Newsletter

Rugby World Cup 2011 Kick-Off – Building team spirit!

For the kick-off of the Rugby World Cup 2011, the digitization unit decided to make a rugby field, along with the stadium, cars and people out of a cake. We asked The Pastry Princess to bake four square cakes, and we put all four next to each other to make one big square cake in order to use it as the stadium. We dyed coconut green for the grass, and used Oreo wafers and boudoirs and toothpicks to create the pavilion. Jelly babies were used as “people” and the cars and flowers was bought at Bakers Bin. The two teams which were projected on the field were South Africa and New Zealand. Danie gave us a one-on-one about the rules and engagement of rugby.

The photos displayed below are also available on the digitization office facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/UPLS-Digitisation-Office/145308528847872

Springday Celebrations!

After much planning and time put into the celebration of Springday, 2011, it was with great disappointment to us that the University of Pretoria had to cancel the day due to certain unforeseen circumstances.

BUT, even though we had a tad bit of disappointment, the cancellation did not stop the library from still making it a fun day!

A team of very eager and willing people was put together to make and bake pancakes and at the end of the day, it turned out to be a great success!

Digitisation process:

— Identification of project, selection criteria and copyright:

— Is it possible?

— Meeting with all stakeholders

— If possible, what is going to be scanned and digitised?

— What is the purpose of the project?

— How long is the project expected to take?

— Is there copyright on the project? If so, copyright clearance before scanning can commence.

— Basic preservation

— Removing all staples

— Restore all tears

— Remove “sellotape” where possible

— Loosening of spine where necessary and re-binding after scanning if necessary

— Administration, scanning and archival storing

— Determine file naming

— Determine metadata

— Create data basis

— Quality control

— Scanning according to international standards (600dpi colour)

— Scanning on archival server with a back-up system – server not situated in our office

— Derivating

— Copy project from archival server

— Work down to a cleansed compressed PNG format

— PNG files converted to a single PDF file

— OCR text in Adobe Acrobat

File sizes not more than 2MB for quick and easy web-downloading

— Physical and Digital Preservation and UPspace

— Storing the project in acid free folders and boxes

— Cool, dry place

— Final, digitised project sent to original owner of collection

— Digital files to metadata editors

— Digital files preserved on archival server

— Project made accessible on UPspace

I came across a very interesting blogpost this morning http://blogs.loc.gov/digitalpreservation/2011/09/toward-a-library-of-virtual-machines-insights-interview-with-vasanth-bala-and-mahadev-satyanarayanan/#comment-880 .

The post is all about creating a virtual environment for long-term preservation and continuous access.  If I understand this correctly the building of the Virtual Machine (VM) technology will be of great help especially where software and OS systems were created for specific data capture.

The blog is in the form of an interview with Vasanth Bala (IBM T.J. Watson Research Center) and Mahadev Satyanarayanan (School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University) who work on the Olive library, "a project which intends to create a library of virtual machines."

The very first question gives an explanation of what they want to accomplish with the Olive Library and its relation to digital preservation, and thereafter they explain the kinds of executable content with very clear-cut figures in the text.

An interesting read for those of us interested in Digital Stewardship.

Ria

Interview with Cindy-Lee Du Plessis

This is an interview between Phyllis Chueu and Cindy-Lee Du Plessis regarding her experience in the University of Pretoria Digitisation office.

Phyllis:Cindy, when did you start working in the Digitisation office?

Cindy: I started working in the digitisation office in May 2010

Phyllis: Where were you working before that?

Cindy: I worked in the Banking Industry for seven years.

Phyllis: How was the transition from what you were doing to the tasks of your job here?

Cindy: It was a big change from interacting with people and finance to just a computer screen and only interacting with colleagues.

Phyllis: What do you do on a typical day in the Digitisation office?

Cindy: I start scanning in the mornings, and while I am waiting for the scanner to scan, I normally work in Photoshop, pdf some documents and record information in my different Excel Spreadsheets about the documents that I am busy scanning. If the documents are in a different language as Dutch/German I also translate them.I double as Receptionist, answering the telephone and scheduling meetings for Mrs Groenewald. We often get guests and then we demonstrate to them what our job is about.

Phyllis: What challenges did you encounter regarding the tasks of your job?

Cindy: Learning how the different computer programs work as I have never been exposed to most of the programs in banking.

Phyllis: What skills have you acquired since?

Cindy: I have learned to work in Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat, Abbyy Fine Reader, and I have learned how to scan documents.I have also learned how to record Statistics and gathering information for Metadata use.

Phyllis: Have you found any interesting records?

Cindy: Absolutely! I’ve found Maps, Postcards and telegrams dating from the early 1900’s, with interesting facts and information on them.

Phyllis: Do you enjoy your work here?

Cindy: I enjoy it immensely. It is very interesting and every day I learn something new.

Phyllis: How long are you planning to stay in the Digitisation office?

Cindy: I would like to stay as long as I possibly can, and hope that one of these days I will be around permanently.

Phyllis: What has been your best moment so far?

Cindy: Seeing the finished product of the first book that I digitised! It took me almost two weeks to finish, but when I saw what I created, I was very proud.

