventory numbers (Perian Sully)
   6. Re: "meaningless" inventory numbers (Misunas, Marla)
   7. Re: RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig (Perian Sully)
   8. Position Annoucement - Collection Photographer,   The Museum of
      Fine Arts, Houston (Stein, Marty)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 12:12:15 -0700
From: "Cherry, Rich" <rcherry at skirball.org>
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig
To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
        <2A6CDDE8F1CB5D428E7CA6014794A582014E31EE at scc-mail.skirball.org>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

In my experience it's the upfront labor (including impact on existing
staff) and long term labor and maintenance costs that prevent large
scale digitization in both small, medium and large institutions, not the
initial capital costs of the hardware and software.  If Mellon funded an
entry level position with the package then you would see a high level of
interest.

Rich

Rich Cherry
Director of Operations
Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Work: (310) 440-4777
Fax: (310) 440-4595
rcherry at skirball.org


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Christopher J. Mackie
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 3:06 PM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Low-cost digitization rig

Hi all; I'm writing today on behalf of Mellon's IT funding program (not
our Museums and Art Conservation Program, which is a different entity).
We're looking at an opportunity to fund a different kind of digitization
project, and I wonder if I could ask for your thoughts about its likely
usefulness in the museum/cultural heritage communities?

What we've got in mind is a digitization rig for small or medium-sized
2D digitization projects.  The project would use off-the-shelf hardware
and open source software, packaged carefully to be extremely easy to set
up and use, even with no prior training.  It would be able to handle
almost any kind of 2D material up to a certain size (books, flat pages,
images) non-destructively, would OCR the results, and would then deliver
the documents as special, searchable PDFs that could reformat for any
display devices (i.e., the text would 'flow' so that you could, e.g.,
read on your iPhone without having to scroll side-to-side or flip
pages). Let me emphasize that it would be built to be operated by people
with no digitization training whatsoever: staff, volunteers, students,
etc.

The system would be easy to set up and self-calibrating; it would use
pairs of consumer-grade cameras ($250-500) from any of several
manufacturers. The software would run on any standard PC or laptop
(Mac/Win/Lin), support one-button operation, provide automatic page
de-warping, include automatic OCR, allow computer-assisted addition of
metadata, and otherwise be set up to produce professional quality output
even when used by complete amateurs. We anticipate the final cost of all
hardware and software (including the cameras and PC or laptop to run
everything), to be sub-$2,000.

As you can infer from the above, this is not a system for digitizing
fine art at very high resolution, but it is a curation-quality
digitization system for text, whether diaries or handbills in a
historical society or books in a museum library. Our goal is to bring
digitization to the "Long Tail" of smaller collections out there in the
world that are of potential cultural significance but where the likely
audience is not large enough to attract the big, for-profit
digitizers--or where the value or fragility is such that the works could
not leave the institution to be scanned. Think of it as "Google Books
for the Rest of Us...." :-)

I'd really appreciate the thoughts of those of you who know museums and
cultural heritage organizations well, on three separable questions:

1. Does anyone know of any other project, currently available or in
development, that might deliver the same functionality and
price-performance?

2. If we build this, will institutions come? Are there many institutions
out there with collections (including museum libraries) that their
leaders would like to digitize, and which have labor (in some form)
available to do the work, but for which the capital costs, expertise
requirements, or other challenges of the current technology are the
limiting factor?

3. If institutions do take advantage of this service, will they make the
resulting content freely available?  (I'm not looking to rehash barriers
like copyright, but rather to solicit information/thoughts that bear on
the *willingness* of museums and cultural heritage organizations to
publish such content freely.)

Two logistical matters.  First, may I ask that replies go to the list
unless you really need confidentiality? I'd like to get as many
different views as possible, including responses-to-responses. Second,
please note that I'm soliciting feedback on these questions, not
proposals or offers to be a test site. If we do move forward, I think we
may indeed want to invite institutions to become test sites, but if so
I'll be back in touch via the MCN list: I'm not prepared to start a
wait-list today.

(I'm also asking these questions of our friends in the library and arts
communities, so apologies in advance for any redundancy in your inboxes
:-)

Thanks!  --Chris

Christopher J. Mackie
Associate Program Officer
Research in Information Technology
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
--
282 Alexander Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
--
140 E. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10065
--
+1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
+1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
+1 646.274.6351 (fax)
cjmackie06 @ AIM
cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
--
http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org


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------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 12:54:28 +0200
From: Bas Nederveen <B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl>
Subject: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers
To: "'mcn-l at mcn.edu'" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
 
<1480E15259241746B6F724AAB8F2B1497043180FD5 at AMSTERDAM1-12.rijksmuseum.in
tra>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

"meaningless" inventory numbers


The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is exploring the possibility to introduce
"meaningless" inventory numbers, i.e. plain numbers without any
references to additional information, such as for example purchase date,
department or object status. We would therefore like to get in contact
with institutions which have experience in this matter. Since this
matter relates to database management it seemed appropriate to try
MCN-L.

We are particularly interested in the following:

How do you catalogue related items such as services or (photo's in)
photo albums? These item usually have a group record and separate object
records. How do you record relations between them?

Are you facing difficulties in daily practice if information can no
longer be deduced from the inventory number? For example in your
warehouse, while documenting etc. Are related object still easy to find
(without immediate access to a computer)?

What do your inventory numbers look like?

Are you following any (inter)national standards?

Sincerely,


Bas Nederveen



Drs. B. Nederveen
Documentalist, Afdeling Collectieregistratie & Documentatie
Documentalist, Registration & Documentation Department
T +31 (0)20 67 47 230
Bezoekadres/Visitors' address
Frans van Mierisstraat 92, 1071 RZ Amsterdam
Vrijdag afwezig/Fridays absent

De Meesterwerken/ The Masterpieces
Rijksmuseum is dagelijks open van 9-18 uur. Op vrijdag van 9-20.30 uur
met speciaal avondprogramma.
Rijksmuseum is open daily from 9 am - 6 pm. On Friday from 9 am to 8.30
pm.
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl>

_______________________________________
Rijksmuseum
Postbus/PO Box 74888, 1070 DN Amsterdam
Nederland / The Netherlands
T +31 (0) 20 6747000
F +31 (0) 20 6747001
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/>






------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:04:21 -0400
From: "Robert Mason" <robm at rom.on.ca>
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers
To: "'mcn-l at mcn.edu'" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <489AC8A4.6BCF.0070.0 at rom.on.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Here at the Royal Ontario Museum we have a system in which we have the
year as the first element, then a batch number, and then the unique
identifier, sometimes with a further number for multiple component
objects. The IT dept, however, likes to use the unique identifier from
the database, which is just a number, so the curatorial types are always
talking about the "Accession number" and the IT people are always
talking about the "RID#". Curatorial resists this, however, as people
actually remember what the numbers mean, for instance I know that
accession number 988.117.32 would be an artefact from excavations in
Fustat, Egypt - all the 988.117. numbers are. Similarly people can
remember specific objects and their histories from the accession number.
So personally, I'd have to say meaningful numbers are a good thing. On
the database, however, any link to the main museum image bank, the web,
etc is done through IT's RID#, so in a way, we have the both of both
worlds, but as lo
 ng as you make sure you have a meaningful number that is unique for
each object, it should work without a meaningless number.

Robert Mason

_____________________________________________
Dr. Robert B. J. Mason (E-mail: robm at rom.on.ca; fax (416) 586-5877)
Dept of World Cultures, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto,
Ontario, M5S 2C6, CANADA
Associate Professor, Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University
of Toronto, 4 Bancroft Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1C1, CANADA
web: http://www.utoronto.ca/nmc/mason/mason.html

>>> Bas Nederveen <B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl> 8/7/2008 6:54 AM >>>
"meaningless" inventory numbers


The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is exploring the possibility to introduce
"meaningless" inventory numbers, i.e. plain numbers without any
references to additional information, such as for example purchase date,
department or object status. We would therefore like to get in contact
with institutions which have experience in this matter. Since this
matter relates to database management it seemed appropriate to try
MCN-L.

We are particularly interested in the following:

How do you catalogue related items such as services or (photo's in)
photo albums? These item usually have a group record and separate object
records. How do you record relations between them?

Are you facing difficulties in daily practice if information can no
longer be deduced from the inventory number? For example in your
warehouse, while documenting etc. Are related object still easy to find
(without immediate access to a computer)?

What do your inventory numbers look like?

Are you following any (inter)national standards?

Sincerely,


Bas Nederveen



Drs. B. Nederveen
Documentalist, Afdeling Collectieregistratie & Documentatie
Documentalist, Registration & Documentation Department
T +31 (0)20 67 47 230
Bezoekadres/Visitors' address
Frans van Mierisstraat 92, 1071 RZ Amsterdam
Vrijdag afwezig/Fridays absent

De Meesterwerken/ The Masterpieces
Rijksmuseum is dagelijks open van 9-18 uur. Op vrijdag van 9-20.30 uur
met speciaal avondprogramma.
Rijksmuseum is open daily from 9 am - 6 pm. On Friday from 9 am to 8.30
pm.
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl (
http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/ )>

_______________________________________
Rijksmuseum
Postbus/PO Box 74888, 1070 DN Amsterdam
Nederland / The Netherlands
T +31 (0) 20 6747000
F +31 (0) 20 6747001
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/>




_______________________________________________
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Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

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------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 11:12:46 -0400
From: "Christopher J. Mackie" <CJM at mellon.org>
Subject: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig
To: <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
 
<71FF3FD0C999544099745B34E94485161F9828 at ny2exch08.office.share.org>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

Thanks to everyone who responded to my query yesterday about
digitization rigs. The responses were extremely helpful, and I am most
grateful.

There were so many responses on and offline, some of which include
several back-and-forths, that I'm not going to attempt a summary of the
questions and concerns; instead, let me respond by providing what I hope
will be a clearer and more comprehensive explanation of what we're
talking about (with my apologies for not making all of it clearer the
first time :-).

1) The focus of the project is on the software, not the hardware. We're
using off-the-shelf, consumer-grade hardware so that we don't have to
think about hardware at all; the whole reason to create the software
now, as some of you noted, is that the hardware has reached the point
where it's no longer the bottleneck. The sub-$2,000 configuration we
describe will produce 600dpi output, for example--and runs fast enough
that the page-turner, not the imaging hardware, is the throughput
bottleneck. (For those who really want to know, it's a two-camera,
stereo rig that shoots both pages of a book at once and uses the stereo
plus some other tricks to dewarp and align text.)

2) The software will be, literally, one-button. Anyone who can turn a
page and press a button will be able to use it--no training, no special
skills required. Someone will have to assemble the rig (we anticipate a
one-sheet instruction set, with room for many pictures :-), but once
it's up, it will keep itself in calibration and perform all of the
ancillary tasks of digitizing--dewarping, aligning, etc.--without user
input. It will auto-structure the text, but there will also be
opportunities for user interaction.

3) The PDF output is the only *final* output we have discussed, and it's
required for the 'flowing' of text for reader device independence. But
the system preserves interim formats as well, including the original
scanned TIFFs and the interim hOCR format, so getting data into other
formats will be relatively straightforward.

4) The metadata to be input will be at the discretion of the institution
doing the digitizing, and can be applied at the level of the individual
image or collection of images (e.g., the book, or even a collection of
books).

5) The software is SOA and also scriptable, so it can easily be
decomposed and extended (e.g., it will use the OCRopus open-source OCR
system, which can itself be implemented as a set of services). We're
going to build a seamless wrapper for institutions that don't have the
tech capacity to do their own customization, but that won't prevent
institutions that have the chops from doing whatever they want with it.
As you might suspect from this, by the way, the software will be
web-based and multi-user; this means that a larger institution could set
up several volunteer-operated rigs, all feeding one staffer who's doing
QA and adding/reviewing metadata.

6) The system will include automated open archiving online (i.e., not at
institutional expense) for both the raw images and the finished outputs
(perhaps also the interim formats), with a stable, permanent URL;
institutions that want to host locally will be able to do that
instead/in addition. To respond in particular to Joe's point about
Internet Archive; we've talked with IA already. I don't want to speak
for them, but it's safe to say that we've taken their views into account
and I think they'll be very pleased by what's delivered, should we move
forward.

7) The model we're thinking about is a "Long Tail" model; while it's
entirely possible that even 'big' digitizers might benefit from the
software, our primary purpose is to extend the capability to small
institutions with small collections. In the model we envision, these
smaller institutions won't be devoting staff--or anyone--full-time to
the project, but will be digitizing using opportunistic labor
(volunteers, interns, min-wage teens, etc.) as available. Staff will
most likely only engage in small quantities, for QA and metadata
purposes. This model trades time for money: it removes the labor
bottleneck by allowing an institution to pay nearly nothing as long as
it's willing to wait a while for the output, instead of getting results
quickly but paying a lot for them. In short, we're envisioning a very
different kind of 'scalability' than the one(s) that many of you
mentioned.

8) Several people inquired about the flowing PDFs. The technology will
be fully open-source, so it will also be usable by projects other than
this.

9) One thing nobody mentioned, because I didn't mention it in the first
place: because this project will use OCRopus, it has the potential to be
used for texts in many languages (including math and chem formulae), not
just English. How quickly and well that capability emerges will depend
on how big and multi-lingual a community forms around OCRopus, but at
least, unlike many commercial OCR products, there's hope....

As for the questions I asked originally, here's what I think I heard:

1) Setting aside the concerns about whether/how the technology will
work, many of you feel that this is likely to be quite valuable. Of
those who do, most of you think that small institutions will be willing
to publish most of the materials openly, provided they are supported
(with hosting, etc.) in doing so.

2) Quite a few of you remain skeptical that even a low-cost rig will
enable small institutions to digitize, because you believe that labor
remains the true bottleneck. I'd be interested to know if that remains
true even in the context of the "Long Tail" model I described in (7),
above, or whether you were thinking implicitly about a 'big'
digitization project on fixed timelines.

Again, thanks *very* much to everyone who took the trouble to respond.
We're still quite a ways from a final decision, so if you think of
anything else you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to get in
touch.

All best,  --Chris

Christopher J. Mackie
Associate Program Officer
Research in Information Technology
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
--
282 Alexander Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
--
140 E. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10065
--
+1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
+1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
+1 646.274.6351 (fax)
cjmackie06 @ AIM
cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
--
http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org










------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 09:07:35 -0700
From: "Perian Sully" <psully at magnes.org>
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers
To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <AD775DE5635C2042BF1DCB7EED36A83B471D95 at jlm-net.jlm.local>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

I second Robert. One of the beautiful things about accession numbers is
that they are meaningful and useful at a glance. We also use the classic
trinomial accession number method, with some extra complications (if
you're interested, I'd be happy to forward the descriptions of each part
of the number. It can get quite complex for us, but it works).

For things like photos in photo albums, if the photo comes out of the
album for separate display, that one photograph might become something
like 2008.12.3a <- the "a" refers to the photograph itself, because it
is a part of the whole album.

For artist portfolios, which have sheets which are designed to come out
and be displayed separately, the number could be as large as
2008.12.4.1-15 (for a portfolio with 13 prints, plus a colophon and a
hard cover - 15 pieces total)

In our CMS, we have fields which pertain to Other Numbers. These could
be temporary numbers, numbers the donor assigned to the piece before we
received it, incorrect numbers (there might be paperwork floating around
referencing the incorrect number), etc. I would caution against labeling
the works themselves with a "meaningless" number. We were just
discussing this ourselves, and realized that while the RID# is unique to
each record, there is the chance that if we ever migrate the system
again. As each software package and database structure is different, a
new database may not be able to import the RID# of the previous system.

There are some cases in which we will use the RID# - temporary loans for
exhibition, for example - but for our collections, we'll stick with the
standard.

Hope this helps!

Perian Sully
Collection Information and New Media Coordinator
Judah L. Magnes Museum


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Robert Mason
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 7:04 AM
To: 'mcn-l at mcn.edu'
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers

Here at the Royal Ontario Museum we have a system in which we have the
year as the first element, then a batch number, and then the unique
identifier, sometimes with a further number for multiple component
objects. The IT dept, however, likes to use the unique identifier from
the database, which is just a number, so the curatorial types are always
talking about the "Accession number" and the IT people are always
talking about the "RID#". Curatorial resists this, however, as people
actually remember what the numbers mean, for instance I know that
accession number 988.117.32 would be an artefact from excavations in
Fustat, Egypt - all the 988.117. numbers are. Similarly people can
remember specific objects and their histories from the accession number.
So personally, I'd have to say meaningful numbers are a good thing. On
the database, however, any link to the main museum image bank, the web,
etc is done through IT's RID#, so in a way, we have the both of both
worlds, but as lo
 ng as you make sure you have a meaningful number that is unique for
each object, it should work without a meaningless number.

Robert Mason

_____________________________________________
Dr. Robert B. J. Mason (E-mail: robm at rom.on.ca; fax (416) 586-5877)
Dept of World Cultures, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto,
Ontario, M5S 2C6, CANADA
Associate Professor, Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University
of Toronto, 4 Bancroft Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1C1, CANADA
web: http://www.utoronto.ca/nmc/mason/mason.html

>>> Bas Nederveen <B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl> 8/7/2008 6:54 AM >>>
"meaningless" inventory numbers


The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is exploring the possibility to introduce
"meaningless" inventory numbers, i.e. plain numbers without any
references to additional information, such as for example purchase date,
department or object status. We would therefore like to get in contact
with institutions which have experience in this matter. Since this
matter relates to database management it seemed appropriate to try
MCN-L.

We are particularly interested in the following:

How do you catalogue related items such as services or (photo's in)
photo albums? These item usually have a group record and separate object
records. How do you record relations between them?

