RESEARCH MATERIALS DIGITISATION
SURVEY 2011
Prepared for the CAUL Meeting 29-30 March 2012
Responses collated by CAUL Office
Report drafted by: Donna McRostie, Director, Information Management
Edited by Philip Kent, University Librarian including input from CAUL Executive Committee
The University of Melbourne
Version: 5 March 2012
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction
CAUL has advocated the recognition of digitisation as a core component of the national research
infrastructure for some time. While digitisation projects have been funded through various sources,
they have not been guided by a nationally cohesive vision.
In recent years the Commonwealth’s innovation agenda has provided investment in new areas of
research infrastructure and support. The ANDS initiative and the focus on research data
management have heightened awareness of infrastructure other than large scientific and medical
equipment. New roles and opportunities have emerged for librarians to add value to research
processes in our universities.
In responding to the 2011 Strategic Roadmap for Australian Research Infrastructure Exposure Draft,
CAUL advocated: a national conversation about the model or models and the framework that should
be adopted to meet the Government’s aims for a digitisation capability and richer national digital
collections. That conversation is expected to occur over the next year or so. Readiness to engage in
this conversation is an imperative and to that end in late 2011 CAUL distributed a survey seeking
information about current digitisation activity and capability within universities and especially within
libraries.
The focus of the questionnaire was on the digitisation of information resources used to undertake or
contribute to original research. Excluded at this stage were: information on the digitisation of
theses, journal articles, publications for ERA, electronic reserve or for preservation.
In addition to digitisation activity and capability within the library, the survey sought to understand
the extent of activity/capability across universities, insofar as libraries were aware of it. In general,
the focus is on activity that is undertaken and/or managed centrally either at a whole-of-institution
level or by a major organisational unit such as a faculty.
The survey received 25 responses by the close of submission in December 2011. Responses were
received from:
Australia National University
Bond University
Central Queensland University
Charles Darwin University
Curtin University
Edith Cowan University
La Trobe University
Monash University
Murdoch University
Queensland University of Technology
Swinburne University of Technology
University of Adelaide
University of Melbourne
University of Newcastle
University of New England
University of Queensland
University of the Sunshine Coast*
University of Sydney
University of Western Australia
University Western Sydney
University of Wollongong
Victoria University
University of Ballarat
University of Canberra
University of Tasmania
This report provides useful analysis of the survey results and highlights some areas of strength.
Some high level observations include:
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The survey provides a snapshot of some interesting experiences across a wide range of
CAUL members.
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For example, UNE was an early adopter of digitisation from 2004 and exhibits the
possibilities of untapped resources across the sector, contributing high value regional
content.
Distributed models of digitisation prevail – low/medium end equipment predominates and
digitisation work is often one of several roles.
Digitisation is often a collaborative activity within the institution.
There is a focus on digitisation for access rather than preservation.
Cost is the biggest barrier to developing or increasing capability/activities.
Copyright concerns are another significant barrier.
There is an eagerness to develop frameworks (policy, procedure and guidelines).
There is a concentration on hard copy digitisation with limited capability in multi-media
digitations, although outsourcing is often the solution.
The survey provides a good basis for further investigations and work. Additional details may be
pursued to clarify responses, obtain examples that demonstrate depth and breadth of research
resources suitable for digitisation and to build the case. At this time the CAUL Executive
recommends that we work with the survey results to develop a report for future advocacy with
funding sources (e.g. Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education)
or potential collaborators ( e.g. National and State Libraries Australasia – NSLA, Academy of
Humanities). An important input to further advocacy will be the development of a CAUL Digitisation
Strategy that would identify priorities and resource requirements for a national approach. It is
anticipated that this work will also coincide with the development of Australia’s new Cultural Policy
following on from the public consultations in late 2011.
National Activities
22 of the respondents digitise or plan to digitise research material with only Ballarat, Canberra and
Tasmania reporting no current plan to do so. Of note is the Archives and Heritage Centre which is
part of the University of New England’s Library. They were an early adopter and have engaged in
digitisation of research material (e.g. weather records 1878-1908) since 2004.
With diverse collections across the sector, a prominent commonality was a focus on rare and special
collections and out of copyright material. Governance and local institutional material/publications
also featured as a core component of the digitisation effort. The breadth of activity ranged from
collections of Australian literary, historical and natural science primary source material to the
Cultural Revolution in China, personal papers from prominent political figures, indigenous language
materials and plant specimens.
The type of material ranged from photographic material (slides, photos, negatives), loose papers,
bound material (books, journals, diaries, reports, etc) and large format sheets (maps, plans, etc) as
well as objects (plant specimens, artworks). The survey indicated only a small investment to date in
video and audio visual digitisation across the sector.