Thank you!     

Right: Cindy-Lee Du Plessis

                                                                            

Witchcraft Law

While digitizing work from the Cape of Good Hope Statutes books from 1652-1886, we came across some interesting laws regarding witchcraft and how it was addressed during that era. Below are some of the laws on witchcraft matters:

Cape of Good Hope Statutes - Natives territories penal code. Vol II(1887)

Introducing the Three Musketeers

The Tablets are here!

The Digitisation office has some tablets in its possession and would like to announce that Library personnel can borrow them to see how they work and have fun on them. All you have to do is come to the office, sign it out and sign it back in upon return. We only have three so it’s first come first serve. We have the iPad2, Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" and BlackBerry Playbook.

From left to right: iPad2, BlackBerry Playbook and Samsung Galaxy Tab 

                

What is a tablet?

•          For a gadget to be classified as a tablet, it must make use of the screen as the primary input device
•      The OS must allow for touch operation
•       It needs to be able to utilise other media applications such as browsing, playing videos and music

(Tablet Buyer's Guide no.1,2011)

How can tablets improve your life?

•          Music

Tablets have large storage space and allow you to load much more music than an iPod

•          Videos

The screen size, usually 7-10” makes viewing videos more pleasurable

•          Gaming

Tablets are operated through the screen so this makes gaming brilliant. It allows you to directly interact with the game using your fingers

•          Internet

Tablets allow you to be constantly connected to the internet because they make use of Wi-Fi and 3G.

•         Photography

Most tablets have multiple cameras with large megapixels allowing you to chat via Skype with people and take photos.

(Tablet Buyer's Guide no.1,2011)

Tablet Operating System (OS) comparison:

ATTRIBUTE	Android 3.0 Honeycomb	iOS	webOS	Blackberry TabletOS
User interface	5 home screens, extensive customization with limitless active widgets, folders & apps, various skins & drop-down connectivity screen	Simple yet attractive design, apps displayed as icons but not active, fast transmission between apps & home screens, you can add folders	Based on cards- there are mini versions of apps or pages which you can navigate by flicks & swipes, easy & faster than Android but not as customizable	Open app displayed as a miniature page, navigate through apps by swiping & open by tapping, swipe apps off the screen to close them, re-order apps, open home screen with task menu by swiping from bottom of bezel, swiping down makes task bar appear
Multi-tasking	Allows you to operate & view open & recent apps	Apps in the background pause while another is active instead of continuing to run	Allows for multiple apps/ cards to run simultaneously	Much better multitasking than iOS, background apps remain active
Apps & development	Allows for any apps but this can result in malware attacks, more than 100000 apps in Android app market,  apps don’t have to be approved by Google, only by Android users	The most advanced app store, more than 300000 for iPhone & 65000 for iPad, has strict policy for developers, apps approved by Apple	In September 2010 only 4000 apps were available for the OS	Grants access to the BlackBerry App World

(Ultimate Guide to BlackBerry PlayBook, 2011)

10 things to look for when buying a Tablet

1.    What operating system does it run on?

2.    How big is the screen?

3.    What processor does it run?

4.    Do you need a 3G Tablet?

5.    Does it have cameras?

6.    How many applications are compatible with it?

7.    How much storage space does it have?

8.    Can it connect to your TV set?

9.    How thick is it and how much does it weigh?

10. Do you actually want a laptop?

(Tablet Buyer's Guide no.1,2011)

Kindle                                                vs.                               iPad2

Weighs 247g	Weighs 613g
One charge can last up to 4weeks	One charge can last up to 10hours
Designed to be the best eBook reader	Designed to be the best entertainment gadget
Lower screen resolution and size	Higher screen resolution and size

    

iPad2                                                 vs.                    BlackBerry Playbook

9.2” LED-backlit IPS TFT screen	7” TFT screen
Dual cameras, rear-facing is 0.7 megapixel	Dual cameras, rear-facing is 5 megapixel
iOS 4.3	BlackBerry Tablet OS based on recently acquired QNX software
A5 1Ghz dual-core chip	1Ghz Cortex A9 dual-core processor

Our verdict:

The staff in the Digitisation office has already had the opportunity to play with the Tablets and all have personal favourites for various reasons.

Maritz Visser and Lidia Swart

• "we are iPad2 people"
• it's easy to use compared to the BlackBerry Playbook
• aesthetically pleasing
• it has a great big screen
• the camera is not the best though

Ria Groenewald

• I think the Galaxy Tab is the best
• it runs on Android Honeycomb OS which is open source
• has ample applications
• easy to use
• it's better than the BlackBerry Playbook because it has more applications and does not require that you have a Samsung phone

Phyllis Chueu

• I think the BlackBerry Playbook is the best
• it's very portable
• aesthetically pleasing
• gives you the feel that your reading through an actual book when you use it as an eBook reader
• it has the best HD camera with high pixels
• once you understand how is works it's easy to use

Cindy du Plessis

• I've only tried the Galaxy tab but I prefer the Playbook
• it’s easy on the eyes 
• has a lot of applications

We encourage the use of Tablets. They can be used for recording purposes in conferences and meetings.They are not a replacement for laptops but they are great supporting gadgets. We are still in the early stages of testing the Tablets but watch this space.