Are you facing difficulties in daily practice if information can no
longer be deduced from the inventory number? For example in your
warehouse, while documenting etc. Are related object still easy to find
(without immediate access to a computer)?

What do your inventory numbers look like?

Are you following any (inter)national standards?

Sincerely,


Bas Nederveen



Drs. B. Nederveen
Documentalist, Afdeling Collectieregistratie & Documentatie
Documentalist, Registration & Documentation Department
T +31 (0)20 67 47 230
Bezoekadres/Visitors' address
Frans van Mierisstraat 92, 1071 RZ Amsterdam
Vrijdag afwezig/Fridays absent

De Meesterwerken/ The Masterpieces
Rijksmuseum is dagelijks open van 9-18 uur. Op vrijdag van 9-20.30 uur
met speciaal avondprogramma.
Rijksmuseum is open daily from 9 am - 6 pm. On Friday from 9 am to 8.30
pm.
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl (
http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/ )>

_______________________________________
Rijksmuseum
Postbus/PO Box 74888, 1070 DN Amsterdam
Nederland / The Netherlands
T +31 (0) 20 6747000
F +31 (0) 20 6747001
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/>




_______________________________________________
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Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

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_______________________________________________
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Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

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------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 09:24:34 -0700
From: "Misunas, Marla" <mmisunas at sfmoma.org>
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers
To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
        <45058F8692E66640955EC9882C7C48430434C680 at monet.SFMOMA.ORG>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

SFMOMA uses a similar typical system but we no longer use the "batch"
method which had--for us--formerly referred to a group of objects given
by a single donor.  We have local variations that group objects that
need to be shown together like a multi-part sculpture (we use a letter
series: 2000.19.A-F) or prints in a portfolio, which can be taken apart
and shown separately (2000.20.1-99).

Our digital asset management system displays the accession number for
each object, but it links behind the scenes based on the CMS' internal
ID number.
That way the Media Library doesn't get confused if something changes--it
always links back to EmbARK's internal ID number.

For those of us who don't think in binary code, we like seeing the
"human readable" number, which is meaningful to us; and we let the
machine deal with the internal numbers.  This seems to be universal
throughout our staff, whether they are curators, info management, or
IT--we all use the same vocabulary.  Sounds like we are on the same page
with you guys, Robert.


Marla Misunas
Collections Information Manager
Collections Information and Access
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
415-357-4186 (voice)
Check out SFMOMA Collections Online
www.sfmoma.org
__________________________________

Past President, Museum Computer Network
http://www.mcn.edu
-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Robert Mason
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 7:04 AM
To: 'mcn-l at mcn.edu'
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] "meaningless" inventory numbers

Here at the Royal Ontario Museum we have a system in which we have the
year as the first element, then a batch number, and then the unique
identifier, sometimes with a further number for multiple component
objects. The IT dept, however, likes to use the unique identifier from
the database, which is just a number, so the curatorial types are always
talking about the "Accession number" and the IT people are always
talking about the "RID#". Curatorial resists this, however, as people
actually remember what the numbers mean, for instance I know that
accession number 988.117.32 would be an artefact from excavations in
Fustat, Egypt - all the 988.117. numbers are. Similarly people can
remember specific objects and their histories from the accession number.
So personally, I'd have to say meaningful numbers are a good thing. On
the database, however, any link to the main museum image bank, the web,
etc is done through IT's RID#, so in a way, we have the both of both
worlds, but as lo
 ng as you make sure you have a meaningful number that is unique for
each object, it should work without a meaningless number.

Robert Mason

_____________________________________________
Dr. Robert B. J. Mason (E-mail: robm at rom.on.ca; fax (416) 586-5877)
Dept of World Cultures, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto,
Ontario, M5S 2C6, CANADA
Associate Professor, Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University
of Toronto, 4 Bancroft Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1C1, CANADA
web: http://www.utoronto.ca/nmc/mason/mason.html

>>> Bas Nederveen <B.Nederveen at rijksmuseum.nl> 8/7/2008 6:54 AM >>>
"meaningless" inventory numbers


The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is exploring the possibility to introduce
"meaningless" inventory numbers, i.e. plain numbers without any
references to additional information, such as for example purchase date,
department or object status. We would therefore like to get in contact
with institutions which have experience in this matter. Since this
matter relates to database management it seemed appropriate to try
MCN-L.

We are particularly interested in the following:

How do you catalogue related items such as services or (photo's in)
photo albums? These item usually have a group record and separate object
records. How do you record relations between them?

Are you facing difficulties in daily practice if information can no
longer be deduced from the inventory number? For example in your
warehouse, while documenting etc. Are related object still easy to find
(without immediate access to a computer)?

What do your inventory numbers look like?

Are you following any (inter)national standards?

Sincerely,


Bas Nederveen



Drs. B. Nederveen
Documentalist, Afdeling Collectieregistratie & Documentatie
Documentalist, Registration & Documentation Department
T +31 (0)20 67 47 230
Bezoekadres/Visitors' address
Frans van Mierisstraat 92, 1071 RZ Amsterdam
Vrijdag afwezig/Fridays absent

De Meesterwerken/ The Masterpieces
Rijksmuseum is dagelijks open van 9-18 uur. Op vrijdag van 9-20.30 uur
met speciaal avondprogramma.
Rijksmuseum is open daily from 9 am - 6 pm. On Friday from 9 am to 8.30
pm.
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl (
http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/ )>

_______________________________________
Rijksmuseum
Postbus/PO Box 74888, 1070 DN Amsterdam
Nederland / The Netherlands
T +31 (0) 20 6747000
F +31 (0) 20 6747001
www.rijksmuseum.nl<http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/>




_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

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To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above, and
may be privileged.  If the reader of this message is not the intended
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Thank you



------------------------------

Message: 7
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 09:30:25 -0700
From: "Perian Sully" <psully at magnes.org>
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig
To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <AD775DE5635C2042BF1DCB7EED36A83B471D9C at jlm-net.jlm.local>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

Dear Chris:

Fantastic discussion. Thank you.

Small and mid-sized institutions have three major problems: 1) staff 2)
funding and 3) expertise. Many of them are definitely feeling the
pressure to digitize and image their collections, and some strides have
certainly been made, but some of the common questions which come up have
to do with the setup, equipment, and standards. Having a reliable,
easy-to-use, and flexible system would certainly be of interest to many
smaller historical institutions.

We at the Magnes recently received a donation which will allow us to
purchase the BookSnap system for our rare book collection:
http://booksnap.atiz.com/ The rig itself is $1909.60, with all the
shipping and tax and software, and it requires two Canon cameras (we
opted for two Canon Powershot G9 cameras for $449 each) and a Windows
OS. The Windows requirement is a bit of a problem, since the lab it is
going into will be running iMacs (since it's a public lab, we're not
going to use virtualization software on those machines, as far as I
know).

Have you considered putting the question to the RCAAM or SAA listservs?
I suspect that many folks on those listservs would be willing to provide
"lively" feedback about what their specific needs might be, especially
since it's likely that they'll be the ones manning the rig. I'd be happy
to forward to RCAAM, if you would like.

Best,

Perian Sully
Collection Information Manager
Judah L. Magnes Museum


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Christopher J. Mackie
Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 8:13 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] RESPONSES: Low-cost digitization rig

Thanks to everyone who responded to my query yesterday about
digitization rigs. The responses were extremely helpful, and I am most
grateful.

There were so many responses on and offline, some of which include
several back-and-forths, that I'm not going to attempt a summary of the
questions and concerns; instead, let me respond by providing what I hope
will be a clearer and more comprehensive explanation of what we're
talking about (with my apologies for not making all of it clearer the
first time :-).

1) The focus of the project is on the software, not the hardware. We're
using off-the-shelf, consumer-grade hardware so that we don't have to
think about hardware at all; the whole reason to create the software
now, as some of you noted, is that the hardware has reached the point
where it's no longer the bottleneck. The sub-$2,000 configuration we
describe will produce 600dpi output, for example--and runs fast enough
that the page-turner, not the imaging hardware, is the throughput
bottleneck. (For those who really want to know, it's a two-camera,
stereo rig that shoots both pages of a book at once and uses the stereo
plus some other tricks to dewarp and align text.)

2) The software will be, literally, one-button. Anyone who can turn a
page and press a button will be able to use it--no training, no special
skills required. Someone will have to assemble the rig (we anticipate a
one-sheet instruction set, with room for many pictures :-), but once
it's up, it will keep itself in calibration and perform all of the
ancillary tasks of digitizing--dewarping, aligning, etc.--without user
input. It will auto-structure the text, but there will also be
opportunities for user interaction.

3) The PDF output is the only *final* output we have discussed, and it's
required for the 'flowing' of text for reader device independence. But
the system preserves interim formats as well, including the original
scanned TIFFs and the interim hOCR format, so getting data into other
formats will be relatively straightforward.

4) The metadata to be input will be at the discretion of the institution
doing the digitizing, and can be applied at the level of the individual
image or collection of images (e.g., the book, or even a collection of
books).

5) The software is SOA and also scriptable, so it can easily be
decomposed and extended (e.g., it will use the OCRopus open-source OCR
system, which can itself be implemented as a set of services). We're
going to build a seamless wrapper for institutions that don't have the
tech capacity to do their own customization, but that won't prevent
institutions that have the chops from doing whatever they want with it.
As you might suspect from this, by the way, the software will be
web-based and multi-user; this means that a larger institution could set
up several volunteer-operated rigs, all feeding one staffer who's doing
QA and adding/reviewing metadata.

6) The system will include automated open archiving online (i.e., not at
institutional expense) for both the raw images and the finished outputs
(perhaps also the interim formats), with a stable, permanent URL;
institutions that want to host locally will be able to do that
instead/in addition. To respond in particular to Joe's point about
Internet Archive; we've talked with IA already. I don't want to speak
for them, but it's safe to say that we've taken their views into account
and I think they'll be very pleased by what's delivered, should we move
forward.

7) The model we're thinking about is a "Long Tail" model; while it's
entirely possible that even 'big' digitizers might benefit from the
software, our primary purpose is to extend the capability to small
institutions with small collections. In the model we envision, these
smaller institutions won't be devoting staff--or anyone--full-time to
the project, but will be digitizing using opportunistic labor
(volunteers, interns, min-wage teens, etc.) as available. Staff will
most likely only engage in small quantities, for QA and metadata
purposes. This model trades time for money: it removes the labor
bottleneck by allowing an institution to pay nearly nothing as long as
it's willing to wait a while for the output, instead of getting results
quickly but paying a lot for them. In short, we're envisioning a very
different kind of 'scalability' than the one(s) that many of you
mentioned.

8) Several people inquired about the flowing PDFs. The technology will
be fully open-source, so it will also be usable by projects other than
this.

9) One thing nobody mentioned, because I didn't mention it in the first
place: because this project will use OCRopus, it has the potential to be
used for texts in many languages (including math and chem formulae), not
just English. How quickly and well that capability emerges will depend
on how big and multi-lingual a community forms around OCRopus, but at
least, unlike many commercial OCR products, there's hope....

As for the questions I asked originally, here's what I think I heard:

1) Setting aside the concerns about whether/how the technology will
work, many of you feel that this is likely to be quite valuable. Of
those who do, most of you think that small institutions will be willing
to publish most of the materials openly, provided they are supported
(with hosting, etc.) in doing so.

2) Quite a few of you remain skeptical that even a low-cost rig will
enable small institutions to digitize, because you believe that labor
remains the true bottleneck. I'd be interested to know if that remains
true even in the context of the "Long Tail" model I described in (7),
above, or whether you were thinking implicitly about a 'big'
digitization project on fixed timelines.

Again, thanks *very* much to everyone who took the trouble to respond.
We're still quite a ways from a final decision, so if you think of
anything else you'd like to share, please don't hesitate to get in
touch.

All best,  --Chris

Christopher J. Mackie
Associate Program Officer
Research in Information Technology
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
--
282 Alexander Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
--
140 E. 62nd St.
New York, NY 10065
--
+1 609.924.9424 (office: GMT - 5:00)
+1 609.933.1877 (mobile)
+1 646.274.6351 (fax)
cjmackie06 @ AIM
cjmackie5 @ Yahoo
--
http://rit.mellon.org; http://www.mellon.org








_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

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------------------------------

Message: 8
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 11:44:37 -0500
From: "Stein, Marty" <mstein at mfah.org>
Subject: [MCN-L] Position Annoucement - Collection Photographer,
The
        Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>,
        <RCAAM at SI-LISTSERV.SI.EDU>, <VRA-L at listserv.uark.edu>
Message-ID:
 
<128692D10E069046A3158305E82EDE1C012F0BC5 at mfah-exmail.mfah.local>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

Hello,

Please accept my apologies for cross-posting.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has a new position opening for a
Collection Photographer.  If you would like more information, please
contact me at mstein at mfah.org or go to our website:
www.mfah.org/employment.

Thank you and have a wonderful day!

Marty Stein

Marcia (Marty) Stein
Photographic and Imaging Services Manager
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
PO Box 6826
Houston, Texas 77265-6826
Phone: (713) 639-7525
Fax: (713) 639-7557
Email: mstein at mfah.org



Position Available

Title:                  Collection Photographer
Reports To:             Photographic and Imaging Services Manager
Date Needed:            September 2008
Pay Type:               Salaried, Nonexempt, Full Time, 35 hours/week
Salary:                 Commensurate with Experience and Education
Benefits:               Group Medical and Dental Insurance, Life and
Long Term
                        Disability Insurance, Pension Plan, Credit
Union, Flexible
                        Compensation Plan, Paid Time Off, Reserve Time
Off, and
                        Holiday Pay
Work Schedule:  Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Work Location:          Beck Building, a non-smoking facility

Responsibilities:
*       Photograph objects from the permanent collection of the Museum
of Fine Arts, Houston, including Bayou Bend and Rienzi
*       Photograph, as needed, objects on loan to the MFAH for
exhibition and research
*       Photograph installations of exhibitions at MFAH, Bayou Bend,
Rienzi and Glassell School of Art
*       Photograph interior and exterior views of MFAH architecture
*       Photograph, as needed, after-hours MFAH events
*       Coordinate photography schedule with Chief Registrar,
Photographic and Imaging Services Manager, and Assistant Registrar
*       Consult with museum staff including curators, registrars,
preparators, conservators, and designers to gather information to
determine how objects should be photographed for specific projects
*       Coordinate movement of artworks with preparators and moves
objects within photography studio
*       Stay apprised of the applications for new technology and advise
supervisor of the applications for new technology
*       Other tasks as assigned

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities::
*       Must posses a broad knowledge of film-based and digital
photographic processes, methods and new technologies
*       Must be able to work with a variety of museum staff and function
within a team-oriented department
*       Must have command of a variety of professional cameras and
equipment including large format, medium format, 35mm, copystand,
electronic strobe, continuous lighting, and diffusers
*       Must be able to maintain photographic equipment and lenses in
accordance with accepted policies of the department
*       Must have the ability to judge and correct digital proofs,
color, contrast, and density when compared to original objects
*       Must have knowledge of specialized software applications
(Photoshop, Bridge, Capture One, Eye One) used to manipulate, print and
save images
*       Must have the ability to use cross platform computers, operating
systems and applications


*       Must be able to organize time and schedules efficiently in the
absence of direct supervision
*       Must posses knowledge of museum and art handling procedures

        Education and Experience:
*       BFA in photography and knowledge of art history preferred
*       A combination of experience gathered from technical photography
school study, apprenticeship and on-the-job training
*       Minimum of five years work experience in photography
*       Experience utilizing professional digital camera systems
*       Demonstrated ability to discriminate and adjust fine tonal
variations and color fidelity of digital reproductions against original
objects
*       A portfolio of work required

How to Apply:
Send resume to Human Resources, Job 022, P.O. Box 6826, Houston TX
77265-6826;
Fax 713-639-7597 or email: jobs at mfah.org or apply at
www.mfah.org/employment



Marcia (Marty) Stein
Photographic Services Manager
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
PO Box 6826
Houston, Texas 77265-6826
Phone: (713) 639-7525
Fax: (713) 639-7557
Email: mstein at mfah.org




------------------------------

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End of mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 7
************************************
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The information contained in this electronic mail message (including any attachments) is confidential information that may be covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC Sections 2510-2521, intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above, and may be privileged.  If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication, or the taking of any action based on it, is strictly prohibited.  If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify me and delete the original message.  Thank you


From lisai at rocketmail.com  Wed Aug 13 10:11:05 2008
From: lisai at rocketmail.com (Lisa Iversen)
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:11:05 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [MCN-L] Campbell Center September Workshops: Mannequin Making and
	Care of Metal Objects
Message-ID: <680669.39653.qm@web59606.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>

Mannequin Making Workshop
The Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies is offering a Mannequin Making Workshop on September 15-18, 2008. This intensive hands-on course will cover various methods of making custom mannequins using an assortment of materials. It will offer cost effective ways to make mannequins for all types of museum budgets. Participants will complete two mannequins that they will be able to take with them. Tuition for this 4 day course is $925. This fee also includes room and board on our campus in Mt. Carroll, IL and all equipment and supplies necessary. More information and registration forms can be found on our website at www.campbellcenter.org

Care of Metal Objects Workshop
The Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies is offering a Metals Workshop on September 11-13, 2008. This hands-on workshop is designed for those caring for metal objects in their collections. It will review chemical properties, alloy and finish identification, fabrication technology, causes of deterioration, proper handling and storage, preventative care and maintenance, and reduction of surface corrosion and tarnish. The tuition for this 3 day course is $750. This fee also includes room and
board on our campus in Mt. Carroll, IL and all required materials. More information and registration forms can be found on our
website at www.campbellcenter.org


The Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies
203 East Seminary Street    Mt. Carroll, IL 61053
815-244-1173



      

From mstevens at adventuresci.com  Fri Aug 15 08:26:33 2008
From: mstevens at adventuresci.com (Matthew P. Stevens)
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:26:33 -0500
Subject: [MCN-L] Scheduling Software
Message-ID: <C6CD372A6D6BD64CADC8C2239E3E10D699038E@csmf2dc2.adventuresci.com>

Has anyone used scheduling software to schedule their docents/front
desk/customer service staff?  Which products do you like?