Policy and Procedures
A third of respondents have a written plan or policy for digitisation. A large number of respondents
are in a transitional state moving from established practice to formalising principles, policy or
guidelines. These range from those that articulate selection and /or prioritisation principles to those
with more comprehensive policies for dealing with technical work, standards and workflows. The
following institutions make their policy documentation available online: LaTrobe, Melbourne, QUT,
UNE and VU.
Scope of Library Operations
13 of the respondents indicated that they did not undertake digitisation work for others (internally
or externally) and 9 indicated that they provided such a service. Those offering this service
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undertook work primarily for internal areas and academics/researchers. Those that did work for
external organisations focused on serving the needs of like institutions, community groups or
donors. Specifically Sydney responded that it limited work to external bodies “as long as they align
with our interests supporting scholarly study and research”. Melbourne met the needs of external
and internal clients by providing self-service facilities which limited the impost on internal resources.
Capability, Resources and Equipment
Charles Sturt, Sunshine Coast and Western Sydney indicated that all digitisation is completed by the
Library. All respondents indicated that they may use a mix of internal resources and external
providers in certain circumstances. This is primarily when projects have particular technical
requirements, time-lines, or are too large for the Library to undertake efficiently. Charles Sturt has
also trialled OCR digitisation with an overseas supplier which was not successful. La Trobe,
Melbourne, Monash, Swinburne, UWA, VU and Wollongong have used CAVAL’s digitisation services.
A majority of the respondents indicated that they did not have dedicated staff for digitisation. The
skills and expertise were generally spread across the library and digitisation activities were
incorporated into a broader role. Only Melbourne, Queensland and Sydney indicated they had
dedicated staff for digitisation activities. However Queensland will reduce its staffing in 2012 due to
budget constraints. Respondents indicated that staff undertook the end to end processes ranging
from project management, digitisation and metadata creation to repository deposit. Those that are
undertaking digitisation work have primarily acquired skills from ‘on the job’ experience and vendor
training. Risks identified were the need for more skilled people and the use of contract staff,
volunteers and students often means that valuable experience and knowledge is lost.
A range of equipment is used, including photocopiers, multifunction devices and desktop scanners.
This equipment limits the type of digitisation undertaken to access rather than preservation projects,
and may not be suitable for large, complex projects. A number of institutions, including Adelaide , La
Trobe, Melbourne, Monash, Queensland, QUT and Sydney have invested in or been provided
funding via a grant for specialist equipment. Examples include Bookeye, Kirtas and Zeutschel
scanners. Predominantly the equipment is for digitising hard copy material, i.e. bound material,
loose documents and large format material, as well as scanning slides and negatives. Very limited
resources exist for digitising multi-media and the survey seems to indicate most of this work is
outsourced. Libraries tend to invest in building capability for hard copy and object based digitisation.
Funding sources
18 respondents indicated that the digitisation equipment is funded and updated from the Library
budget and 7 indicated that the University provided this funding. Some of the initial equipment
purchases have come from one off grants ie ASHER, ARC-LIEF but generally the commitment to
maintain and upgrade is undertaken by the Library or University.
Partnerships and Collaborations
An overwhelming proportion of respondents indicated that the digitisation programme was a
collaborative activity (19 of the respondents). Only 4 respondents indicated that this was not the
case. Primarily this collaboration occurs within the home institution with researchers/academics or
departments around the selection of material for digitisation. Although the nature of the
collaboration with external partners was not always explicit in the responses, it is deduced that this
involved seeking funding for digitisation projects. One respondent had a formal partnership with a
state government department that includes training and support.
Broader Institutional Digitisation Activities
16 of the respondents did not have any knowledge of a centralised digitisation capability outside the
Library. CQU, Murdoch and QUT responded that such a facility was located in the “print unit” or
under consideration for development with printing services. Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney and
UNE indicated that small pockets of expertise and infrastructure are spread across the University in
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departments like Geography, Architecture, Archives and Records offices. UNE has a central facility
that undertakes AV digitisation.
Newcastle responded “The Library has developed the expertise to undertake complex digitisation
projects so we do not think the central facility (not totally sure what this means) is a suitable
alternative. It would not be possible for them to do this work for Cultural Collections. With regards to
archival collections digitisation depends upon the nature, format and condition of the original
material. It is a specialist enterprise”.
Regarding the identification of research material for potential future digitisation, 21 respondents
indicated that they are only limited by monetary resources and available capability. Demand
exceeds capacity for both current and retrospective materials. CSU, Edith Cowen , Sunshine Coast
and Tasmania had limited forward plans or were still considering the possibilities.
When asked to determine priorities for a national research project, respondents indicated material
unique to their institutions and institutional research agendas would be a priority. In addition
primary source Australian and indigenous material, newspapers, statistical, government publications
and literature were identified. It was also highlighted that such decisions need to be made in
partnership with the research community.