Spring Day Pancakes

Tuks Spring Day with a touch of cinnamon

The Tuks Spring Day events were cancelled the day before the scheduled date and that left us with lots of props, snacks and no plan. A meeting was held to come up with a plan B because the stuff which had been purchased had to be used and either way the day was still declared a holiday for the students and half day for the staff. In the meeting it was decided upon that we should have spring day pancakes. An email was circulated inviting all Library personnel to the kitchen during tea time for a surprise. On the morning of 7 September 2011 we put final touches to the props, hung them in the kitchen, set up plates and cups and started making pancakes. There were lots of pancakes. The people came and we had a lovely spring day celebration with pancakes. Below are some of the photos from the day.

Digitisation Office

The digitization office had an exciting 2011 up to now.

First we started working on the Hans Merensky project.  This project contains the complete document collection of the late Dr. Merensky as well as some of his books that are in the public domain. Most of the letters are the second or third flimsy carbon copy of the letter which does have its own challenges regarding the digitization method and the physical handling and preservation of the paper.  Up to now we came across very interesting letters in the collection and our team regards Dr Merensky as one of the most remarkable and outstanding people living in South Africa.  Our library can be proud to be called the Merensky Library.  If you have a chance please have a look at the video clip that Magriet did for the University’s Centenary: The Merensky story available on UPSpace at http://hdl.handle.net/2263/7614

 

Left: Magriet and Heila

busy in the

Hans Merensky

Memorial Museum, Westfalia

Right: Dr Hans Merensky

Ria co-authored two chapters in a manual managed by the NRF and funded by the Carnegie Corporation “Managing Digital Collections: A Collaborative Initiative on the South African Framework” which can be obtained from the NRF.

Ria has also been chosen by the United States Department of State to take part in their International Visitor Leadership Program where she had the chance to visit many digitisation projects running in Washington DC, Maryland and Rhode Island.  She also attended the Computers in Libraries 2011 conference in Washington DC with the aim to learn more about eReaders and eTablets and developing apps (applications for the hardware).

In this photo: Ria with a sculpture by the actor Anthony Quinn  

The digi-team is also experimenting with eReaders and Tablets and would like your input.  You are invited to visit the digitisation office and have a firsthand experience of the Kindle, Samsung Galaxy, iPad and Blackberry Playbook tablets.  We will also blog about our own experience with the eReaders and tablets soon (http://uplsdigitisation.blogspot.com/ ) 

The digitisation office finished a very difficult project for Sabinet “South African Journal of Geology” under the leadership of Lidia Swart.  In the project we had to scan oversized, brittle maps and journals.  The project was finished earlier this year and is regarded as one of our major success stories. 

Lidia Swart is permanently employed at the UPLS from 1 May 2011; we want to welcome Lidia as we know that she will be one of our outstanding personnel members during her career as an “Accidental Librarian”. We also welcomed Maritz Visser and Phyllis Chueu to our team and unfortunately had to say farewell to Janine.

The Digi-team: Cindy-Lee du Plessis, Janine Loubser, Maritz Visser,Phyllis Chueu, Elliot Matukane
Right: Ria Groenewald and Lidia Swart

The first half of this year also had its own challenges with this office having to deal with the older (not in digital format) Dissertation and Theses that needed to be converted from analogue to digital format for submission to the UPeTD platform.  The team did an excellent job under much pressure.

Our office has been given a new facelift  by painting it with warm colours that also does not reflect light unto the scanners. Thanks to Salomie for arranging this.

The digi-team was responsible for keeping the dry-walls alive during the renovations of the library and did an excellent job with the directions and our own facebook “Wall of Thoughts”.

We also finished our first book from negative plates with a very satisfied client (Prof W Meyer) who will reprint the Strauss book for the use by his students.  We are still busy with the physical preservation project of the negative plates. Herewith a part of Prof Meyer’s email to the office:

“Baie, baie dankie vir die moeite en die goeie nuus. Ek het 'n maand gelede by die outeur gaan kuier en hy was baie dankbaar dat sy boekie vir die nageslag behoue sal bly. Tiene van duisende studente het die boekie gebruik, en ek hoop dat hy selfs in die toekoms nuttig sal wees.”

We unfortunately had to stop the Onderstepoort Journal project for the first half of the year because of a lack of funding for temporary help therewith.  Hopefully this valuable project will again take momentum during the second half of this year. 

The Digi-office was visited by many groups and individuals amongst which were visitors from various UP Faculties and Departments, WITS University, The Africa Institute, Department of Arts and Culture, Gibbs Library Personnel, M.IT Group, University of Botswana and University of Uganda.  We give training to the University of Ghana.  Please have a look at our Facebook  page http://www.facebook.com/pages/UPLS-Digitisation-Office/145308528847872  for a constant photo update of our latest projects.

Also of interest is Lidia’s insert in this Newsletter on the making of our own surrogate copy of the beautiful book on Dr. Livingstone’s life and explorations.

The Digi-team