 

Thanks,
Matt

 

-
Matthew Stevens
Adventure Science Center
800 Fort Negley Blvd
Nashville TN  37203
Direct: 615-401-5064
Fax: 615-862-5178
http://www.adventuresci.com

 


From susan.patterson at slam.org  Fri Aug 15 08:41:41 2008
From: susan.patterson at slam.org (Susan Patterson)
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:41:41 -0500
Subject: [MCN-L] Scheduling Software
In-Reply-To: <C6CD372A6D6BD64CADC8C2239E3E10D699038E@csmf2dc2.adventuresci.com>
References: <C6CD372A6D6BD64CADC8C2239E3E10D699038E@csmf2dc2.adventuresci.com>
Message-ID: <DC6C03D5D76AFF40BEE6C816B4E81C110292FE18@Mail.stlartmuseum.org>

We use Ungerboeck Systems EBMS to schedule docents, tours, maintenance
and engineer staff to implement room setups, register students for
classes and manage the master calendar for events. We also sell
simplistic tickets to events through this system.

Susan Patterson
Network Administrator
Saint Louis Art Museum
One Fine Arts Drive
Saint Louis, Missouri 63110
susan.patterson at slam.org
www.slam.org
 

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Matthew P. Stevens
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2008 10:27 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Scheduling Software

Has anyone used scheduling software to schedule their docents/front
desk/customer service staff?  Which products do you like?

 

Thanks,
Matt

 

-
Matthew Stevens
Adventure Science Center
800 Fort Negley Blvd
Nashville TN  37203
Direct: 615-401-5064
Fax: 615-862-5178
http://www.adventuresci.com

 

_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

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From mcheck at museumofplay.org  Fri Aug 15 12:14:47 2008
From: mcheck at museumofplay.org (Check, Marc)
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:14:47 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Scheduling software solution
In-Reply-To: <mailman.1.1218826802.3594.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
References: <mailman.1.1218826802.3594.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <4D2455C2CCAC9C46BC8C325595AD317F1600088C@Exch2k8.strongmuseum.org>

We use whentowork.com for scheduling over 150 part-time food court & gallery host employees.
After looking at many solutions this was the most affordable & best of all requires no hosting on your end - everything is hosted offsite, on their servers, and for a web-based application it's fairly impressive in terms of functionality.

We've been using it for 2 years straight & I have to say it's been foolproof.  Great support as well & free trial if you want to take it for a test drive.

Employees can enter their own availabilities, trade shifts (all optional), etc.  E-mail notifications, reports...Pretty much has everything we need.

Marc Check
Director of Technology
Strong National Museum of Play(r)
One Manhattan Square
Rochester, NY 14607
Direct Line: 585-410-6323
Fax: 585-263-2493
Email: mcheck at museumofplay.org
Website: http://museumofplay.org


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of mcn-l-request at mcn.edu
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2008 3:00 PM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 15

Send mcn-l mailing list submissions to
        mcn-l at mcn.edu

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
        http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
        mcn-l-request at mcn.edu

You can reach the person managing the list at
        mcn-l-owner at mcn.edu

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of mcn-l digest..."


Today's Topics:

   1. Scheduling Software (Matthew P. Stevens)
   2. Re: Scheduling Software (Susan Patterson)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:26:33 -0500
From: "Matthew P. Stevens" <mstevens at adventuresci.com>
Subject: [MCN-L] Scheduling Software
To: <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
        <C6CD372A6D6BD64CADC8C2239E3E10D699038E at csmf2dc2.adventuresci.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

Has anyone used scheduling software to schedule their docents/front
desk/customer service staff?  Which products do you like?



Thanks,
Matt



-
Matthew Stevens
Adventure Science Center
800 Fort Negley Blvd
Nashville TN  37203
Direct: 615-401-5064
Fax: 615-862-5178
http://www.adventuresci.com





------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:41:41 -0500
From: "Susan Patterson" <susan.patterson at slam.org>
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Scheduling Software
To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
        <DC6C03D5D76AFF40BEE6C816B4E81C110292FE18 at Mail.stlartmuseum.org>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

We use Ungerboeck Systems EBMS to schedule docents, tours, maintenance
and engineer staff to implement room setups, register students for
classes and manage the master calendar for events. We also sell
simplistic tickets to events through this system.

Susan Patterson
Network Administrator
Saint Louis Art Museum
One Fine Arts Drive
Saint Louis, Missouri 63110
susan.patterson at slam.org
www.slam.org


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Matthew P. Stevens
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2008 10:27 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Scheduling Software

Has anyone used scheduling software to schedule their docents/front
desk/customer service staff?  Which products do you like?



Thanks,
Matt



-
Matthew Stevens
Adventure Science Center
800 Fort Negley Blvd
Nashville TN  37203
Direct: 615-401-5064
Fax: 615-862-5178
http://www.adventuresci.com



_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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------------------------------

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End of mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 15
*************************************

From dbenavraham at newmuseum.org  Fri Aug 15 12:29:51 2008
From: dbenavraham at newmuseum.org (Doron Ben-Avraham)
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:29:51 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 15 -Scheduling software
In-Reply-To: <mailman.1.1218826802.3594.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
References: <mailman.1.1218826802.3594.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <2F26D29C50CB2843BC777C02AA16ABB286BD1A@new-sv-003.newmuseum.org>

We are using TicketMaster Vista platform for scheduling operations in
the new museum.
I am however considering alternatives due to severe problems with 3rd
Party software employed by the package.

Doron Ben-Avraham
IT Manager
New Museum of Contemporary Art
235 Bowery St.
New York, NY 10002
Tel: 212 219-1222 ext. 233
Fax: 212 431-5328
Email: dbenavraham at newmuseum.org



-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
mcn-l-request at mcn.edu
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2008 3:00 PM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 15

Send mcn-l mailing list submissions to
	mcn-l at mcn.edu

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
	http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
	mcn-l-request at mcn.edu

You can reach the person managing the list at
	mcn-l-owner at mcn.edu

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of mcn-l digest..."


Today's Topics:

   1. Scheduling Software (Matthew P. Stevens)
   2. Re: Scheduling Software (Susan Patterson)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:26:33 -0500
From: "Matthew P. Stevens" <mstevens at adventuresci.com>
Subject: [MCN-L] Scheduling Software
To: <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
	
<C6CD372A6D6BD64CADC8C2239E3E10D699038E at csmf2dc2.adventuresci.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Has anyone used scheduling software to schedule their docents/front
desk/customer service staff?  Which products do you like?

 

Thanks,
Matt

 

-
Matthew Stevens
Adventure Science Center
800 Fort Negley Blvd
Nashville TN  37203
Direct: 615-401-5064
Fax: 615-862-5178
http://www.adventuresci.com

 



------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:41:41 -0500
From: "Susan Patterson" <susan.patterson at slam.org>
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Scheduling Software
To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
	<DC6C03D5D76AFF40BEE6C816B4E81C110292FE18 at Mail.stlartmuseum.org>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

We use Ungerboeck Systems EBMS to schedule docents, tours, maintenance
and engineer staff to implement room setups, register students for
classes and manage the master calendar for events. We also sell
simplistic tickets to events through this system.

Susan Patterson
Network Administrator
Saint Louis Art Museum
One Fine Arts Drive
Saint Louis, Missouri 63110
susan.patterson at slam.org
www.slam.org
 

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Matthew P. Stevens
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2008 10:27 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Scheduling Software

Has anyone used scheduling software to schedule their docents/front
desk/customer service staff?  Which products do you like?

 

Thanks,
Matt

 

-
Matthew Stevens
Adventure Science Center
800 Fort Negley Blvd
Nashville TN  37203
Direct: 615-401-5064
Fax: 615-862-5178
http://www.adventuresci.com

 

_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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------------------------------

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End of mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 15
*************************************

From robin_g at kiarts.org  Fri Aug 15 13:45:29 2008
From: robin_g at kiarts.org (Robin Goodman)
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:45:29 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Scheduling Software
Message-ID: <011a01c8ff17$da992760$2001a8c0@kiarts.org>

In relation to this topic, can anyone recommend a good scheduling software to plan exhibitions? We've just been making up our own calendars on Word and Outlook and its getting too complicated. 

Thanks,
Robin 

------------------------------------------
Robin Goodman
Registrar
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
314 South Park Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
269.349.7775  x3133
robin_g at kiarts.org

From AHolloway at marinersmuseum.org  Fri Aug 15 14:07:27 2008
From: AHolloway at marinersmuseum.org (Anna Holloway)
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:07:27 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Scheduling Software
Message-ID: <419F10D4185BC14BAF9056D59B735526017392EE@data3.tmm.local>

We use Fast Track for exhibit design, and Microsoft Project for
facilities management stuff....

Anna Holloway, Vice President, Collections & Programs
The Mariners' Museum
757-591-7740
757-591-7312 (fax)
 
The USS Monitor Center - Now Open!!!
An Ironclad Promise of Adventure
visit us at www.marinersmuseum.org
 
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Robin Goodman
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2008 4:45 PM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Scheduling Software

In relation to this topic, can anyone recommend a good scheduling
software to plan exhibitions? We've just been making up our own
calendars on Word and Outlook and its getting too complicated. 

Thanks,
Robin 

------------------------------------------
Robin Goodman
Registrar
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
314 South Park Street
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
269.349.7775  x3133
robin_g at kiarts.org
_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

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From somsak at book.co.th  Sun Aug 17 01:10:27 2008
From: somsak at book.co.th (somsak at book.co.th)
Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:10:27 +0700 (ICT)
Subject: [MCN-L]  Archives Software
In-Reply-To: <419F10D4185BC14BAF9056D59B735526017392EE@data3.tmm.local>
References: <419F10D4185BC14BAF9056D59B735526017392EE@data3.tmm.local>
Message-ID: <57622.202.62.105.244.1218960627.squirrel@bps.book.co.th>

Dear ALL,

I would like to know whether there are any TMS or EmbARK sites, also using
thees softwares to manage their archives collections. Whai are pro and
con.

Bank of Thailand Mesuem is currently start using TMS to manage their
museum collection. We also running archives, and are looking for comercial
softwares, inorder to compare, evaluate, and select.

Your ideas and advices are highly appreciated.

Somsak Vichean
Bank of Thialnd


From jmartin at nedcc.org  Mon Aug 18 08:48:42 2008
From: jmartin at nedcc.org (Julie Martin)
Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:48:42 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Registration Open for Persistence of Memory Conference -
	Dec 9-10, Chicago
Message-ID: <032201c90149$e488c9e0$656410ac@NEDCC.local>

REGISTRATION OPEN!
	
PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY: 
Sustaining Digital Collections
DECEMBER 9-10, 2008
InterContinental Chicago Hotel
Chicago, Illinois

PRESENTED BY the Northeast Document Conservation Center
CO-SPONSORED BY Society of American Archivists, American Library
Association, and Center for Research Libraries

TAUGHT BY A FACULTY OF NATIONAL EXPERTS, this two-day conference on digital
longevity provides information about the latest developments in digital
preservation to help you with the life-cycle management of your
institution's collections.

CONFERENCE COST:  $425
GROUP CONFERENCE REGISTRATION DISCOUNT RATE:  Register 3 or more individuals
from the same institution at the same time for $340 each.
INTERCONTINENTAL CHICAGO HOTEL RATE:  $175 / NIGHT

FOR COMPLETE CONFERENCE INFORMATION AND ONLINE REGISTRATION:
http://www.nedcc.org

FOR WEB STORIES AND SAMPLE COMMENTS from past participants 
of Persistence of Memory: http://www.nedcc.org/about/archives.php

WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE current information about NEDCC's programs?  
Join NEDCC's E-mail Announcement List:
http://www.nedcc.org/contact/signup.php  

Partial funding for this conference is provided by the Institute of Museum
and Library Services.



From calexander at sjmusart.org  Mon Aug 18 10:20:06 2008
From: calexander at sjmusart.org (Chris Alexander)
Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:20:06 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] Last Chance: MCN Cal SIG @ SJMA
Message-ID: <E9686E889FEEB744BED9DB4E0C8B00C7021D56D6@sjdc01.sj.internal>

Last chance to RSVP!  Please do so by the end of today!

 

Sorry for all the posts!

 

What: Museum Computer Network California Special Interest Group Annual Meeting

When: August 22nd from 9am - 4pm

Where: San Jose Museum of Art <http://sjmusart.org/content/visitUs/visitUs.phtml> 

RSVP: calexander at sjmusart.org <mailto:calexander at sjmusart.org?subject=MCN%20Cal%20SIG%20RSVP>  with "MCN Cal SIG RSVP" in the subject line.

Parking info: sjdowntownparking.com <http://www.sjdowntownparking.com/parking_map.php?PHPSESSID=2b2d9f0b4bc27a702b6ed8229b1e6e7f> 

 

As an MCN member you are cordially invited to attend the 2008 MCN Cal SIG meeting in San Jose.  Gather at the San Jose Museum of Art for coffee, conversation, learning and networking. The day includes a business meeting and presentations by staff from several local museums.  

 

The schedule will be as follows:

 

9:00 am - 9:30am          Breakfast and conversation

 

9:30am - 10:15am         Introductions and the "Official" Business Meeting

 

10:15am - 11:00am       Chris Alexander, Manager of Interactive Technology, San Jose Museum of Art

 

Chris Alexander from the San Jose Museum of Art will present the museum's holistic approach to technology, incorporating the museum's web content into various Web 2.0 websites, and its revolutionary iPod Touch tour.  Over the last couple of years the SJMA has been working toward heightening the visitor experience at the museum and technology has played a big role in this endeavor.  After the presentation attendees may try the iPod Touch tour for themselves in the exhibition Robots: Evolution of a Cultural Icon.  

 

11:00am - 11:45am       Tour of the San Jose Museum of Art and iPod Touch tour.  

 

11:45am - 1:00pm         Lunch 

(a list of local restaurants will be provided or you can eat at Caf? Too, the museum's caf?.)

 

1:00pm - 2:00 pm          Melissa Johnson, Curator of Interactive Media, history | san jos?

Sarah Puckett, Curator of Art and Photography, history | san jos?

 

In 2001 History San Jos?, a regional history museum with a collection of over 75,000 photographs, 500,000 objects, and 5,000 linear feet of archival materials, ventured in to the digital imaging world.  After attending workshops, conferences, visiting larger institutions, and researching requirements and equipment, the five person Collections & Exhibitions department felt capable of digitally documenting the collection. Since 2005, HSJ has launched five online exhibits sharing the history of the area and making a small percentage of the collection available to the public. 

 

Problem: Currently, the small staff is struggling to keep up with the demand for digital images from the public, researchers, and co-workers.  The recent requirement for "digital plans" to apply for most state and federal digitization grants has HSJ at a stand-still.  Will small to mid size museums and libraries be left behind when it comes to digitizing their collections?  How have others dealt with similar issues?  Brainstorm with HSJ Staff, all feedback and ideas are welcome!

 

2:00pm - 3:00pm           Perian Sully, Collection Information and New Media Coordinator, Judah L. Magnes Museum

Dr. Francesco Spagnolo, Head of Research, Judah L. Magnes Museum

 

The Judah L. Magnes Museum is in the midst of a huge digital initiative, and we'll hear about one of the centerpieces of this initiative, a new collection management system, IDEA at ALM, which allows the museum to completely integrate archive, library, and museum materials. Perian and Francesco will talk about how the Magnes Museum is using the IDEA at ALM collection management system to reorganize its collections into discrete intellectual sets, while defining how certain fields can be shared across these three collection types. Additionally they will discuss the benefits of cataloging in such a system and explain the greater philosophical reasoning behind this methodology. They will also highlight how shared cataloging enhances research, protects collections, increases access and interpretation, and protects professional standards.

 

3:00pm - 3:15pm           Short break

 

3:15pm - 4:00pm           Susan Grinols, Director Photo Services and Imaging, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

 

Susan has worked for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in various capacities since 1991. She currently heads the Photo Services and Imaging Department and will be discussing FAMSF's approach to archiving--solutions they've found and the challenges of using a "homegrown" 4D database system as their CMS/DAMS.

 

You must be a current MCN Member to attend.  If you are not visit www.mcn.edu <http://www.mcn.edu/>  to join today!  

 

Please RSVP to calexander at sjmusart.org <mailto:calexander at sjmusart.org?subject=MCN%20Cal%20SIG%20RSVP>  with "MCN Cal SIG RSVP" in the subject line.  Clicking on the link should input the subject line. 

 

Thanks and I look forward to seeing all of you in a month!

 

Best regards,

 

Chris Alexander | Manager of Interactive Technology

San Jose Museum of Art

110 South Market Street

San Jose, CA  95113

408-271-6875 ph.

408-294-2977 fx.

calexander at sjmusart.org <mailto:calexander at sjmusart.org> 

__________________________

 

Go to www.sjmusart.org/podcast <http://www.sjmusart.org/podcast>  to listen to our MUSE Award winning podcast or search for "SJMA" on iTunes <http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=200789487> .

Is video more your thing?  Check out our YouTube Channel at www.youtube.com/sanjosemuseumofart <http://www.youtube.com/sanjosemuseumofart> 

 

 


From dbenavraham at newmuseum.org  Tue Aug 19 08:29:19 2008
From: dbenavraham at newmuseum.org (Doron Ben-Avraham)
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:29:19 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
Message-ID: <2F26D29C50CB2843BC777C02AA16ABB286BFA8@new-sv-003.newmuseum.org>

We are currently using TicketMaster Vista system for Ticketing in the
museum, it performs fairly well however, the credit card transaction
platform (icverify)and overall reliability is a major concern

Any recommendation for alternatives?