In general most respondents agreed that potential barriers related to funding (equipment and staff)
and copyright issues (in terms of identifying owners and then gaining permissions). The time taken
from identification to exposure is often long and at times delayed due to complications with
copyright or other issues. Sydney noted “Vision, funding and agreed strategies (content and
partnerships) for large scale projects to create adequate critical mass of content to ensure wide
benefit for research. Current approach through universities is piece-meal often driven by individual
projects rather a coherent approach which will provide national benefit. Collaboration with the NLA
and State Libraries is important”
When asked if your institution would participate in a national digitisation programme if Government
funding was dependent on co-contributions, 8 respondents said yes unconditionally. The remaining
respondents said this was possible under certain conditions which related to relevance, type of
program and nature of agreement.
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SUMMARY OF RESPONSES TO SURVEY
1. Does your library digitise, or plan to digitise, research material?
22 of the 25 respondents digitise or plan to digitise research material with only 3 with no current
plan to do so.
Planned or in the Process
No Plans
Australia National University
Bond University
Central Queensland University
Charles Darwin University
Curtin University
Edith Cowan University
La Trobe University
Monash University
Murdoch University
Queensland University of Technology
Swinburne University of Technology
University of Adelaide
University of Melbourne
University of Newcastle
University of New England
University of Queensland
University of the Sunshine Coast*
University of Sydney
University of Western Australia
University Western Sydney
University of Wollongong
Victoria University
University of Ballarat **
University of Canberra
University of Tasmania***
* has previously undertaken digitisation of one research collection but no further plans at this stage
** response was “No – not in a systematic way”
*** Library does not digitise in most cases material is digitised by school/centres and delivered to UTAS research repository
Those institutions in process or planned by State:
Wes tern Aus tral i a
Queens l and
Northern Terri tory
Tas mani a
South Aus tral i a
Vi ctori a
NSW
ACT
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
2. Do you have a written digitisation plan, policy or guidelines for determining the identification
of research material for digitisation? Please include the URL, or attach a copy of the document if
not available online.
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Available online
Queensland University of Technology
http://www.library.qut.edu.au/about/planning/documents/POL_CDM_3.4.1.QUT_Digital_Repository_FIN.pdf
http://www.library.qut.edu.au/about/planning/documents/POL_CDM_3.4.1.QUT_Digital_Repository_FIN.pdf
University of New England: http://www.une.edu.au/policies/pdf/epublications.pdf.
Monash University: http://www.monash.edu.au/staff/information-management/strategy/
Victoria University: http://wcf.vu.edu.au/GovernancePolicy/PDF/POI041116000.PDF
University of Melbourne:
http://digitisation.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/331369/library_digitisation_policy.pdf
La Trobe provided a copy of their updated principles for digitisation of research materials after the
responses were collated.
3. What has been digitised by the library?
For details see Appendix A
4. Is the library digitisation programme a collaborative activity?
*Two of these state “no formal” “no programme as such”
If so, with whom do you normally collaborate?
* OzCase (South East Queensland Cross Sectoral Law Library Initiative)
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5. Does the library undertake the digitisation or contract with other organisations/companies?
Please include the name of the company/ies
EXTERNAL
ASIC (Australian Securities and Assets
Commission?)
1
INTERNAL
‘in-house, expertise and shared knowledge of
staff of the University Library’
1
CAVAL
7
ANU Photography
1
‘sent out to agencies’ ‘commercial provider’
2
Australian Dictionary of Biography
1
Converga
1
University Digitising facility
2
DATACOMit
2
‘under supervision of academic’
1
Document Imaging Services P/L
1
DAMsmart
2
LaserWords
1
OCRing (trialled but not successful, currently
investigating)
1
PARADISEC
1
WH Pascoe
1
Why Documentaries
1
6. Does the library digitise material for other parties within your own institution or for external
organisations?
N/A
YES
NO
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
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7. What staffing and expertise is available to the library for the digitisation of research material?
What specific skills gaps do you have? Is the expertise acquired through on the job experiences
with equipment, through formal in house staff development of established staff or targeted
recruitment?
A majority of the respondents indicated that they did not have dedicated staff for digitisation. The
skills and expertise were generally spread across the library and digitisation activities were
incorporated into a broader role. Only two respondents indicated dedicated staff for digitisation
activities. A number of respondents have staff that undertook the end to end process from project
management, digitisation, metadata creation to repository deposit. Those that are undertaking
digitisation work have primarily acquired skills from on the job experience and vendor training. Risks
identified were the need for more skilled people and the use of contract staff, volunteers and
students often mean that valuable experience and knowledge is lost.
