Speaker Robin Dale - Digital Commonwealth 2010

Getting Started with the Digital Commonwealth, by Robin Dale

There are two types of use for the Digital Commonwealth:

• portal: only metadata. It does not have to include digital pictures.
• depository: stores a digital collection of images which is searchable.

The Digital Commonwealth Portal

• Dynamically created to display recent activity
• Includes links

How do you get info into the portal?

• Open Archives Initiative (OAI) protocol for metadata processing
• Indexed
• The portal is dynamically updated
• OAI works with a static repository document
  

The depository lives on server (not on your real estate)

• You can link from the Digital Commonwealth to your online digital collection until dynamic option is available
  

The Digital Commonwealth Repository

How the Repository is different from the Portal:

• There is a separate fee.
  
• It is a hosted service.
  
• The licensing is temporary until database is used locally
• The local institute still owns images
• The Digital Commonwealth will use the same branding that is on your library's site - institutions, collections, objects, logo
  

Objects in the Repository:

• The objects are dynamically updated.
• High resolution images come in a variety of sizes.
• You can include metadata in same screen as your image.
• You can link into your catalog
• The Digital Commonwealth will not change your image.

Getting Started:

1. The Initial Consultation

• One-to-One.
• You will be consulting with professionals such as speaker Robin L. Dale
• You will be discussing what is important about your collection what are you are known for.
  

2. You sign the Digital Commonwealth legal agreement


Considering your collections:

• should it be digitized?
• can it be digitized?
• may it be digitized?
• who can host it?
• what system will be used?
  

Metadata is necessary to find digital images
With metadata, the cost for the repository is mainly the human cost: labor.
Costs will include administrative costs: those with access to files.
The metadata has to cover all groups.

Metadata Standards:
The user can use XML. Components include: element sets, standards, protocols.
The Digital Commonwealth uses Dublin Core (DC).
DC 15 has common elements. The Digital Commonwealth also uses "OAI-PMH:" Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting
It is standard - so computers can talk to each other.

Using the repository: this is the easy part.

• Obtain the member toolkit.
• Send sample metadata.
  
• Upload the repository!