 

Thanks

 

Doron Ben-Avraham

IT Manager

New Museum of Contemporary Art

235 Bowery St.

New York, NY 10002

Tel: 212 219-1222 ext. 233

Fax: 212 431-5328

Email: dbenavraham at newmuseum.org

 


From bgawronski at albrightknox.org  Tue Aug 19 10:39:14 2008
From: bgawronski at albrightknox.org (Bryan Gawronski)
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:39:14 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
In-Reply-To: <2F26D29C50CB2843BC777C02AA16ABB286BFA8@new-sv-003.newmuseum.org>
Message-ID: <378F1A23A5BDA849AEFEAD70072D1D71011C014E@akag4.albrightknox.com>

Good afternoon,

We are using the same setup with Vista 4.2 and ICVERIFY Enterprise 1.5.  We have not had any issues with reliability except for some online ticket issues.  ICVERIFY Enterprise 1.5 is more secure then older versions so I would recommend an upgrade right away to better protect the credit card information.  I am wondering what kind of reliability issues you are having with the current system?

I also would like to hear more about Blackbaud's Patron Edge.  If you are running that software could you please comment on the positives and negatives.  

Thank you for your time.
 
Bryan Gawronski
Head of Technology Services
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
1285 Elmwood Ave
Buffalo NY 14222
716-882-8700
bgawronski at albrightknox.org


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu]On Behalf Of
Doron Ben-Avraham
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 11:29 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS


We are currently using TicketMaster Vista system for Ticketing in the
museum, it performs fairly well however, the credit card transaction
platform (icverify)and overall reliability is a major concern

Any recommendation for alternatives?

 

Thanks

 

Doron Ben-Avraham

IT Manager

New Museum of Contemporary Art

235 Bowery St.

New York, NY 10002

Tel: 212 219-1222 ext. 233

Fax: 212 431-5328

Email: dbenavraham at newmuseum.org

 

_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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From rcherry at skirball.org  Tue Aug 19 10:45:10 2008
From: rcherry at skirball.org (Cherry, Rich)
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:45:10 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
In-Reply-To: <378F1A23A5BDA849AEFEAD70072D1D71011C014E@akag4.albrightknox.com>
References: <2F26D29C50CB2843BC777C02AA16ABB286BFA8@new-sv-003.newmuseum.org>
	<378F1A23A5BDA849AEFEAD70072D1D71011C014E@akag4.albrightknox.com>
Message-ID: <2A6CDDE8F1CB5D428E7CA6014794A582014E355B@scc-mail.skirball.org>

There will be a session at MCN in November that has presentations from
museums using Patrons Edge, Vista TM and Sirusware... The vendors will
also be in the exhibit hall.  Come see the presentation and ask hard
questions. 

Thanks,

Rich

Rich Cherry
Director of Operations
Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Work: (310) 440-4777
Fax: (310) 440-4595
rcherry at skirball.org


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Bryan Gawronski
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 10:39 AM
To: Museum Computer Network Listserv
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS

Good afternoon,

We are using the same setup with Vista 4.2 and ICVERIFY Enterprise 1.5.
We have not had any issues with reliability except for some online
ticket issues.  ICVERIFY Enterprise 1.5 is more secure then older
versions so I would recommend an upgrade right away to better protect
the credit card information.  I am wondering what kind of reliability
issues you are having with the current system?

I also would like to hear more about Blackbaud's Patron Edge.  If you
are running that software could you please comment on the positives and
negatives.  

Thank you for your time.
 
Bryan Gawronski
Head of Technology Services
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
1285 Elmwood Ave
Buffalo NY 14222
716-882-8700
bgawronski at albrightknox.org


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu]On Behalf Of
Doron Ben-Avraham
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 11:29 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS


We are currently using TicketMaster Vista system for Ticketing in the
museum, it performs fairly well however, the credit card transaction
platform (icverify)and overall reliability is a major concern

Any recommendation for alternatives?

 

Thanks

 

Doron Ben-Avraham

IT Manager

New Museum of Contemporary Art

235 Bowery St.

New York, NY 10002

Tel: 212 219-1222 ext. 233

Fax: 212 431-5328

Email: dbenavraham at newmuseum.org

 

_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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From lists at lancefield.net  Tue Aug 19 11:26:11 2008
From: lists at lancefield.net (Rob Lancefield on lists)
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:26:11 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] New image search engine: TinEye
Message-ID: <48AB1043.2080602@lancefield.net>

Hi all,

Perhaps of interest to some MCN-L folks, <http://tineye.com> is an image 
search engine that moved out of invitation-only beta a few days ago; it 
accepts an uploaded image file or image URL as its search argument. It 
doesn't yet have a large pool of indexed images, but seems intriguing.

cheers,
Rob
______________________________________________
Rob Lancefield (rlancefield [at] wesleyan.edu)
Manager of Museum Information Services / Registrar of Collections
Davison Art Center, Wesleyan University
301 High Street, Middletown CT 06459-0487 USA
860.685.2965
Vice President / President-Elect, Museum Computer Network (MCN)

From mcheck at museumofplay.org  Tue Aug 19 12:30:11 2008
From: mcheck at museumofplay.org (Check, Marc)
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:30:11 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing Systems
In-Reply-To: <mailman.1.1219172402.14399.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
References: <mailman.1.1219172402.14399.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <4D2455C2CCAC9C46BC8C325595AD317F160008A8@Exch2k8.strongmuseum.org>

After quite a bit of research over the last few years (we are looking at replacing our current ticketing & general admissions system - Paciolan) we have found Gateway Ticketing to be a strong contender.  When we looked at this system three years ago it was lacking in many areas, but recent demonstrations have proven it to be an extremely evolved and robust system, with great flexibility & integrated credit card processing.  I would suggest researching this system and asking for references from the company.  The Aquarium if the Pacific served as one of our references and was very helpful and honest.

http://www.gatewayticketing.com/industry-solutions/museums.asp

Marc Check
Director of Technology
Strong National Museum of Play(r)
One Manhattan Square
Rochester, NY 14607
Direct Line: 585-410-6323
Fax: 585-263-2493
Email: mcheck at museumofplay.org
Website: http://museumofplay.org


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of mcn-l-request at mcn.edu
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 3:00 PM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 19

Send mcn-l mailing list submissions to
        mcn-l at mcn.edu

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
        http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
        mcn-l-request at mcn.edu

You can reach the person managing the list at
        mcn-l-owner at mcn.edu

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of mcn-l digest..."


Today's Topics:

   1. Ticketing systems and POS (Doron Ben-Avraham)
   2. Re: Ticketing systems and POS (Bryan Gawronski)
   3. Re: Ticketing systems and POS (Cherry, Rich)
   4. New image search engine: TinEye (Rob Lancefield on lists)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:29:19 -0400
From: "Doron Ben-Avraham" <dbenavraham at newmuseum.org>
Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
To: <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
        <2F26D29C50CB2843BC777C02AA16ABB286BFA8 at new-sv-003.newmuseum.org>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

We are currently using TicketMaster Vista system for Ticketing in the
museum, it performs fairly well however, the credit card transaction
platform (icverify)and overall reliability is a major concern

Any recommendation for alternatives?



Thanks



Doron Ben-Avraham

IT Manager

New Museum of Contemporary Art

235 Bowery St.

New York, NY 10002

Tel: 212 219-1222 ext. 233

Fax: 212 431-5328

Email: dbenavraham at newmuseum.org





------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:39:14 -0400
From: "Bryan Gawronski" <bgawronski at albrightknox.org>
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
        <378F1A23A5BDA849AEFEAD70072D1D71011C014E at akag4.albrightknox.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="iso-8859-1"

Good afternoon,

We are using the same setup with Vista 4.2 and ICVERIFY Enterprise 1.5.  We have not had any issues with reliability except for some online ticket issues.  ICVERIFY Enterprise 1.5 is more secure then older versions so I would recommend an upgrade right away to better protect the credit card information.  I am wondering what kind of reliability issues you are having with the current system?

I also would like to hear more about Blackbaud's Patron Edge.  If you are running that software could you please comment on the positives and negatives.

Thank you for your time.

Bryan Gawronski
Head of Technology Services
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
1285 Elmwood Ave
Buffalo NY 14222
716-882-8700
bgawronski at albrightknox.org


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu]On Behalf Of
Doron Ben-Avraham
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 11:29 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS


We are currently using TicketMaster Vista system for Ticketing in the
museum, it performs fairly well however, the credit card transaction
platform (icverify)and overall reliability is a major concern

Any recommendation for alternatives?



Thanks



Doron Ben-Avraham

IT Manager

New Museum of Contemporary Art

235 Bowery St.

New York, NY 10002

Tel: 212 219-1222 ext. 233

Fax: 212 431-5328

Email: dbenavraham at newmuseum.org



_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l


------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:45:10 -0700
From: "Cherry, Rich" <rcherry at skirball.org>
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID:
        <2A6CDDE8F1CB5D428E7CA6014794A582014E355B at scc-mail.skirball.org>
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"

There will be a session at MCN in November that has presentations from
museums using Patrons Edge, Vista TM and Sirusware... The vendors will
also be in the exhibit hall.  Come see the presentation and ask hard
questions.

Thanks,

Rich

Rich Cherry
Director of Operations
Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Work: (310) 440-4777
Fax: (310) 440-4595
rcherry at skirball.org


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Bryan Gawronski
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 10:39 AM
To: Museum Computer Network Listserv
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS

Good afternoon,

We are using the same setup with Vista 4.2 and ICVERIFY Enterprise 1.5.
We have not had any issues with reliability except for some online
ticket issues.  ICVERIFY Enterprise 1.5 is more secure then older
versions so I would recommend an upgrade right away to better protect
the credit card information.  I am wondering what kind of reliability
issues you are having with the current system?

I also would like to hear more about Blackbaud's Patron Edge.  If you
are running that software could you please comment on the positives and
negatives.

Thank you for your time.

Bryan Gawronski
Head of Technology Services
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
1285 Elmwood Ave
Buffalo NY 14222
716-882-8700
bgawronski at albrightknox.org


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu]On Behalf Of
Doron Ben-Avraham
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 11:29 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS


We are currently using TicketMaster Vista system for Ticketing in the
museum, it performs fairly well however, the credit card transaction
platform (icverify)and overall reliability is a major concern

Any recommendation for alternatives?



Thanks



Doron Ben-Avraham

IT Manager

New Museum of Contemporary Art

235 Bowery St.

New York, NY 10002

Tel: 212 219-1222 ext. 233

Fax: 212 431-5328

Email: dbenavraham at newmuseum.org



_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l


------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:26:11 -0400
From: Rob Lancefield on lists <lists at lancefield.net>
Subject: [MCN-L] New image search engine: TinEye
To: Museum Computer Network Listserv <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <48AB1043.2080602 at lancefield.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Hi all,

Perhaps of interest to some MCN-L folks, <http://tineye.com> is an image
search engine that moved out of invitation-only beta a few days ago; it
accepts an uploaded image file or image URL as its search argument. It
doesn't yet have a large pool of indexed images, but seems intriguing.

cheers,
Rob
______________________________________________
Rob Lancefield (rlancefield [at] wesleyan.edu)
Manager of Museum Information Services / Registrar of Collections
Davison Art Center, Wesleyan University
301 High Street, Middletown CT 06459-0487 USA
860.685.2965
Vice President / President-Elect, Museum Computer Network (MCN)


------------------------------

_______________________________________________
mcn-l mailing list
mcn-l at mcn.edu
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l


End of mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 19
*************************************

From pwykes at osv.org  Tue Aug 19 12:31:36 2008
From: pwykes at osv.org (Paul D. Wykes)
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:31:36 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 19
In-Reply-To: <mailman.1.1219172402.14399.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
References: <mailman.1.1219172402.14399.mcn-l@mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <48AB1F98.4030501@osv.org>

On 8/19/2008 mcn-l-request at mcn.edu wrote:

> We are currently using TicketMaster Vista system for Ticketing in the 
> museum, it performs fairly well however, the credit card transaction 
> platform (icverify)and overall reliability is a major concern


Hi:

 We're using an older version of Siriusware and are facing an upgrade 
soon.  The company has been great to work with.  The software has been 
very reliable.  Its functionality is basic but we undestand that the 
newer versions are much more robust.  We're also exploring Patron Edge 
as it would be great to have the integration with Raiser's Edge.  The 
price tag is significant, however ($75,000+ just for the software!). I 
also have reservations about installing even more Blackbaud software 
given the problems we've experienced with them in the past.

-- 
Paul D. Wykes
Vice President for Finance and Information Systems
Old Sturbridge Village
508 347-0222



From dthompson at mfah.org  Tue Aug 19 12:57:30 2008
From: dthompson at mfah.org (Thompson, Dave)
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:57:30 -0500
Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
References: <2F26D29C50CB2843BC777C02AA16ABB286BFA8@new-sv-003.newmuseum.org>
Message-ID: <128692D10E069046A3158305E82EDE1CD093A2@mfah-exmail.mfah.local>

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston implemented Siriusware's ticketing
system two years ago after receiving proposals from Siriusware, Gateway,
Tessitura, TicketMaster and Blackbaud.  We also just implemented
Siriusware's retail system late last year.  We found Siriusware's
totally integrated ticketing and retail system to be a big advantage as
well as the most flexible and configurable of the systems we reviewed.
Additionally, Siriusware has been great about trying to understand our
needs and implementing changes that allow it to be more useful for
museums in general.  

Dave Thompson

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
PO Box 6826 Houston, Texas 77265-6826
5100 Montrose Boulevard Houston, Texas 77006
713.639.7580 office
281.330.3803 mobile
www.mfah.org




-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Doron Ben-Avraham
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 10:29 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS

We are currently using TicketMaster Vista system for Ticketing in the
museum, it performs fairly well however, the credit card transaction
platform (icverify)and overall reliability is a major concern

Any recommendation for alternatives?

 

Thanks

 

Doron Ben-Avraham

IT Manager

New Museum of Contemporary Art

235 Bowery St.

New York, NY 10002

Tel: 212 219-1222 ext. 233

Fax: 212 431-5328

Email: dbenavraham at newmuseum.org

 

_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l

From ProctorN at si.edu  Wed Aug 20 13:21:20 2008
From: ProctorN at si.edu (Nancy Proctor)
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:21:20 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] Mobile Interpretation conference at Tate Modern Sept 4-5,
	2008
Message-ID: <C4D1F500.44A6%ProctorN@si.edu>

>From Audiotours to iPhones

Thursday 4 September, Workshop (by invitation), 10.00-18.00, East Room Tate
Modern 
Friday 5 September 2008, Public Conference, 10.00-18.00, Starr Auditorium
Tate Modern

Are museums ready to play in the digital age? Rapid advances in technology
are making the traditional audiotour increasingly redundant, and visitors
are now offered sophisticated multimedia tours on PDAs, iPods and even
mobile phones. 

This symposium is for museum workers who want to know more about how the new
generation of mobile devices can benefit their institutions. International
museum professionals with in-depth experience in handheld program design,
development and evaluation lead the day?s discussions.

Speakers include Jane Burton, Tate, UK; Nancy Proctor, Smithsonian American
Art Museum, USA; Makoto Manabe, National Science Museum, Japan; Peter Samis,
SFMOMA, USA; Chris Alexander, San Jose Museum of Art, USA; C?lia Meunier,
Louvre, France; Kate Haley Goldman, Institute for Learning Innovation, USA.

Conference co-organised by Jane Burton, Tate and Nancy Proctor, SAAM
With support from Bloomberg, sponsors of multimedia tours at Tate Modern

Tate Modern Starr Auditorium
?150 (?80 concessions), booking required Price includes lunch and drinks

For tickets book online:
https://tickets.tate.org.uk/performancelist.asp?ShowID=3275=web
or call +44 (0)20 7887 8888

Nancy Proctor
Head of New Media Initiatives

Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM)
MRC 970 PO Box 37012
Washington DC 20013-7012
USA 

o: +1-202-633-8439
f: +1-202-633-8455
c: +1-301-642-6257

proctorn at si.edu

http://www.americanart.si.edu
http://eyelevel.si.edu/


From svanderziel at fieldmuseum.org  Wed Aug 20 13:40:06 2008
From: svanderziel at fieldmuseum.org (Shawn VanDerziel)
Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:40:06 -0500
Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing Systems
Message-ID: <6b240b190808201340u7b554f66h270d454222c0a617@mail.gmail.com>

In response to the question on Ticketing Systems, we have recently
implemented Blackbaud's Patron's Edge, previously we used Paciolan.  We are
also in the process of implementing Financial Edge.  We have used Raiser's
Edge for many years.  Our implementation was successful and we are happy
with our results thus far.

-- 
Shawn VanDerziel ? Vice President, Administration ? The Field Museum ? 1400
South Lake Shore Drive ? Chicago, IL 60605-2496 ? p. 312.665.7276 ? f.
312.665.7272 ?