8. What equipment does the library currently have at its disposal for research digitisation?
Multifunction Devices – Fujui Xeros APEOSPORT (IVC4470, c$300, IVC3370), Lexmark
print/copy/scan machines, Ricoh Photocopiers
Scanners – Digital Microform Scanner (ScanPro)ther; Atiz cradle scanners; ATIZ Scanner;
Minolta overhead scanner; Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL; Bookeye 3 A1 overhead scanner;
Bookeye scanner; Avision; A3 Bookedge Scanner X 3; Microbox Book2net; Minolta PS 7000 X
2; Cannon Scan 8800; Zeutschel OS 5000; Zeutschel OS 12000 overhead colour scanner; Slide
scanner ; Avision FB6280E bookedge scanner (A3, flatbed); Microbox Book2net scanner;
Microbox Book2net scanner; Avision FB6280E bookedge scanner (A3, flatbed); Zeutschel OS
14000 A1 scanner, Zeutschel OS12000v Book scanner, ATIZ A2 book-cradle scanner; Kodak
i620 high volume scanner with Ascent Capture software; Kodak i280 high volume scanner; Slide
Scanning; A3 flatbed reflective/transmissive scanner - Epson 10000 XL; A3 Document Scanner
Fujitsu fi-6670 (to enable researchers, teachers, or departmental staff members to walk-up and
scan unbound documents under minimal supervision); Microfilm Scanning Scanpro 2000
microfilm scanner – 35mm; three full plate A4 Epson scanners used by digitisation project staff;
one A3 book scanner; one plan scanner; Avision A3 Scanner Model 8000S; CanoScan scanner
A4 9950F ; Microfilm Scanner Canon 300 II; Kirtas 2400 scanner
Slide scanners; Flat bed scanners; Bookeye3 (ImageWare); ATIZ BookDrivePro; RICOH and
FujiXerox high speed feed scanners; Minolta PS7000 (investigation of upgrade underway)
Whitlam Scanner; Avision AV3200SU; • Atiz BookDrive Pro cradle scanner; Canon DR-7080C
scanner (shared with Library); Plustek Optik Film 7400 35mm neg/slide scanner; Network HP
digital sender 9250c; Fujitsu fi-6800 mid-volume scanner
Digital Cameras- Canon EOS 450D digital SLR Camera; Canon Powershot S2IS on Firenze stand
using Zoombrowser EX 5.2 software; Canon G11 for site visits
VHS to DVD Conversion software and equipment
Transparency adaptor (for slides and negatives)
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16
6
1
1
9. How is the equipment funded and updated?
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*ASHER (Australia Scheme for Higher Education Repositories) – 2 Updating equipment depends on the ASHER
funding of each year.’)
ARC-LIEF (Linkage Infrastructure Equipment and Facilities (LIEF) – 2 replacement equipment was funded by
UNE central budget’)
UDL – (Universal Digital Library: Million Books Project) – 1 (‘Zeutschel OS 5000 machine was provided by the
Universal Digital Library Million Books project.’)
ERA – Excellence for Research in Australia – 1 (‘The equipment was funded by one off external funding
related to ERA activities.’)
Donation – 1, ‘Grant’ – 1
10. Are there major centrally managed digitisation facilities, either at whole-of-institution or
faculty/school level, within your university that are not associated with the library?
11. What is the general nature of digitisation undertaken by these facilities?
Educational/teaching – 2
Research - 2
One off basis – hard copy archives – 1,
other ‘important documentation’ – 1
Specific project Final reports and other hard copy records for public access – 1
Marketing - 1
Admin support – digitisation of University handbooks - 1
Publicise and record history of the University – 1
Format shifting – egg VHS to DVD – 1
12. If the central facility undertakes the digitisation of research material, please describe briefly
the type, quantity, date ranges, funding sources of each major digitisation project/activity. Please
also highlight non-paper based activities, needs and relative volumes (e.g. video, audio, objects).
Murdoch University
Murdoch Print provides printed material on CD when requested, however 90% of its output is hard
copy, or about 20 million impressions per annum, much of which is digitally stored.
Queensland University of Technology
The Library undertook the following digitisation work:
The Sugar Industry Collection is a digitised collection of 58 books, journals and conference
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proceedings held in the QUT Library. It is a subset of the Sugar Research Institute Library collection
previously located in Mackay, Queensland. The Institute and its Library joined QUT in 2007. The
fulltext works are available in PDF. Funding was provided by QUT. A scanner was provided by the
Universal Digital Library Million Books initiative.
OzCase is a collection of digitised historical Queensland legislation available in PDF. Funding was
provided by QUT, Crown Law, and Griffith University. Works available include: Applicable
commencement legislation 1793 - 1867 (for Queensland); Applicable lands legislation 1833 - 1910
(for Queensland); Chief Law Officers (Queensland); Criminal Code 1899 Queensland : preparatory
and extrinsic materials; Letters Patent establishing the boundaries of Queensland
(includes Proclamations, Legislative Assembly resolutions, maps etc); Public Acts of Queensland
1828-1936; and Local Personal & Private Acts of Queensland 1828-1936. QUT undertook much of
the digitisation work, but not all of it, and developed and hosts the OzCase web site.