On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 2:00 PM, <mcn-l-request at mcn.edu> wrote:

> Send mcn-l mailing list submissions to
>        mcn-l at mcn.edu
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>        http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>        mcn-l-request at mcn.edu
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
>        mcn-l-owner at mcn.edu
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of mcn-l digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
>   1. Ticketing Systems (Check, Marc)
>   2. Re: mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 19 (Paul D. Wykes)
>   3. Re: Ticketing systems and POS (Thompson, Dave)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:30:11 -0400
> From: "Check, Marc" <mcheck at museumofplay.org>
> Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing Systems
> To: "'mcn-l at mcn.edu'" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
> Message-ID:
>        <4D2455C2CCAC9C46BC8C325595AD317F160008A8 at Exch2k8.strongmuseum.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> After quite a bit of research over the last few years (we are looking at
> replacing our current ticketing & general admissions system - Paciolan) we
> have found Gateway Ticketing to be a strong contender.  When we looked at
> this system three years ago it was lacking in many areas, but recent
> demonstrations have proven it to be an extremely evolved and robust system,
> with great flexibility & integrated credit card processing.  I would suggest
> researching this system and asking for references from the company.  The
> Aquarium if the Pacific served as one of our references and was very helpful
> and honest.
>
> http://www.gatewayticketing.com/industry-solutions/museums.asp
>
> Marc Check
> Director of Technology
> Strong National Museum of Play(r)
> One Manhattan Square
> Rochester, NY 14607
> Direct Line: 585-410-6323
> Fax: 585-263-2493
> Email: mcheck at museumofplay.org
> Website: http://museumofplay.org
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
> mcn-l-request at mcn.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 3:00 PM
> To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
> Subject: mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 19
>
> Send mcn-l mailing list submissions to
>        mcn-l at mcn.edu
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
>        http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
>        mcn-l-request at mcn.edu
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
>        mcn-l-owner at mcn.edu
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of mcn-l digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
>   1. Ticketing systems and POS (Doron Ben-Avraham)
>   2. Re: Ticketing systems and POS (Bryan Gawronski)
>   3. Re: Ticketing systems and POS (Cherry, Rich)
>   4. New image search engine: TinEye (Rob Lancefield on lists)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:29:19 -0400
> From: "Doron Ben-Avraham" <dbenavraham at newmuseum.org>
> Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
> To: <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
> Message-ID:
>        <2F26D29C50CB2843BC777C02AA16ABB286BFA8 at new-sv-003.newmuseum.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"
>
> We are currently using TicketMaster Vista system for Ticketing in the
> museum, it performs fairly well however, the credit card transaction
> platform (icverify)and overall reliability is a major concern
>
> Any recommendation for alternatives?
>
>
>
> Thanks
>
>
>
> Doron Ben-Avraham
>
> IT Manager
>
> New Museum of Contemporary Art
>
> 235 Bowery St.
>
> New York, NY 10002
>
> Tel: 212 219-1222 ext. 233
>
> Fax: 212 431-5328
>
> Email: dbenavraham at newmuseum.org
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:39:14 -0400
> From: "Bryan Gawronski" <bgawronski at albrightknox.org>
> Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
> To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
> Message-ID:
>        <378F1A23A5BDA849AEFEAD70072D1D71011C014E at akag4.albrightknox.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Good afternoon,
>
> We are using the same setup with Vista 4.2 and ICVERIFY Enterprise 1.5.  We
> have not had any issues with reliability except for some online ticket
> issues.  ICVERIFY Enterprise 1.5 is more secure then older versions so I
> would recommend an upgrade right away to better protect the credit card
> information.  I am wondering what kind of reliability issues you are having
> with the current system?
>
> I also would like to hear more about Blackbaud's Patron Edge.  If you are
> running that software could you please comment on the positives and
> negatives.
>
> Thank you for your time.
>
> Bryan Gawronski
> Head of Technology Services
> Albright-Knox Art Gallery
> 1285 Elmwood Ave
> Buffalo NY 14222
> 716-882-8700
> bgawronski at albrightknox.org
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu]On Behalf Of
> Doron Ben-Avraham
> Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 11:29 AM
> To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
> Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
>
>
> We are currently using TicketMaster Vista system for Ticketing in the
> museum, it performs fairly well however, the credit card transaction
> platform (icverify)and overall reliability is a major concern
>
> Any recommendation for alternatives?
>
>
>
> Thanks
>
>
>
> Doron Ben-Avraham
>
> IT Manager
>
> New Museum of Contemporary Art
>
> 235 Bowery St.
>
> New York, NY 10002
>
> Tel: 212 219-1222 ext. 233
>
> Fax: 212 431-5328
>
> Email: dbenavraham at newmuseum.org
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer
> Network (http://www.mcn.edu)
>
> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu
>
> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:45:10 -0700
> From: "Cherry, Rich" <rcherry at skirball.org>
> Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
> To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
> Message-ID:
>        <2A6CDDE8F1CB5D428E7CA6014794A582014E355B at scc-mail.skirball.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"
>
> There will be a session at MCN in November that has presentations from
> museums using Patrons Edge, Vista TM and Sirusware... The vendors will
> also be in the exhibit hall.  Come see the presentation and ask hard
> questions.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Rich
>
> Rich Cherry
> Director of Operations
> Skirball Cultural Center
> 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
> Los Angeles, CA 90049
> Work: (310) 440-4777
> Fax: (310) 440-4595
> rcherry at skirball.org
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
> Bryan Gawronski
> Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 10:39 AM
> To: Museum Computer Network Listserv
> Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
>
> Good afternoon,
>
> We are using the same setup with Vista 4.2 and ICVERIFY Enterprise 1.5.
> We have not had any issues with reliability except for some online
> ticket issues.  ICVERIFY Enterprise 1.5 is more secure then older
> versions so I would recommend an upgrade right away to better protect
> the credit card information.  I am wondering what kind of reliability
> issues you are having with the current system?
>
> I also would like to hear more about Blackbaud's Patron Edge.  If you
> are running that software could you please comment on the positives and
> negatives.
>
> Thank you for your time.
>
> Bryan Gawronski
> Head of Technology Services
> Albright-Knox Art Gallery
> 1285 Elmwood Ave
> Buffalo NY 14222
> 716-882-8700
> bgawronski at albrightknox.org
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu]On Behalf Of
> Doron Ben-Avraham
> Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 11:29 AM
> To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
> Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
>
>
> We are currently using TicketMaster Vista system for Ticketing in the
> museum, it performs fairly well however, the credit card transaction
> platform (icverify)and overall reliability is a major concern
>
> Any recommendation for alternatives?
>
>
>
> Thanks
>
>
>
> Doron Ben-Avraham
>
> IT Manager
>
> New Museum of Contemporary Art
>
> 235 Bowery St.
>
> New York, NY 10002
>
> Tel: 212 219-1222 ext. 233
>
> Fax: 212 431-5328
>
> Email: dbenavraham at newmuseum.org
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
> Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)
>
> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu
>
> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
> Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)
>
> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu
>
> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:26:11 -0400
> From: Rob Lancefield on lists <lists at lancefield.net>
> Subject: [MCN-L] New image search engine: TinEye
> To: Museum Computer Network Listserv <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
> Message-ID: <48AB1043.2080602 at lancefield.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Hi all,
>
> Perhaps of interest to some MCN-L folks, <http://tineye.com> is an image
> search engine that moved out of invitation-only beta a few days ago; it
> accepts an uploaded image file or image URL as its search argument. It
> doesn't yet have a large pool of indexed images, but seems intriguing.
>
> cheers,
> Rob
> ______________________________________________
> Rob Lancefield (rlancefield [at] wesleyan.edu)
> Manager of Museum Information Services / Registrar of Collections
> Davison Art Center, Wesleyan University
> 301 High Street, Middletown CT 06459-0487 USA
> 860.685.2965
> Vice President / President-Elect, Museum Computer Network (MCN)
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> mcn-l mailing list
> mcn-l at mcn.edu
> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
>
>
> End of mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 19
> *************************************
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:31:36 -0400
> From: "Paul D. Wykes" <pwykes at osv.org>
> Subject: Re: [MCN-L] mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 19
> To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
> Message-ID: <48AB1F98.4030501 at osv.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> On 8/19/2008 mcn-l-request at mcn.edu wrote:
>
> > We are currently using TicketMaster Vista system for Ticketing in the
> > museum, it performs fairly well however, the credit card transaction
> > platform (icverify)and overall reliability is a major concern
>
>
> Hi:
>
>  We're using an older version of Siriusware and are facing an upgrade
> soon.  The company has been great to work with.  The software has been
> very reliable.  Its functionality is basic but we undestand that the
> newer versions are much more robust.  We're also exploring Patron Edge
> as it would be great to have the integration with Raiser's Edge.  The
> price tag is significant, however ($75,000+ just for the software!). I
> also have reservations about installing even more Blackbaud software
> given the problems we've experienced with them in the past.
>
> --
> Paul D. Wykes
> Vice President for Finance and Information Systems
> Old Sturbridge Village
> 508 347-0222
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:57:30 -0500
> From: "Thompson, Dave" <dthompson at mfah.org>
> Subject: Re: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
> To: "Museum Computer Network Listserv" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
> Message-ID:
>        <128692D10E069046A3158305E82EDE1CD093A2 at mfah-exmail.mfah.local>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"
>
> The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston implemented Siriusware's ticketing
> system two years ago after receiving proposals from Siriusware, Gateway,
> Tessitura, TicketMaster and Blackbaud.  We also just implemented
> Siriusware's retail system late last year.  We found Siriusware's
> totally integrated ticketing and retail system to be a big advantage as
> well as the most flexible and configurable of the systems we reviewed.
> Additionally, Siriusware has been great about trying to understand our
> needs and implementing changes that allow it to be more useful for
> museums in general.
>
> Dave Thompson
>
> The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
> PO Box 6826 Houston, Texas 77265-6826
> 5100 Montrose Boulevard Houston, Texas 77006
> 713.639.7580 office
> 281.330.3803 mobile
> www.mfah.org
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
> Doron Ben-Avraham
> Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 10:29 AM
> To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
> Subject: [MCN-L] Ticketing systems and POS
>
> We are currently using TicketMaster Vista system for Ticketing in the
> museum, it performs fairly well however, the credit card transaction
> platform (icverify)and overall reliability is a major concern
>
> Any recommendation for alternatives?
>
>
>
> Thanks
>
>
>
> Doron Ben-Avraham
>
> IT Manager
>
> New Museum of Contemporary Art
>
> 235 Bowery St.
>
> New York, NY 10002
>
> Tel: 212 219-1222 ext. 233
>
> Fax: 212 431-5328
>
> Email: dbenavraham at newmuseum.org
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
> Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)
>
> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu
>
> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> mcn-l mailing list
> mcn-l at mcn.edu
> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
>
>
> End of mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 20
> *************************************
>



-- 
Shawn VanDerziel ? Vice President, Administration ? The Field Museum ? 1400
South Lake Shore Drive ? Chicago, IL 60605-2496 ? p. 312.665.7276 ? f.
312.665.7272 ?

From mgordon at umich.edu  Thu Aug 21 05:26:20 2008
From: mgordon at umich.edu (Marlene Gordon)
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:26:20 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] CHArt 2008 Conference - booking now open
Message-ID: <48AD5EEC.3070906@umich.edu>

Please excuse any duplicate messages that you may receive.

-----------

Computers and the History of Art (CHArt) TWENTY-FOURTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Seeing?Vision and Perception in a Digital Culture
Thursday 6 - Friday 7 November 2008
The Clore Lecture Theatre, Clore Management Centre, Birkbeck, University
of London, Torrington Square, London, WC1 7HX.

THEME
This year's CHArt conference takes seeing as its theme and the
associated questions of vision, perception, visibility and invisibility,
blindness and insight - all in the context of our contemporary digital
culture in which our eyes are assaulted by ever greater amounts of
visual stimulus, while we are also increasingly being surveyed, on a
continual basis.

What does it mean to see and be seen nowadays? How have advances in
neuroscience or developments in technology altered our understanding of
vision and perception? What kind of visual spaces do we now inhabit?
What new kinds of visual experiences are now available? And what are now
lost or no longer possible? How does the increasing digitalisation of
media affect the experience of seeing? What and who might be rendered
invisible by the processes of digital culture? What are our current
digital culture's blindspots? What are its politics of seeing? The 2008
conference investigates such questions.

Places are limited so early booking is recommended.

The booking form is available online on *www.chart.ac.uk*.  Bookings
made before 1 October 2008 will be entitled to a discount.  Conference
fees (pounds sterling) - include coffee/tea breaks and lunch. 


PROGRAMME
THURSDAY 6 NOVEMBER

KEYNOTE ADDRESS ? Paul Brown, Visiting Professor at the Centre for
Computational Neuroscience and Robotics (CCNR), University of Sussex,
Brighton, UK.

SESSION 1 ? REPRESENTATION

Night-Colored-Eye: Night vision in Video or the Mediated Perception of
Invisibility
Eduardo Abrantes, New University of Lisbon, Portugal.

Realism vs Reality TV in the War on Terror: Artworks and Models of
Interpretation
David Crawford, G?teborg University, Sweden.

Amalgamating Vision: Photography, Artificial Intelligence and Visual Art
Simone Gristwood, Birkbeck, University of London, UK.

Digital Synaesthesia: Hearing Colour/Seeing Sound/Visualising Gesture
Birgitta Hosea, Central Saint Martins School of Art, London, UK.

SESSION 2 ? REPRESENTATION (cont.)

Seeing What You Believe, Believing What You See: Revisiting ?Photorealism?
David Humphrey, Royal College of Art, London.

The Participatory Off-screen:  Spatial Perception and Suture in
Interactive Soap KateModern
Valentina Rao, Factory Girl Games; Pomaia, Pisa, Italy.

Not-just-seeing, not-just-reading (On the perception and cognition of
digital literature).
Janez Strehovec, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

SESSION 3 ? SPACE

GIS and WebGIS Technologies for Enhanced Seeing in Archeology. The Case
of the Roman Aqueducts
Luciana Bordoni, ENEA; Attilio Colagrossi and Lorenzo Felli, Institut
for Research and Protection of the Environment (IRPA), Italy.

Performing the Archive for the Visibility of Information in Space
Monika Fleischmann and Wolfgang Strauss
Fraunhofer Institute IAIS, MARS - Media Arts and Research Studies,  Germany.

Seeing in 3D: New Problems In Accessibility
Graham McAllister, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.

SESSION 4 ? SPACE (cont.)

Digital Sites and Performative Views
Gavin Perin and Linda Matthews, University of Technology, Sydney,
Australia.

Configurations of the Unseen: Installation Art and Information Overload
Jennifer Steetskamp, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Architectural Space as Virtual Reality: Regarding Perceptional
Parameters in Digital Culture
Pelin Yildiz, Hacettepe University. Ankara, Turkey.

FRIDAY 7 NOVEMBER

SESSION 5 ?  BEYOND THE PIXEL

Seeing Software: The Biennale.py Net Art Virus and Visuality of Software
Jussi Parikka, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK.

Subject to Change Without Notice:  How Advances In Modern Holography and
Digital Imaging Have Altered Our Understanding of Vision and Perception
Paul Edward Scattergood  and Martin John Richardson, Institute of
Creative Technologies, UK.

Seeing Through Imaging: An Exploration of Technology and Transparency
Nola Semczyszyn, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.

The Art and Science of Colour: Bridging the Gap between Art and Perception
Carinna Parraman, University of the West of England, UK; John J. McCann,
McCann Imaging, Belmont, MA; USA;  Alessandro Rizzi, Universit? degli
Studi di Milano, Italy.

SESSION 6 ?  BODY AND PERCEPTION

Perception and Representation: the Visual Cortex and Landscape Art.
Ada Henskens, Tasmania, Australia.

A Presentation of ?Saccadic Sightings?, Reflections on the Process of
Working with a MobileEye and on the Difficulty of Visualising Sensory
Experience.
Rune Peitersen, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Attentional Surplus: Ambient Media Art and the Myth of Looking
Brett Phares, Marist College, USA.

Seeing Things: Ghosts in the Machine
Alan Dunning,  Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Alberta,
Canada;  Paul Woodrow, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

SESSION 7 ?  BODY AND PERCEPTION (cont.)

SCANPATH
Catherine Baker, Norwich University College of the Arts, UK.; Iain
Gilchrist, University of Bristol, UK.

Play it Again, SAM
Dirk de Bruyn, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia.

Creative Perception: Sensory, Conceptual and Relational Ways of Seeing
Stuart G. English, Northumbria University School of Design, UK.

SESSION 8 ?  PRACTICE

Machines, Drawing and Vision
James Faure Walker, Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts,
London.

Conference Behind the Canvas, an Algorithmic Space: Reflections on
Digital Art
Frieder Nake and Kolja K?ster,  Informatik, University of Bremen, Germany.

The (In)Visibility of Digital Images
S?ren Pold, University of Aarhus, Denmark.

Medical Imaging in the Digital Age: Fusing the Real and the Imagined
Dolores A. Steinman and David A. Steinman, Biomedical Simulation
Laboratory, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

DEMONSTRATIONS

To be confirmed

BOOKING FEE

CHArt Member: TWO DAYS ?120 (?100 before 1 Oct 2008)
CHArt Member: ONE DAY ?80 (?70 before 1 Oct 2008)

Non-member: TWO DAYS ?160 (?140 before 1 Oct 2008)
Non-member: ONE DAY ?110 (?100 before 1 Oct 2008)

CHArt Student Member: TWO DAYS ?65 ?45 before 1 Oct 2008)
CHArt Student Member: ONE DAY ?45(?35 before 1 Oct 2008)

Student Non-member: TWO DAYS ?85 (?65 before 1 Oct 2008)
Student Non-member: ONE DAY ?55 (?45 before 1 Oct 2008)

Booking forms available at: http://www.chart.ac.uk/chart2008/index.html

--
Marlene Gordon
Visual Resources and Music Curator
University of Michigan-Dearborn
313-593-5463
313-593-1902 (fax)
mgordon at umich.edu
Images (VRA Newsletter), Editor
VRA Great Lakes Chapter, Chair
www.vraweb.org

From lensteinbach at gmail.com  Thu Aug 21 09:17:27 2008
From: lensteinbach at gmail.com (Leonard Steinbach)
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:17:27 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] JOB POSTING- CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER,
	THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM
Message-ID: <b07138290808210917w7fd86ef6ga733d3027f9e99fc@mail.gmail.com>

The following posting supercedes a previous posting from The Walters for a
Director of Information Technology.  It reflects a broadening of
responsibilities and resources.  Apologies for cross-postings.

*THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM, BALTIMORE, MD <http://www.thewalters.org/>, SEEKS *

*CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER*

 The Walters Art Museum is searching to fill the newly created position of
Chief Technology Officer (CTO). The CTO is expected to provide leadership
and management for the use of a wide range of technologies used at the
museum. The CTO is also expected to demonstrate a  deep understanding of how
technology-based opportunities will re-envision and re-shape traditional
museums in order to achieve success in the 21st century and will work with
staff, the Director and Board to foster, fund, achieve this end..



*DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:*

1.      Fill the vital role of informing and advising management on the ways
in which technology can best serve the Museum's programs and practices.
Therefore, it is expected that the CTO will be actively engaged in
maintaining an awareness of emerging technologies, trends, and challenges
which will help shape the future of the museum.

2.      Provide  leadership, management, and support for the use of a broad
range of technologies related to museum operations including collection and
exhibitions interpretation, education, stewardship of the collection, and
other activities related to achieving the museum's mission; technologies
include data and voice networking, imaging, email, special software
applications and general office productivity software, workstations and
peripherals, web presence and features, exhibition-based inter-actives and
displays, security systems, audio visual resources, and any other devices
and applications which would be reasonably subsumed within this rubric as
well as help desk and other support services.

3.      Manage four departments:



a.       Network Administration -- responsible for planning, implementing,
and maintaining data and voice networks and related equipment and software

b.      Digital Imaging Services -- responsible for: original photography;
conversion of traditional media to digital images; staff access to images
through the digital asset management system; and, administering the rights
and reproductions program.

c.       Collections Management Support -- responsible for managing the
collection database which includes object identifying, descriptive,
condition and location information.

d.      User Support Services -- responsible for: immediate technology help
to staff using technology systems; meeting needs for audio visual services;
mailroom operations; and, other support services as required

4.      Develop and manage technology operating, capital, and special
project budgets.

5.      Assure that technology-based projects are successfully realized
within their planned budget and timeframes.

6.      Help management and staff understand technology trends and
opportunities and provides internal technology consultation.

7.      Develop and maintain relevant policies and procedures.

8.      Provide assistance with grant application and project reporting
requirements.

9.      Develop and update long-range strategic technology plans in support
of institutional plans and mission.

10.  Recommend and manage hardware and software procurement to meet ongoing
staff needs and the requirements of the strategic plan.

11.  Develop and implement staff training program to assure efficient and
productive use of technology resources.

12.  Performs other duties as necessary.

*QUALIFICATIONS:*

* *Bachelor's degree from four-year college or university; education and/or
training in related technology fields; five years related experience or
equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience should
include responsibility for:  core and special purpose business software
applications; end-user support for individuals and departments;
infrastructure systems and technologies such as data/voice networks and
storage and telephony; development and evaluation of Requests for Proposals;
working with vendors; budget preparation, management and analysis; direct
staff supervision and evaluation; experience which demonstrates likelihood
to successfully achieve job responsibilities.  Experience in the museum
community is preferred, but not required.

Qualified candidates are able to identify, read, analyze, interpret,
synthesize and apply information from technical literature, professional and
academic journals, financial reports, legal documents, and other sources.
The candidate will have strong writing and oral communication skills and the
ability to effectively present information to staff, top management, public
groups and the Board of Trustees.  The qualified candidate is able to work
independently and with personal initiative, and   interact and communicate
effectively with subordinates and senior management.  Strong personal
management and organization skills are required.



Qualified candidates must be team players, capable of working successfully
in an environment which values transparency, consensus, and mutual support.
This includes comfort in a business environment characterized by expanding
technological opportunities, limited resources, and staff who are amenable,
but must be shepherded, toward change.



*REPORTS TO:  *Associate Director for External Affairs



*SALARY:  *Commensurate with experience

* *

*EQUAL OPPTY STATEMENT: *The Walters Art Museum is an Equal Opportunity
Employer

* *

*CONTACT: Letters of interest and resumes may be sent to Brenda Jackson,
Human Resources Manager - email bjackson at thewalters.org.  *

* *

From lisai at rocketmail.com  Fri Aug 22 08:26:35 2008
From: lisai at rocketmail.com (Lisa Iversen)
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:26:35 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [MCN-L] Care and Preservation of Furniture and Other Wooden Objects
	at Campbell Center
Message-ID: <841360.84469.qm@web59612.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>

Campbell Center Announces New Class: Care and Preservation of Furniture and Other Wooden Objects
?
Care and Preservation of Furniture and Other Wooden Objects
?
Instructor: Craig Deller
?
Date: October 14-17, 2008
?
The Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies is offering a new "hands-on" Care and Preservation of Furniture and Other Wooden Objects?workshop this fall. The instructor also teaches at the Art Institute of Chicago in the Historic Preservation Master?s Degree Program.?Students are encouraged?to?suggest their specific furniture?collections care needs as course topics.?Tuition is $850 which includes room and board on the Campbell Center campus in Mt. Carroll, IL. For more information see our website www.campbellcenter.org or contact the Campbell Center office at 815-244-1173.


      

From kamoroso at mainehistory.org  Mon Aug 25 07:42:03 2008
From: kamoroso at mainehistory.org (Kathy Amoroso)
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:42:03 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] RAW vs. TIF
Message-ID: <fc.007ea64d0051c59f007ea64d0051c59f.51c5a2@agdog.com>

Hello all,

I am new to this group so pardon me if this discussion has already
happened. If it has, please direct me to the correct month in the archive.

I was wondering what the museum trend is now for using RAW format files in
photography of digital objects. We at Maine Memory Network
(www.mainememory.net) have a camera that saves RAW and JPG and for now
have been sticking with JPG. We are getting questioned internally about
RAW, however. We save our scans as TIF and then convert them to JPG for
the website. Any thoughts on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

************************
Kathy Amoroso
Director of Digital Projects, kamoroso at mainehistory.org
Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101



From hmwells at springdaleark.org  Mon Aug 25 08:08:33 2008
From: hmwells at springdaleark.org (Heather Marie Wells)
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:08:33 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: [MCN-L] Technologists in SEMC area
In-Reply-To: <fc.007ea64d0051c59f007ea64d0051c59f.51c5a2@agdog.com>
References: <fc.007ea64d0051c59f007ea64d0051c59f.51c5a2@agdog.com>
Message-ID: <88745CF98E2E45BB949BCD428C888C78@sprd.springdaleark.org>

Hi all,

I'm looking to get in touch with people who are interested in museum
technology in the Southeastern Museum Conference area.  If there is anyone
on this list in SEMC, please, email me at hmwells at springdaleark.org.

Heather Marie

Heather Marie Wells
Collections Assistant/Podcast Producer
Shiloh Museum of Ozark History
118 W. Johnson Ave.
Springdale, AR 72764
Phone: (479) 750-8165
Fax: (479) 750-8693
http://www.springdaleark.org/shiloh/



From jfevans at Princeton.EDU  Mon Aug 25 08:24:26 2008
From: jfevans at Princeton.EDU (Jeff Evans)
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:24:26 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] RAW vs. TIF
In-Reply-To: <fc.007ea64d0051c59f007ea64d0051c59f.51c5a2@agdog.com>
Message-ID: <C4D846EA.23DE%jfevans@princeton.edu>

1. Save your RAW files until the publication is delivered. (if any) Or, if
for some reason you may be color editing again at a later time.
2. Save your Tif files as master files.
3. Copy jpegs up to where they are needed and then dump 'em - you can always
make more from the tiffs.
4. The RAW+jpeg setting is so you have a jpeg to quickly look at before
processing the RAW.

Regards, JEFF


Jeffrey Evans
Digital Imaging Specialist
Princeton University Art Museum
609.258.8579






On 8/25/08 10:42 AM, "Kathy Amoroso" <kamoroso at mainehistory.org> wrote:

> Hello all,
> 
> I am new to this group so pardon me if this discussion has already
> happened. If it has, please direct me to the correct month in the archive.
> 
> I was wondering what the museum trend is now for using RAW format files in
> photography of digital objects. We at Maine Memory Network
> (www.mainememory.net) have a camera that saves RAW and JPG and for now
> have been sticking with JPG. We are getting questioned internally about
> RAW, however. We save our scans as TIF and then convert them to JPG for
> the website. Any thoughts on the subject would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> ************************
> Kathy Amoroso
> Director of Digital Projects, kamoroso at mainehistory.org
> Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer
> Network (http://www.mcn.edu)
> 
> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu
> 
> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l


From psully at magnes.org  Mon Aug 25 08:34:36 2008
From: psully at magnes.org (Perian Sully)
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:34:36 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] RAW vs. TIF
References: <fc.007ea64d0051c59f007ea64d0051c59f.51c5a2@agdog.com>
Message-ID: <AD775DE5635C2042BF1DCB7EED36A83B4D46BB@jlm-net.jlm.local>

Dear Kathy:

We shoot in RAW from our camera (Nikon D60) and save those as our
masters. From there, we process into TIFF and JPG. The TIFFs we use for
reproduction requests, and the JPGS are used mostly as thumbnails or
previews for our curators and also for our collections management
system.

Our scanners don't scan into RAW, so those end up being some pretty
large TIFF files, from which we make JPGs.

Nice thing about RAW is that they're compressed in a rather handy way
(5MB as opposed to a 20MB or larger TIFF). You don't want to save a
master JPG, because the compression algorithms don't allow you to scale
back up.

Perian Sully
Collection Information and New Media Coordinator
Judah L. Magnes Museum

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Kathy Amoroso
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 7:42 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] RAW vs. TIF

Hello all,

I am new to this group so pardon me if this discussion has already
happened. If it has, please direct me to the correct month in the
archive.

I was wondering what the museum trend is now for using RAW format files
in
photography of digital objects. We at Maine Memory Network
(www.mainememory.net) have a camera that saves RAW and JPG and for now
have been sticking with JPG. We are getting questioned internally about
RAW, however. We save our scans as TIF and then convert them to JPG for
the website. Any thoughts on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

************************
Kathy Amoroso
Director of Digital Projects, kamoroso at mainehistory.org
Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101


_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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From AHolloway at marinersmuseum.org  Mon Aug 25 09:20:06 2008
From: AHolloway at marinersmuseum.org (Anna Holloway)
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:20:06 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] RAW vs. TIF
Message-ID: <419F10D4185BC14BAF9056D59B7355260173935A@data3.tmm.local>

This is what our staff photographer has to say.....

"I shoot almost always in Raw mode.  It lets me decide how I want the final image to look as opposed to the camera's software deciding what IT thinks looks best.  The only exception to this is when I am shooting events and will be shooting hundreds of photos.  Then I will let the camera do it's thing and shoot jpegs.  Raw is more time consuming but once you have your workflow down, the extra time is negligible and the final results can make it worth it.

My 2?.

Jason"

Hope that helps!

Anna Holloway, Vice President, Collections & Programs
The Mariners' Museum
757-591-7740
757-591-7312 (fax)
 
The USS Monitor Center - Now Open!!!
An Ironclad Promise of Adventure
visit us at www.marinersmuseum.org
 
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of Kathy Amoroso
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 10:42 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] RAW vs. TIF

Hello all,

I am new to this group so pardon me if this discussion has already
happened. If it has, please direct me to the correct month in the archive.

I was wondering what the museum trend is now for using RAW format files in
photography of digital objects. We at Maine Memory Network
(www.mainememory.net) have a camera that saves RAW and JPG and for now
have been sticking with JPG. We are getting questioned internally about
RAW, however. We save our scans as TIF and then convert them to JPG for
the website. Any thoughts on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

************************
Kathy Amoroso
Director of Digital Projects, kamoroso at mainehistory.org
Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101


_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l



From hb at lmi.net  Mon Aug 25 09:33:26 2008
From: hb at lmi.net (Howard Brainen)
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:33:26 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] RAW vs. TIF
In-Reply-To: <419F10D4185BC14BAF9056D59B7355260173935A@data3.tmm.local>
References: <419F10D4185BC14BAF9056D59B7355260173935A@data3.tmm.local>
Message-ID: <003d01c906d0$4e787090$3901a8c0@LianCat>

I agree RAW if the better way to go.  And as has been pointed out, RAW
should be processed to TIFF for printing and JPEG for web delivery.

Do not archive RAW for preservation.  The RAW formats are proprietary and
require some software for processing.  If that software isn't available in
50 years (or 5 years!), your RAW files won't be readable.  For that reason,
we recommend processing RAW to Adobe DNG format.  DNG has all the quality
advantages of RAW but is promoted as an open standard by Adobe and others.
As an alternative, you can process the RAW files to 16 bit/channel TIFFs and
preserve those.  TIFFs are open standards as well but do not offer all the
advantages of DNG.


Howard Brainen
TWO CAT DIGITAL INC.
14719 Catalina Street
San Leandro, CA  94577  USA
510-483-1220 x201
FAX 510-483-1293
www.twocatdigital.com
 
Digital Imaging Consulting & Digitization Services


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Kathy Amoroso
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 10:42 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] RAW vs. TIF

Hello all,

I am new to this group so pardon me if this discussion has already happened.
If it has, please direct me to the correct month in the archive.

I was wondering what the museum trend is now for using RAW format files in
photography of digital objects. We at Maine Memory Network
(www.mainememory.net) have a camera that saves RAW and JPG and for now have
been sticking with JPG. We are getting questioned internally about RAW,
however. We save our scans as TIF and then convert them to JPG for the
website. Any thoughts on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

************************
Kathy Amoroso
Director of Digital Projects, kamoroso at mainehistory.org Maine Historical
Society, 489 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101


_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer
Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l


_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer
Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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From Jlaclair at artbma.org  Mon Aug 25 09:37:22 2008
From: Jlaclair at artbma.org (Jeff L. La Clair)
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:37:22 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] RAW vs. TIF
In-Reply-To: <419F10D4185BC14BAF9056D59B7355260173935A@data3.tmm.local>
References: <419F10D4185BC14BAF9056D59B7355260173935A@data3.tmm.local>
Message-ID: <AC3E9112C60B5340B9E809EF8A6042773B8E664A@exchange.artbma.museum>

Our photographer shoots all in raw.  File size is about 20 to 30MB.  We keep them on two external HD's (One off site, one in his lab), then when that gets filled, we buy him two more.  We put tiff's and JPG's out on the server (for TMS and reproduction).  Our photographer says that when you convert to Tiff or JPG all settings from RAW are gone.
>From a conference I attended, the RAWS should not be in a proprietary format (esp if you want to access them 20, 50, 100 years from now and that company is out of business), however we are in a proprietary format for now (hopefully sinar and adobe can work on a resolution so both will be compatible).
Jeff


-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of Anna Holloway
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 12:20 PM
To: Museum Computer Network Listserv
Subject: Re: [MCN-L] RAW vs. TIF

This is what our staff photographer has to say.....

"I shoot almost always in Raw mode.  It lets me decide how I want the final image to look as opposed to the camera's software deciding what IT thinks looks best.  The only exception to this is when I am shooting events and will be shooting hundreds of photos.  Then I will let the camera do it's thing and shoot jpegs.  Raw is more time consuming but once you have your workflow down, the extra time is negligible and the final results can make it worth it.

My 2?.

Jason"

Hope that helps!

Anna Holloway, Vice President, Collections & Programs
The Mariners' Museum
757-591-7740
757-591-7312 (fax)

The USS Monitor Center - Now Open!!!
An Ironclad Promise of Adventure
visit us at www.marinersmuseum.org




-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of Kathy Amoroso
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 10:42 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] RAW vs. TIF

Hello all,

I am new to this group so pardon me if this discussion has already
happened. If it has, please direct me to the correct month in the archive.

I was wondering what the museum trend is now for using RAW format files in
photography of digital objects. We at Maine Memory Network
(www.mainememory.net) have a camera that saves RAW and JPG and for now
have been sticking with JPG. We are getting questioned internally about
RAW, however. We save our scans as TIF and then convert them to JPG for
the website. Any thoughts on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

************************
Kathy Amoroso
Director of Digital Projects, kamoroso at mainehistory.org
Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101


_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l


_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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From mmisunas at sfmoma.org  Mon Aug 25 09:38:24 2008
From: mmisunas at sfmoma.org (Misunas, Marla)
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:38:24 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] Technologists in SEMC area
In-Reply-To: <88745CF98E2E45BB949BCD428C888C78@sprd.springdaleark.org>
References: <fc.007ea64d0051c59f007ea64d0051c59f.51c5a2@agdog.com>
	<88745CF98E2E45BB949BCD428C888C78@sprd.springdaleark.org>
Message-ID: <45058F8692E66640955EC9882C7C4843044284FC@monet.SFMOMA.ORG>

Hi Heather Marie,
Although we don't have a large number of MCN members in that area
I know there are some, and others who could/should be. Maybe
you can start the recruitment efforts!


Marla Misunas
Collections Information Manager
Collections Information and Access
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
415-357-4186 (voice)
Check out SFMOMA Collections Online
www.sfmoma.org
__________________________________
 
Past President, Museum Computer Network
http://www.mcn.edu
-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Heather Marie Wells
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 8:09 AM
To: 'Museum Computer Network Listserv'
Subject: [MCN-L] Technologists in SEMC area

Hi all,

I'm looking to get in touch with people who are interested in museum
technology in the Southeastern Museum Conference area.  If there is
anyone
on this list in SEMC, please, email me at hmwells at springdaleark.org.