The AUSTLIT Children’s Literature Digital Resources collection project involved the identification and
digitisation of over 500 children’s books. QUT managed all work except for the digitisation work
which was outsourced to a digitisation services provider. The project was funded by a LEIF grant
under the AUSTLIT project.
University of Ballarat
The records being digitised are hard copy archive files kept in a storage facility in Canberra. Project
officers work through each file, marking documents for digitisation. The digitisers take those
marked records, scan them into an appropriate format, send the scanned documents to CeCC, and
CeCC manipulates the scanned documents into the database and ensures they are able to be viewed
appropriately through the GRDC website. The current project is of two years duration, will involve
some 20,000 documents, and is funded by GRDC. Two CeCC project officers will work full-time for
the two years on this project.
University of New England
The Heritage Centre now holds much of the AV material from the archives in digital format prepared
from the Teaching and Learning Centre. There are 654 listed items in the AV Catalogue many of
these items duplicate earlier recordings in newer formats. These formats include 16mm film, Beta
Cam, VHS, DVD and audio on reel to reel tapes, cassette tape, CD and DVD. The date range runs from
1955 to 2006
Audiovisual 199 files comprising 24 GB
digital preservation copies
Oral History 120 files comprising 8.34 GB digital preservation copies
13. Is there scope for the central facility to undertake research material digitisation either for the
institution and/or on behalf of others?
How would this differ from the library-provided service? Who would most likely be responsible for
it?
Responses are qualified. Murdoch and QUT refer to central University digitisation services which
they see as able to undertake research digitisation however QUT Library states it also tends to
undertake its own digitisation work but without saying why they choose to do so.
Two universities that are counted as having said no to the first part of the question contributed
further information.
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The University of Ballarat refers to a scanning facility based in Canberra but suggests a ‘local
company’ may be more effective but no further detail as to who or why.
University of Newcastle believes the expertise developed by the Library makes it a better option for
undertaking complex digitisation projects
14. Do you have a desideratum of research materials for digitisation in the future by either the
library or by your institution?
Central Queensland University, Australia National University, University of Newcastle, University
of Sydney - Yes
Bond University
There is a valuable assortment of material in the Bond Archive Collection and the Library would like
to collect more from the Faculties, but as yet no particular collections have been selected for
digitisation.
Curtin University
A number of possible collections are under consideration for digitisation by the Library. The Library’s
staffing and monetary resources limit what can be taken on each year and there are many more
collections offered than accepted.
The Architecture Resource Centre has a collection of maps and plans which it has identified for
scanning as resources allow.
La Trobe University
There is a list of published material in the Library collection identified as priorities. Otherwise
digitisation is in response to the needs of research projects.
Monash University
Yes. Through faculty teams, repository development and research data management initiatives, we
have identified collections for digitisation from resources held by the Library or owned by
researchers at Monash. Discussions with researchers frequently identify candidate materials for
digitisation. Demand exceeds capacity for both current and retrospective materials.
Murdoch University
Murdoch Library holds a considerable collection of Australian science fiction ‘fanzines’ and the
digitisation of this material is the subject of a Lotteries West Grant submission.
Queensland University of Technology
The OzCase project intends to undertake further digitisation of historical Queensland legislation
when funding or staffing resources become available. QUT Library may attempt to undertake this
work operationally in 2012.
Another AUSTLIT project which QUT is involved in – Asian-Australian Children’s Literature and
Publishing project – intends to undertake some digitations work in 2012 and QUT Library intends to
undertake this work.
QUT holds numerous historical items about its preceding institutions and campus locations and is
considering digitising these to form a historical collection.
Digitisation work has involved identification of materials, sourcing of materials. copyright
management, scanning, conversion to PDF, creation of metadata, and deposit and management via
a repository.
University of Adelaide
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Nearly all digitisation is in response to research requests. However we hope next year to establish
Daisy Bates and Maude Digital Archives to make unique ms materials relating to Aboriginal and
Central Pacific language and culture available to remote communities and return traditional
knowledge to the original communities.
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University of Ballarat
The University has been awarded funding under the Broadband-Enabled Innovation Project to
undertake the “Adapting new technologies to sustainably manage a precious resource: Visualising
Victoria’s Groundwater” project, which will involve, amongst other activities, digitising boring
records currently stored in the University’s Geology department and including these records into an
overall database, making the information discoverable to interoperable web mapping systems and
developing 3D geological and hydrogeological models to function as web-based tools.