Heather Marie

Heather Marie Wells
Collections Assistant/Podcast Producer
Shiloh Museum of Ozark History
118 W. Johnson Ave.
Springdale, AR 72764
Phone: (479) 750-8165
Fax: (479) 750-8693
http://www.springdaleark.org/shiloh/


_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l

The information contained in this electronic mail message (including any attachments) is confidential information that may be covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC Sections 2510-2521, intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above, and may be privileged.  If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication, or the taking of any action based on it, is strictly prohibited.  If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify me and delete the original message.  Thank you


From lisai at rocketmail.com  Mon Aug 25 12:14:07 2008
From: lisai at rocketmail.com (Lisa Iversen)
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:14:07 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [MCN-L] Mannequin Making Workshop at Campbell Center
Message-ID: <639651.82104.qm@web59616.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>

Mannequin Making Workshop
?
The Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies is offering a Mannequin Making Workshop on September 15-18, 2008.? This intensive hands-on course will cover various methods of making custom mannequins using an assortment of materials. It will offer cost effective ways to make mannequins for all types of museum budgets. Participants will complete two mannequins that they will be able to take with them.? Tuition for this 4 day course is $925.? This fee also includes room and board on our campus in Mt. Carroll, IL and all equipment and supplies necessary.? More information and registration forms can be found on our website at www.campbellcenter.org.? 


      

From lisai at rocketmail.com  Mon Aug 25 12:15:09 2008
From: lisai at rocketmail.com (Lisa Iversen)
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:15:09 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [MCN-L] Care of Metal Objects Workshop at Campbell Center
Message-ID: <353267.83379.qm@web59616.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>

Care of Metal Objects Workshop
?
The Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies is offering a Metals Workshop on September 11-13, 2008.? This hands-on workshop is designed for those caring for metal objects in their collections.? It will review chemical properties, alloy and finish identification, fabrication technology, causes of deterioration, proper handling and storage, preventative care and maintenance, and reduction of surface corrosion and tarnish.? The tuition for this 3 day course is $750.? This fee also includes room and board on our campus in Mt. Carroll, IL and all 
required materials.? More information and registration forms can be found on our website at www.campbellcenter.org 


      

From lisai at rocketmail.com  Mon Aug 25 12:50:59 2008
From: lisai at rocketmail.com (Lisa Iversen)
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:50:59 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [MCN-L] Repair and Maintenance of Book Collections Workshop
Message-ID: <366886.53352.qm@web59603.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>

The Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies is offering a workshop: Repair and Maintenance of Book Collections, being?held on our campus in Mount Carroll , IL , October 6-9, 2008.??The course instructor is Garry Harrison, Head of Circulation Collections Conservation at the E. Lingle Craig Preservation Lab, Indiana University , Bloomington , Indiana .? This course is a hands-on workshop This class is a hands-on workshop for those responsible for the care, maintenance, and repair of circulating book collections. Topics covered will include the criteria used in decision making concerning the triage and treatment of damaged books, an overview of the necessary equipment and materials used in the treatment of damaged books, and an introduction to the conservation ethics applicable to circulating collections. Repair treatments covered in this course will include hinge tightening, flat paper mending, tip-ins, spine replacement, recasing, and new
 casing. The types of protective enclosures covered in this course will include pockets, custom and manufactured binders, wrapper-type enclosures, and cloth-covered clamshell boxes. The fee for the four-day course is $875 and includes room and board, and all materials and supplies needed.?Students will take a set of sample enclosures and repair examples home with them.? For more information visit our website at www.campbellcenter.org, or phone our office at 815-244-1173


      

From rjurban at illinois.edu  Mon Aug 25 21:43:38 2008
From: rjurban at illinois.edu (Richard Urban)
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:43:38 -0500
Subject: [MCN-L] Technologists in SEMC area
In-Reply-To: <45058F8692E66640955EC9882C7C4843044284FC@monet.SFMOMA.ORG>
References: <fc.007ea64d0051c59f007ea64d0051c59f.51c5a2@agdog.com>
	<88745CF98E2E45BB949BCD428C888C78@sprd.springdaleark.org>
	<45058F8692E66640955EC9882C7C4843044284FC@monet.SFMOMA.ORG>
Message-ID: <0E0D987C-FBA9-428D-9969-DDC3B66D6F33@illinois.edu>

Hi Heather,

I'll also chime in to say that this is one of the purposes of the MCN  
Member Network Directory that can be found in the Members Only section  
of the MCN website.  If you are a member in good standing, you should  
be able to download the PDF and find out who's in the SEMC neighborhood.

Cheers,
Richard Urban
rjurban at illinois.edu

On Aug 25, 2008, at 11:38 AM, Misunas, Marla wrote:

> Hi Heather Marie,
> Although we don't have a large number of MCN members in that area
> I know there are some, and others who could/should be. Maybe
> you can start the recruitment efforts!
>
>
> Marla Misunas
> Collections Information Manager
> Collections Information and Access
> San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
> 415-357-4186 (voice)
> Check out SFMOMA Collections Online
> www.sfmoma.org
> __________________________________
>
> Past President, Museum Computer Network
> http://www.mcn.edu
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf  
> Of
> Heather Marie Wells
> Sent: Monday, August 25, 2008 8:09 AM
> To: 'Museum Computer Network Listserv'
> Subject: [MCN-L] Technologists in SEMC area
>
> Hi all,
>
> I'm looking to get in touch with people who are interested in museum
> technology in the Southeastern Museum Conference area.  If there is
> anyone
> on this list in SEMC, please, email me at hmwells at springdaleark.org.
>
> Heather Marie
>
> Heather Marie Wells
> Collections Assistant/Podcast Producer
> Shiloh Museum of Ozark History
> 118 W. Johnson Ave.
> Springdale, AR 72764
> Phone: (479) 750-8165
> Fax: (479) 750-8693
> http://www.springdaleark.org/shiloh/
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum
> Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)
>
> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu
>
> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
>
> The information contained in this electronic mail message (including  
> any attachments) is confidential information that may be covered by  
> the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC Sections  
> 2510-2521, intended only for the use of the individual or entity  
> named above, and may be privileged.  If the reader of this message  
> is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any  
> dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication, or  
> the taking of any action based on it, is strictly prohibited.  If  
> you have received this communication in error, please immediately  
> notify me and delete the original message.  Thank you
>
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum  
> Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu)
>
> To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu
>
> To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
> http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l


From bnicely at moca.org  Tue Aug 26 16:28:00 2008
From: bnicely at moca.org (Bret Nicely)
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:28:00 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] JOB POSTING - Web Developer, Museum of Contemporary Art,
 Los Angeles
Message-ID: <C4D9DF90.124FA%bnicely@moca.org>

Hello all, we're looking for a web developer to join our newly-formed Web
Initiatives department here at MOCA. Find the official job posting below.
Feel free to send any questions to bnicely at moca.org.


Overview
Reporting to the Director of Communications and working under the
supervision of the Web Initiatives Manager, the Web Initiatives Developer is
responsible for the technical implementation and maintenance of web
applications and servers in use by MOCA; including production and
development web servers, content management, and archive systems. The Web
Initiatives Developer will also assist the Web Initiatives Manager in
technical planning for the museum?s long?term web and digital communications
goals.

Requirements
Three to five years of experience as a web developer, including experience
with HTML, PHP, MySQL, CSS, Flash, network administration, and Internet
Infrastructure design. Knowledge of graphic file format issues for the Web,
administrative experience hosting Web sites, effective interpersonal,
communication and problem-solving skills required. Knowledge of contemporary
art and museum experience is a plus. A Bachelor?s degree is preferred.

Essential Functions

* Ensure that software and database systems are running properly.
* Thoroughly test developed software and prepare appropriate project
documentation as required.
* Edit and maintain MOCA?s web code for optimal search engine optimization.
* Ensure functionality of web initiatives across web browsers and operating
systems.
* Perform and document regular software updates on production and
development servers.
* Monitor Web server performance, including maintenance, backup, security
and use analysis.
* Participate in project team meetings. Work in collaboration with the
Communications staff to provide insights and design alternatives to
technical applications and architecture issues.
* Provide systems support and ad hoc services to users.

Application
Send resume and cover letter, (including salary history/requirements) in PDF
format to:

MOCA
Attn: HR Dept (WID)
250 S. Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012

or E-mail HR at moca.org

 
Bret Nicely
Web Generalist
MOCA THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
tel 213/ 621-1773     fax 213/ 620-8674


From maburns at uci.edu  Wed Aug 27 08:04:09 2008
From: maburns at uci.edu (Maureen Burns)
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:04:09 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] Fwd: [ARLIS-L] CALL FOR APPLICATIONS - ARLIS/NA Internship
 Award 2008-2009
Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20080827080308.038cd810@uci.edu>

Forwarded from the ARLIS/NA Internship Award Sub-Committee. Please 
forgive the cross-posting.
Best regards,
Maureen

>Date:         Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:28:46 -0700
>Reply-To: "Billings, Cathy" <CBillings at CI.GLENDALE.CA.US>
>Sender: ART LIBRARIES SOCIETY DISCUSSION LIST <ARLIS-L at LSV.UKY.EDU>
>From: "Billings, Cathy" <CBillings at CI.GLENDALE.CA.US>
>Subject: [ARLIS-L] CALL FOR APPLICATIONS - ARLIS/NA Internship Award 2008-2009
>To: ARLIS-L at LSV.UKY.EDU
>
>The Art Libraries Society of North America is now accepting applications
>for its annual Internship Award.
>
>The ARLIS/NA Internship Award provides financial support for students
>preparing for a career in art librarianship or visual resources
>curatorship. The award grants $2,500.00 to the selected recipient to
>support a period of internship in an art library or visual resources
>collection.
>
>The deadline for applications is October 15, 2008.
>
>For detailed information about the award and application instructions
>please see the ARLIS/NA website:
>http://www.arlisna.org/about/awards/internship_info.html
>
>ARLIS/NA Internship Award Sub-Committee
>Greta Bahnemann
>Cathy Billings (chair)
>Maureen Burns
>Robert Gore
>Rina Vecchiola
>
>__________________________________________________________________
>Mail submissions to arlis-l at lsv.uky.edu
>For information about joining ARLIS/NA see:
>         http://www.arlisna.org/join.html
>Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc)
>         to listserv at lsv.uky.edu
>ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance:
>        http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/arlis-l.html
>Questions may be addressed to list owner (Judy Dyki) at: jdyki at cranbrook.edu

Maureen A. Burns, Ed.D.
Humanities Curator
Visual Resources Collection
61 Humanities Instructional Building
University of California
Irvine, CA 92697-3375
949-824-8027 phone
949-824-4298 fax
MABURNS at UCI.EDU


From calexander at sjmusart.org  Wed Aug 27 14:58:32 2008
From: calexander at sjmusart.org (Chris Alexander)
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:58:32 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] Handheld tour question
Message-ID: <E9686E889FEEB744BED9DB4E0C8B00C7021D5728@sjdc01.sj.internal>

Hello trusty MCN Listserv,

 

I have a question for you concerning handheld tour devices that might
sound a little radical in its thinking.  Don't think it's my crazy idea;
I'm just the tech guy doing a background check on this listserv!  We
currently offer a museum tour via iPod Touch which we checkout to
visitors if they are interested.  There are concerns that the checkout
process might be a deterrent for people taking the tour.  The new
thought is to let the visitors pick them up and use them on their own.
My concern of course is that they are going to walk right out the door.


 

Have any other museums, libraries, etc. offered anything similar?  What
were the results?  Are there any other options to breaking down this
barrier?  

 

All thoughts and comments are welcome - even ones telling us we are
crazy!

 

Thanks all, 

 

Chris Alexander | Manager of Interactive Technology

San Jose Museum of Art

110 South Market Street

San Jose, CA  95113

408-271-6875 ph.

408-294-2977 fx.

calexander at sjmusart.org <mailto:calexander at sjmusart.org> 

__________________________

 

Go to www.sjmusart.org/podcast <http://www.sjmusart.org/podcast>  to
listen to our MUSE Award winning podcast or search for "SJMA" on iTunes
<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=200789
487> .

Is video more your thing?  Check out our YouTube Channel at
www.youtube.com/sanjosemuseumofart
<http://www.youtube.com/sanjosemuseumofart> 

 

 


From akeshet at imj.org.il  Wed Aug 27 23:28:16 2008
From: akeshet at imj.org.il (akeshet at imj.org.il)
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:28:16 +0200
Subject: [MCN-L] FW: Results from the International Survey of Library &
	Museum Digitization Projects
Message-ID: <149FDECF7500014B85D070C43C708BE703E64ADB@mail3.imj.org.il>

________________________________

Primary Research Group has published: The International Survey of Library
& Museum Digitization Projects,  ISBN 1-57440-105-X. The study presents
data from more than 100 library & museum digitization programs from
academic, public and special libraries and museums in the United States,
Canada, Australia, Italy, the UK and other countries. The mean annual
budget for the digitization projects that contributed to the sample was
$122,408, with a range from $0 to $1.963 million.  The reports presents
data on sources of funding, the outlook for raising money for additional
projects, collaboration within and outside of institutions, staffing of
digitization projects, spending on hardware and software, practices on
rights, permissions and copyright clearance, outsourcing, staff training,
impact of digitization on preservation mediums, cataloging issues,
marketing of digitization projects and other aspects of library and museum
digitization project management. Data is broken out by size and type of
digitization project and by size and type of institution. Data is
presented separately for text, photograph, audio, and film/video intensive
projects.

Just of few of the report's many findings are that:

More than 60% of the funding for the projects in the sample is derived
from the library budget itself.  For U.S. libraries, close to 64% of funds
for digitization projects comes from the library budget.

A shade more than 20% of the organizations in the sample believe that the
outlook for raising money for digitization projects from outside sources
is not favorable, while more than 43% characterize it as "not too bad,"
more than 32% call it "pretty good" and more than 4% characterize it as
excellent.

More than 53% of the organizations in the sample have teamed up with
another department or faculty of the organization to work jointly on a
digitization project.

The institutions in the sample had a mean of 4.43 individuals who spent at
least part of their working day on digitization projects, with a maximum
of 20.

The organizations in the sample spent a mean of $21,839 on equipment to
copy, duplicate, record, photograph, scan or transform content of any kind
into digital formats.  Median spending was only $3,000 and the range was
$0-$330,000.

The mean number of hours spent obtaining rights permissions or copyright
clearance of the organizations in the sample was 221.04. 

Nearly 49% of the organizations in the sample outsource some form of
digitization, in whole or in part, to an outside party.  Museums were more
likely than other organizations to do this kind of outsourcing; more than
61% of the museums in the sample outsource some form of digitization to an
outside party. Projects that were photographic-intensive were also more
likely to describe themselves as being deficient in mastering digitization
skills; more than 31% of the organizations in this category said they had
a great deal to learn, while another 25% said that they had gotten better
but still had a long way to go. 

More than 61% of the organizations in the sample had some form of digital
asset management software.  52% had their own in-house system, while
another 9.2% share a system with other departments or divisions of their
organization.

44.68% of the organizations in the sample said that digitization had had
no impact on their use of microfilming or other preservation mediums. 

The mean percentage of labor time required for digitization projects that
is accounted for by cataloging and metadata tasks is about 37%, with a
range of zero to 85%. 

Only 8.16% of the organizations in the sample had completely outsourced a
digitization project to another organization such as a major museum or
university that specializes in such projects. 

17.7% of the organizations in the sample license or rent use of any aspect
of their digital collection to outside parties. 


For further information view our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com .



From akeshet at imj.org.il  Thu Aug 28 05:01:53 2008
From: akeshet at imj.org.il (Amalyah Keshet)
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:01:53 +0200
Subject: [MCN-L] Fw: WorldCat Copyright Evidence (proprietary?) Registry
Message-ID: <013601c90905$dc34bce0$8c6410ac@imj.org.il>

The announcement below pertains to book collections more than to museum or 
other visual collections, but
might be of interest nevertheless -- especially the comments at the end, 
which are concerns
that can apply to any kind of digital collection.

Amalyah Keshet
Chair, MCN IP SIG


> OCLC has announced the release of their copyright evidence
> registry.  from their PR:
>
> http://www.oclc.org/news/releases/200832.htm
>
> "The WorldCat Copyright Evidence Registry is a community
> working together to build a union catalog of copyright
> evidence based on WorldCat, which contains more than 100
> million bibliographic records describing items held in
> thousands of libraries worldwide. In addition to the WorldCat
> metadata, the Copyright Evidence Registry uses other data
> contributed by libraries and other organizations.
>
> "Digitization projects continue for books in the public domain,
> but books whose copyright status is unknown are destined to
> remain in print and on shelves until their status can be
> determined. The process to determine copyright status can be
> lengthy and labor intensive. The goal of the Copyright
> Evidence Registry is to encourage a cooperative environment to
> discover, create and share copyright evidence through a
> collaboratively created and maintained database, using the
> WorldCat cooperative model to eliminate duplicate efforts."
>
> and concerns by molly kleinman, on her blog:
>
> http://mollykleinman.com/2008/08/26/oclcs-new-copyright-evidence-registry/
>
>   "1. OCLC claims and enforces copyrights in its bibliographic
>    records. While it grants member libraries permission to
>    make broad use of those records, my understanding is that
>    the same is not true for non-members. If OCLC extends that
>    policy to the Copyright Evidence Registry, it risks
>    becoming just another walled garden that is useful only to
>    a select (and paying) group of members, and less useful
>    even to that group than it would be if it were truly open.
>
>   "2. Right now the registry is sparsely populated. It will
>    take a critical mass of records and contributors to become
>    a trustworthy source of copyright evidence. Where will that
>    critical mass come from? What is OCLC doing to build it
>    quickly? How will users know when the registry has reached
>    it?"