The UB Art & Historical Collection houses materials that are used for research purposes, including
information relating to Ballarat’s historical aspects in mining and education. There is scope for
further digitisation of this and other collections of research materials into the future.
University of Canberra Library
Propose to support the Lu Rees Archives (owned by Childrens Book Council ACT and housed by
University of Canberra Library) initiative to digitise original artworks for Australian childrens
literature illustrations.
University of Melbourne
The rich collections of the University (Library) highlight endless possibilities but capability is limited.
At the being of each year the Library collates requests from academics, collection managers and
discipline librarians (from their interactions with the academic community) to develop a prioritised
list of Library collections to be digitised in the coming year. This will often be interrupted if
collections are drawn to our attention that would be of high value or public interest to make
accessible
University of New England
The University of New England has pioneered and maintained the collection of regional archival
material for over 50 years. Many of these records date back to the first European settlers moving
into the region and some station records provide contextual and economic history not available
through colonial government documentation in these areas.
University of Queensland
Yes – there are multiple collections available for digitisation – especially in the Fryer Library
University of Western Australia
Yes – we are developing a prioritised list of rare and valuable materials in our Special Collections for
digitisation. These include: manuscript collections, the backset of the University’s Guild student
magazine, photograph and slide collections, and significant audiovisual recordings.
University of Western Sydney
The digitisation of materials for inclusion in the Whitlam Prime Ministerial Collection is ongoing and
will continue to be a priority for the University Library.
University Librarian and Director, NAA are currently discussing a digital project to make available
materials relevant to the Whitlam government. The original documents are held by the National
Archives.
The University is currently investigating the creation of a digital repository for all peer reviewed
(minimum requirement) publications by UWS staff which may not necessarily qualify for HERDC
reporting. The University Librarian is central to these discussions as it will become a Library
responsibility if/when it becomes a reality.
University of Wollongong
Archive collections have been prioritised according to a number of criteria to assist in selecting
material for digitisation.
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Victoria University
We have a number of special collections that we wish to digitise to assist and support a major
University research interest.
Swinburne University of Technology
Not especially, although individual research centres and academic staff are likely to have an idea of
content which they would like digitised. We are only interested in digitising materials where there is
sufficient value in doing so, including user demand and/or access requirements.
Charles Darwin University
Not yet – the LAAL project and the NT Historical Photographs Collection are the only two digitisation
projects on the horizon
University of the Sunshine Coast - Not currently, Edith Cowan University - No. We have not got
this far in our planning. University of Tasmania - No
15 What materials would you prioritise for a national research digitisation project?
Australia National University
We would prioritise unique material particularly from the Rare Book Library and the ANU Archives
which is not lent to other libraries.
Bond University
Those materials unique to Bond University, and ideally Research Centre collections held in the
Faculties.
Central Queensland University
Nil
Charles Darwin University
Out of copyright material relating to the NT
Significant indigenous material, eg Land Claims, Stolen Generation material etc.
Curtin University
This is difficult to answer without knowing what the priorities of such a project would be and what
the priorities of the University would be in this regard. There are likely to be many worthy research
collections which are not currently in digital format within the humanities faculty in particular.
Edith Cowan University
We have not got this far in our planning
La Trobe University
Eg Australian Government publications – National, states and local, early Australiana, archives,
maps, letters, diaries, company and business records
Monash University
Our first priority would be Monash research outputs deemed to be of national interest or
significance that are not accessible elsewhere. Resources would be prioritised by the demand for
access to them, the vulnerability of the original materials (formats, preservation etc.). Other criteria
might include the scope, benefits and opportunities offered by digitisation projects, the availability
of suitable conversion technologies, size, complexity. Materials digitised to date include historical
photographic collections, slides, movies and sound recordings, Monash University PhD theses,
working papers etc.
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Murdoch University
Its difficult to identify a priority for such a national project because research interests can be so
specialised. However, from the perspective of the Murdoch humanities and social sciences
community the following would be of great interest:
- extension of Australian newspapers digitised and available on Trove;
- similarly for Australian Women’s Weekly;
- digitisation of the Australian Women’s Day;
Queensland University of Technology
QUT has few significant historical print collections suitable for digitisation to support learning and
research.
Swinburne University of Technology
Our archival images are already contributed to Picture Australia, a national image gallery.
Swinburne has been involved in exploring funding for the digitisation of Il Globo, Australia’s largestcirculation non-English language newspaper. However, the cost quoted for this is beyond the
resources of Swinburne or other players, such as the newspaper itself. There is microfilm for 35
years of the newspaper’s 51-year run (1960-2010).
Swinburne social researchers have previously expressed interest in having access to digitised copies
of Australian public affairs, news, cultural and other journal literature.
University of Adelaide
This would depend on the parameters of the national project – whether focus is on Australian
materials or specific subject areas. The above Bates and Maude collections would be our highest
priorities.
University of Ballarat
Consultation with the UB research centres would further inform of possibilities for digitisation of
research materials.
University of Canberra Library
Primary materials from the Lu Rees Archive of Australian Childrens Literature.
University of Melbourne
This would need to be informed by further consultation with the research community but we
envisage it would be focused on unique University materials and the needs of the social sciences and
humanities sector in the first instance.
University of Newcastle
• From our collections - Glass plate negatives, Collections of negatives that are deteriorating,
Pender Architectural Plans
• From other collections –The Newcastle Morning Herald and its predecessors, as well as other
regional newspapers. These are invaluable resources. Selected rare, out-of-copyright books of
national significance that have not already been digitised.
University of New England
I would seek to complete digitisation of early station records where the Ration books, ledgers and
station diaries document local aboriginal families. Many early landholder records provide the only
documentation of local aboriginal families available to their descendants. These families were not
being captured by contemporary government records like Births, Deaths and Marriage registration.
University of the Sunshine Coast
Probably materials of local/regional significance
16
University of Sydney
Primary source Australian material, including historical, early scientific, literature, biography etc
University of Tasmania
The Library is not involved in the digitisation of research materials. However, of highest priority
would be material requiring digitisation for HERDC and ERA purposes. In particular HERDC poses
some copyright and storage issues in relation to digitisation which would benefit from further
investigation.
University of Western Australia
Unique material of state and national historical and research interest.
Material which is out of copyright or where UWA holds reproduction rights.
UWA-specific historical material.
University of Western Sydney
Regional, area specific material re. Western Sydney are envisaged to be a priority in the future.
University of Wollongong
Local newspapers, e.g. Illawarra Mercury
Victoria University
This would be dependant on further consultation with the research community within the
University, we envisage it would be mainly the needs of the Faculty of Arts & Human development.
16. What barriers are there to the digitisation of this material? Please include some specific
examples.
Cost - 9
Copyright/Permission - 7 , Orphan works - 1, Ownership - 2
Staff - 5, Expertise - 1
Technological support - 4, Equipment - 2
Time - 4
Need for centralised body - 3
Digital storage space - 3
Ethics - 2
Fragility of original item - 1, Obsolete formats - 1, Incomplete materials - 1, Locating material - 1
Already digitised but unavailable/inaccessible to Australia - 1
17. Would your institution participate in a national digitisation programme if Government funding
was dependent on co-contributions?
* Conditional responses referred to cost – 4, Local relevance – 2, ‘in principle’ – 1, type of program – 2, nature
of agreement – 2, readiness - 2
17
18. How would you envisage the corpus created by a national digitisation programme being
maintained and accessed once project funding is exhausted?
Australia National University
Assume that each institution would maintain in their own digital repository and that a national body
would provide a portal.
Central Queensland University
With great difficulty. The goodwill of libraries and their host institutions is being stretched to the
limit and being moved more and more to an ROI model. The aim of IRs to be open access for
research publications has been hijacked by ERA.
Charles Darwin University
Responsibility of a single institution which is decided at planning stage;
Establishing a means of regular communication with other institutions with related collections.
Curtin University
There would need to be a collaborative agreement between the parties involved in the program to
ensure the program was maintained. It may be maintained by a national institution such as the
National Library or by a body such as CAUL.
La Trobe University
Material in repositories can be made available through harvested metadata to national and
international aggregators, including those for research (eg Data Commons) as well as Library (eg
Trove). Coordination of effort is required for published materials. Individual research projects can
apply for the costs of digitisation efforts as part of the submission.
Monash University
Fundamentally Monash materials should be stored in a permanent repository supporting federated
search functionality. Our preferred option would be to use the Monash repository or other
discipline related repository for research materials. Monash has an established repository which is
not dependent on short term project funding.
Murdoch University
Ideally the results would be openly accessible via a Creative Commons license and fully searchable
via discovery layers, Google, Google Scholar and Trove.
Queensland University of Technology
QUT would envisage digitised collections being available using a distributed model with each
institution hosting their content on the open access institutional digital repository. Collections would
be indexed and searchable via the National Library of Australian’s TROVE service and Google etc.
Swinburne University of Technology
The National Library of Australia is already the focus for the largest digitising activity in Australia.
Given the likelihood that any effort in Australia would focus primarily on Australian material, the NLA
would be an obvious focus for maintaining and providing access.
University of Adelaide
Digitised items would be housed in individual institutional digital repositories, with a centralised
online listing of projects – also with entries in Trove database.
18
University of Ballarat
Utilising central database such as Research Data Australia to ensure the digitised research material is
able to be identified and accessed if appropriate. Any project to collect information on research
material and data should have a plan for ongoing financial support to ensure its continued
development and maintenance, whether it is centrally government funded or by agreement
between collaborating research institutions.