With thanks to Peter Brantley.


From Emma.Jones at awm.gov.au  Thu Aug 28 18:14:13 2008
From: Emma.Jones at awm.gov.au (Emma Jones)
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:14:13 +1000
Subject: [MCN-L] re  Handheld tour question
Message-ID: <48B7DA04.B03F.00CF.0@awm.gov.au>

Chris,
Do you make the tours available for people to download if they have their own equipment, ipods, iphones etc?
 
 
Emma Jones
Manager, Collection Information and Access Team
Australian War Memorial
02 62434342

******************************************************************************************************************************************************
AWM DISCLAIMER: 

This message may contain confidential information and is intended only for its recipient(s). If you have received this email by error, please delete this e-mail from your system and notify the sender immediately. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure. E-mail information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late, be incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message.
******************************************************************************************************************************************************


From dbailey at harn.ufl.edu  Sat Aug 30 09:17:06 2008
From: dbailey at harn.ufl.edu (Bailey,Dwight A)
Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:17:06 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 27
Message-ID: <7FB295D84F02A445B3B47D0D99C51D5426D9E380E6@UFEXCH-MBXCL01.ad.ufl.edu>



-----Original Message-----
From: "mcn-l-request at mcn.edu" <mcn-l-request at mcn.edu>
To: "mcn-l at mcn.edu" <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Sent: 8/30/08 1:10 AM
Subject: mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 27


Send mcn-l mailing list submissions to
        mcn-l at mcn.edu

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
        http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
        mcn-l-request at mcn.edu

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        mcn-l-owner at mcn.edu

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of mcn-l digest..."


Today's Topics:

   1. re  Handheld tour question (Emma Jones)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:14:13 +1000
From: "Emma Jones" <Emma.Jones at awm.gov.au>
Subject: [MCN-L] re  Handheld tour question
To: <mcn-l at mcn.edu>
Message-ID: <48B7DA04.B03F.00CF.0 at awm.gov.au>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Chris,
Do you make the tours available for people to download if they have their own equipment, ipods, iphones etc?


Emma Jones
Manager, Collection Information and Access Team
Australian War Memorial
02 62434342

******************************************************************************************************************************************************
AWM DISCLAIMER:

This message may contain confidential information and is intended only for its recipient(s). If you have received this email by error, please delete this e-mail from your system and notify the sender immediately. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure. E-mail information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late, be incomplete, or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message.
******************************************************************************************************************************************************



------------------------------

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End of mcn-l Digest, Vol 35, Issue 27
*************************************

From remko.jansonius at vizcayamuseum.org  Sun Aug 31 06:52:36 2008
From: remko.jansonius at vizcayamuseum.org (Jansonius, Remko (Vizcaya))
Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 09:52:36 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] flat bed scanners for large(r) photographs/documents
Message-ID: <9C2785C9A3152441B3AAC2E03346BC4C036E43E0@s0141136.miamidade.gov>

Dear Colleagues,

 

We are looking into purchasing a flatbed scanner for the digitization of
photographs and documents, many of which are larger than your regular
8.5 x11, or even 11x14. The final product needs to be of archival
quality, where we "never" have to touch the original again :-)

 

What is your experience with larger flatbed, tabletop scanners? Which
one is the largest that performs well (i.e. maximum read area of 11 x 17
or more)? Any recommendations?

 

Thank you!

 

Remko Jansonius

Collections and Archives Manager

Vizcaya Museum & Gardens

 


From jvincent at brechingroup.com  Sun Aug 31 07:16:44 2008
From: jvincent at brechingroup.com (Jacqueline Vincent)
Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2008 10:16:44 -0400
Subject: [MCN-L] flat bed scanners for large(r) photographs/documents
In-Reply-To: <9C2785C9A3152441B3AAC2E03346BC4C036E43E0@s0141136.miamidade.gov>
References: <9C2785C9A3152441B3AAC2E03346BC4C036E43E0@s0141136.miamidade.gov>
Message-ID: <BLU0-SMTP84D49476655609B33A638F25D0@phx.gbl>

Dear Remko,

Depending upon what your budget is and how high a scanner you can afford for
your purposes, the Epson 10000 XL scanner is a good one. There are higher
end scanners but they can run you anywhere up to $20,000 or more.  The Epson
10000 is around $3000.

Best,
Jacqueline

-----Original Message-----
From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu] On Behalf Of
Jansonius, Remko (Vizcaya)
Sent: August-31-08 9:53 AM
To: mcn-l at mcn.edu
Subject: [MCN-L] flat bed scanners for large(r) photographs/documents

Dear Colleagues,

 

We are looking into purchasing a flatbed scanner for the digitization of
photographs and documents, many of which are larger than your regular
8.5 x11, or even 11x14. The final product needs to be of archival
quality, where we "never" have to touch the original again :-)

 

What is your experience with larger flatbed, tabletop scanners? Which
one is the largest that performs well (i.e. maximum read area of 11 x 17
or more)? Any recommendations?

 

Thank you!

 

Remko Jansonius

Collections and Archives Manager

Vizcaya Museum & Gardens

 

_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer
Network (http://www.mcn.edu)

To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu

To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit:
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From crmp at uvcs.uvic.ca  Thu Aug 14 10:13:22 2008
From: crmp at uvcs.uvic.ca (Cultural Resource Management)
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:13:22 -0000
Subject: [MCN-L] Museum Information Management - a learning opportunity at
 the University of Victoria, Canada
Message-ID: <C06B0A0DC405F8449DB442F8041D66D30B6715@EMC1.uvic.ca>

Apologies for cross-postings.


Please share with colleagues:

The course outline is now available (see below) for this innovative blended online/on-campus learning opportunity for professionals and volunteers working in museums, heritage sites, and cultural centres.  The registration deadline is August 18, so register today!
Museum Information Management: Knowledge, Management and Transformation
HA 488N (1.5 units); blended online/on-campus offering
Today's museums and cultural institutions are strengthened by their creative use of the wealth of digital information/media they collect, manage, preserve and share. Explore the dimensions, strategic value, and potential uses of this diverse range of digital resources and learn how to strategically harness these resources to improve the effectiveness of your cultural institution and its internal and online information assets.
This engaging and interactive course provides you with the opportunity to examine your institution's information opportunities and develop a project plan to act on one or more of them.
Whether you work with education, collections, research, programming, marketing and audience development, or management within a museum or heritage setting, this course strengthens your ability to:

 *   Identify the myriad of information resources managed across your institution
 *   Recognize the growing strategic value of collection-related digital resources for your institution and to the communities it serves
 *   Define the uses of major software systems used to manage digital information resources (e.g. collection management, digital asset management, content management)
 *   Identify opportunities and strategies for collecting and integrating digital information resources to enhance your website, exhibits and collections
 *   Identify resources (human and other) required to support sustainable museum technology projects
 *   Develop a formal technology project proposal/plan that can be used internally or for obtaining external funding

Dates: Online component: September 15 - October 3; On-campus component:  October 6 - 8, 2008   See draft course outline below for further information about each component.

Please register by: August 18 (late registrations accepted if space permits)

To register in this course please visit https://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/forms/crm/online_reg.aspx.
Fee: CDN$641, including a CDN$70 materials fee (Canadian funds, credit and non-credit participation options) A CDN$170 registration deposit is required with each registration form.

Instructors:
Scott Sayre, PhD and Kris Wetterlund, Principals, Sandbox Studios/Museum411 Inc., work with museums to plan, create, manage and assess education programs and technology projects.

Scott Sayre has over a dozen years of experience guiding museums in the application of business and educational technologies. Currently a founder and principal at Sandbox Studios Inc., he previously served as the Art Museum Image Consortium's Director of Member Services and US Operations. From 1991 to 2002 he was the Director Media and Technology at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts where he formed and led the museum's Interactive Media Group in the development of ArtsConnectEd.org, the MIA's Web site <http://artsMIA.org<http://artsmia.org/>> and sixteen interactive multimedia gallery kiosks. Sayre held the position of Applications Developer at the University of Minnesota's Telecommunications Development Center. He has a Doctorate in Education from the University of Minnesota and a M,Ed, and B.A. in Visual Communications Technology from Bowling Green State University.

Kris Wetterlund worked with teachers as an art museum educator for the past ten years, in the education department at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and as Director of Education at the Minnesota Museum of American Art. Wetterlund received her degree in art education from the University of Minnesota and is certified as a K- 12 Minnesota teacher. She has served as team leader in the St. Paul Public School's writing of elementary art curriculum, and has authored art educational resources online, for both the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Minnesota Museum of American Art, including the award- winning Get the Picture: Thinking about Photographs. Currently Wetterlund is designing and implementing a Minnesota-wide two year teacher training program for ArtsConnectEd, an online partnership between The Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

Draft course outline:

On-line:  Week 1-3

Week 1
The Changing Role of Museums and Information Technology

1)       Presentation
a)       Course Overview - objectives, outline, assignments
b)       Defining museum information.
c)       The importance of information management in the long-term success of an institution. Expanding the definition, expanding the scope of museum information

Week 2
Looking at Systems

1)       Presentation
a.       Politics of museum information
b.       Major museum systems
2)       Interview with Steve Jacobsen - Constituency Management
3)       Interview with Dan Dennehy - Digitization and Digital Asset Management


Week 3
Metadata and Standards

1)       Presentation
a.       Content, Data and Metadata
2)       Interview with Angela Spanazee - Introduction to Standards
3)       Interview with Susan Chun - Steve Tagging project

On Campus: Week 4 (three days only)

Day 1
Project Planning and Information Policy

In class activities
1)       Lecture/Activity: Resource Assessment
2)       Lecture - Developing a project proposal
3)       Student and Instructor project meetings and work time
4)       Student proposal idea presentation/discussion
5)       Discussion of Readings
6)       Work time with instructor consulting


Day 2
Open Source, Interchange and Sustainability

In class activities
1)       Lecture: Data Interchange, Collaboration and Sharing
2)       Case Study: ArtsConnectEd
3)       Remote guest speaker Q&A - Guest speaker will be selected based on student interest.
4)       Work time with instructor check-in

Day 3
New Technologies and Multimedia and Usability

In class activities
1)       ArtsConnectEd Usability Testing
2)       Student Presentations
3)       Lecture: Web 2.0 and beyond
4)       Discussion of Readings



Enrollment options allow you to choose to take courses either to enhance professional development or build academic credit. Individual course descriptions and registration forms are available by contacting us at crmp at uvcs.uvic.ca or by visiting our web site at:
http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/crmp/home.aspx

For more information, please contact:

Anissa Paulsen, Program Coordinator
Cultural Resource Management Program
Continuing Studies, University of Victoria
PO Box 3030 STN CSC Victoria BC Canada V8W 3N6
Tel: 250 721-6119 Fax: 250 721-8774
Email: apaulsen at uvcs.uvic.ca
Visit our Web site! http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/crmp
To receive monthly email updates, contact crmp at uvcs.uvic.ca




From crmp at uvcs.uvic.ca  Fri Aug 22 13:00:28 2008
From: crmp at uvcs.uvic.ca (Cultural Resource Management)
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:00:28 -0700
Subject: [MCN-L] learning opportunity to build your capacity to understand,
 manage and share museum information
Message-ID: <C06B0A0DC405F8449DB442F8041D66D3026A3461@EMC1.uvic.ca>

Participate through the University of Victoria's Cultural Resource Management Program in this combined online/on-campus learning opportunity for professionals and volunteers working in museums, galleries, heritage sites, and related organizations. The registration deadline continues to September 5, so register today!
Museum Information Management: Knowledge, Management and Transformation
HA 488N (1.5 units); blended online/on-campus offering
Today's museums and cultural institutions are strengthened by their creative use of the wealth of digital information/media they collect, manage, preserve and share. Explore the dimensions, strategic value, and potential uses of this diverse range of digital resources and learn how to strategically harness these resources to improve the effectiveness of your cultural institution and its internal and online information assets.
This engaging and interactive course provides you with the opportunity to examine your institution's information opportunities and develop a project plan to act on one or more of them.
Whether you are involved with education, collections, research, programming, marketing and audience development, or management within a museum or heritage setting, this course strengthens your ability to:

 *   Identify the myriad of information resources managed across your institution
 *   Recognize the growing strategic value of collection-related digital resources for your institution and to the communities it serves
 *   Define the uses of major software systems used to manage digital information resources (e.g. collection management, digital asset management, content management)
 *   Identify opportunities and strategies for collecting and integrating digital information resources to enhance your website, exhibits and collections
 *   Identify resources (human and other) required to support sustainable museum technology projects
 *   Develop a formal technology project proposal/plan that can be practically used either internally or for obtaining external funding

Dates: Online component: September 15 - October 3; On-campus component:  October 6 - 8, 2008.

Please register by: September 5 (late registrations accepted if space permits) To register in this course please visit https://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/forms/crm/online_reg.aspx.
Fee: CDN$641, including a CDN$70 materials fee (Canadian funds, credit and non-credit participation options) A CDN$170 registration deposit is required with each registration form.

Registration Options: Enrollment options allow you to choose to take courses to enhance professional development on a non-credit basis or build academic credit, either course by course or towards a program.


Instructors:
Scott Sayre, PhD and Kris Wetterlund, Principals, Sandbox Studios<http://www.sandboxstudios.org/index.shtml>/Museum411 Inc., work with museums to plan, create, manage and assess education programs and technology projects.

Scott Sayre has over a dozen years of experience guiding museums in the application of business and educational technologies. Currently a founder and principal at Sandbox Studios Inc., he previously served as the Art Museum Image Consortium's Director of Member Services and US Operations. From 1991 to 2002 he was the Director Media and Technology at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts where he formed and led the museum's Interactive Media Group in the development of ArtsConnectEd.org<http://www.artsconnected.org/>, the MIA's Web site <http://artsMIA.org<http://artsmia.org/>> and sixteen interactive multimedia gallery kiosks. Sayre held the position of Applications Developer at the University of Minnesota's Telecommunications Development Center. He has a Doctorate in Education from the University of Minnesota and a M,Ed, and B.A. in Visual Communications Technology from Bowling Green State University.

Kris Wetterlund worked with teachers as an art museum educator for the past ten years, in the education department at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and as Director of Education at the Minnesota Museum of American Art. Wetterlund received her degree in art education from the University of Minnesota and is certified as a K- 12 Minnesota teacher. She has served as team leader in the St. Paul Public School's writing of elementary art curriculum, and has authored art educational resources online, for both the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and the Minnesota Museum of American Art, including the award- winning Get the Picture: Thinking about Photographs. Currently Wetterlund is designing and implementing a Minnesota-wide two year teacher training program for ArtsConnectEd, an online partnership between The Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.

Draft course outline:

On-line: Weeks 1-3 (during this time, you'll be engaged in approximately 6 hours of learning and interactions per week at your own pace in the convenience of your home or workplace)

Week 1
The Changing Role of Museums and Information Technology

1)       Presentation
a)       Course Overview - objectives, outline, assignments
b)      Defining museum information.
c)       The importance of information management in the long-term success of an institution.
Expanding the definition, expanding the scope of museum information

Week 2
Looking at Systems

1)       Presentation
a.       Politics of museum information
b.      Major museum systems
2)       Interview with Steve Jacobsen - Constituency Management
3)       Interview with Dan Dennehy - Digitization and Digital Asset Management


Week 3
Metadata and Standards

1)       Presentation
a.       Content, Data and Metadata
2)       Interview with Angela Spanazee - Introduction to Standards
3)       Interview with Susan Chun - Steve Tagging project

On Campus: Week 4 (three days only)

Day 1
Project Planning and Information Policy

In class activities
1)       Lecture/Activity: Resource Assessment
2)       Lecture - Developing a project proposal
3)       Participant and Instructor project meetings and work time
4)       Participant proposal idea presentation/discussion
5)       Discussion of Readings
6)       Work time with instructor consulting


Day 2
Open Source, Interchange and Sustainability

In class activities
1)       Lecture: Data Interchange, Collaboration and Sharing
2)       Case Study: ArtsConnectEd
3)       Remote guest speaker Q&A - Guest speaker will be selected based on student interest.
4)       Work time with instructor check-in

Day 3
New Technologies and Multimedia and Usability

In class activities
1)       ArtsConnectEd Usability Testing
2)       Student Presentations
3)       Lecture: Web 2.0 and beyond
4)       Discussion of Readings

Enrollment options allow you to choose to take courses either to enhance professional development or build academic credit. Individual course descriptions and registration forms are available by contacting us at crmp at uvcs.uvic.ca or by visiting our web site at:
http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/crmp/home.aspx

For more information, please contact:

Anissa Paulsen, Program Coordinator
Cultural Resource Management Program
Continuing Studies, University of Victoria
PO Box 3030 STN CSC Victoria BC Canada V8W 3N6
Tel: 250 721-6119 Fax: 250 721-8774
Email: apaulsen at uvcs.uvic.ca<mailto:apaulsen at uvcs.uvic.ca>
Visit our Web site! http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/crmp
To receive monthly email updates, contact crmp at uvcs.uvic.ca<mailto:crmp at uvcs.uvic.ca>



Comments from past participants in the course:

"This course was very useful for focusing my attention in a systematic way in developing a project plan. I found the "lessons learned" presentations from the instructors' experience very useful."

"I liked the final project of a complete project proposal - it was very useful. The emphasis of focusing on the user and how information can be shared was great and I learned a lot about information formatting access and sharing."

The sections on standards and content management systems collaboration were very good and topical for me.  The "labs" and main project sections were very good, too. It has given me something useable to take back in the real museum world."

"It was helpful to me in find tuning my ability to sell a project. I especially thought it was beneficial to try to explain projects to people with little knowledge about what I was talking about."