University of Canberra Library
Maintained by keepers of the materials, metadata accessed via TROVE and Google Scholar
University of Melbourne
It is almost impossible to imagine the research possibilities that could be realised by the increased
availability of quality digitised material. The ability to create new research data sets creates
potential to analyse the content of these digitised resources and combine them in new ways. New
research data raises new research questions and outcomes. Through working with early adopter,
high profile projects and significant content we hope to attract further funding and collaborators.
We expect to attract new research projects with dedicated funding similar to our early experiences.
University of Newcastle
National Library or National Archives are possibilities
University of New England
UNE has made a long standing commitment to provide archival facilities for the New England and
North West of NSW. Part of this commitment would have to be the ongoing storage of digital
research material from the collections donated by the public. That said, it would be hoped that once
the records are created by a national programme, then the ongoing storage and migration of this
material would be an organisation with the resources of the National Library or the National
Archives.
University of Queensland
Hopefully if a national digitisation program was established the major stakeholders would identify
this as an issue and make recommendations eg subscription models. It would be important that the
material was of interest that ongoing funds could be found.
University of the Sunshine Coast
One would hope that such a corpus would be considered significant enough to warrant ongoing
government support (??)
University of Sydney
It can be distributed depending on partnership with central metadata harvesting. There will need to
be commitments from participants to ensure the long term maintenance and access to these
collections. There will be a need for appropriate project management
University of Western Australia
This will depend on the architecture chosen for delivery of the digitised material. A distributed
structure, where each institution is responsible for exposing its own digital objects to a national
harvesting service, will require local support and maintenance. A more aggregated model, where
(for example) state-based repositories are hosted and maintained by a small number of large
institutions, would be easier for smaller institutions to contribute to. Cloud-based storage solutions
would be preferable, particularly in the academic sector.
University of Western Sydney
Clearly sustainability issues are paramount. Much has been/is still being learned about ensuring
wide access to both research outputs and research data as a result of the various ANDS funded
19
projects across NSW. Lessons learnt could serve to inform future sustainability. It is possible that a
set % of research grants could be ‘garnisheed’ to assist in sustainability.
University of Wollongong
NLA - Trove
Victoria University
It is almost impossible to imagine maintaining support for such projects without funding. We expect
to attract new research projects with dedicated funding similar to our current experience.
20
APPENDIX 1
CAUL RESEARCH MATERIALS DIGITISATION SURVEY
CAUL has been a long time advocate for the recognition of digitisation as a core part of the national
research infrastructure. While some digitisation projects have been funded, mostly by the ARC, they have
not been guided by a nationally cohesive vision.
In responding to the 2011 Strategic Roadmap for Australian Research Infrastructure Exposure Draft, CAUL
advocated a national conversation about the model or models and the framework that should be adopted
to meet the Government’s aims for a digitisation capability and richer national digital collections. That
conversation is expected to occur over the next twelve months and CAUL is seeking information about
current digitisation activity and capability within universities and especially within libraries. Your thoughts
on what should happen in the future in terms of project funding, priorities and models for the digitisation
of content for research purposes would also be welcome.
The Roadmap highlights that digitisation is not only about creating digital surrogates but importantly
requires discovery, access and analysis layers.
The focus of this questionnaire is on the digitisation of information resources used to undertake original
research. Excluded at this stage are the following: information on the digitisation of theses, journal
articles, publications for ERA, electronic reserve or for preservation.
In addition to digitisation activity and capability within the library, the survey seeks to understand the
extent of activity/capability within your university. In general, the focus is on activity that is undertaken
and/or managed centrally either at a whole-of-institution level or by a major organisational unit such as a
faculty. Digitisation undertaken by individuals or small research groups need not be included in your
response. The survey is not restricted to Australian research materials although future government
funding may prioritise Australian resources.
Library Digitisation Activities
1
Does your library digitise, or plan to digitise, research material?
2
Do you have a written digitisation plan, policy or guidelines for determining the identification of
research material for digitisation? Please include the URL, or attach a copy of the document if not
available online.
3
What has been digitised by the library?
(In answering this question, it would be useful if you could provide information relating to the type,
quantity, date ranges, funding sources of each major digitisation project/activity. It is not
necessary to report on every project but sufficient detail to indicate the general nature of activity
would be appreciated)
21
4
Is the library digitisation programme a collaborative activity? If so, with whom do you normally
collaborate? (This could be with a range of partners including other units of the university,
individual or groups of academics, other universities, libraries, archives or commercial
organisations)
5
Does the library undertake the digitisation or contract with other organisations/companies?
Please include the name of the company/ies.
6
Does the library digitise material for other parties within your own institution or for external
organisations?
7
What staffing and expertise is available to the library for the digitisation of research material?
What specific skills gaps do you have? Is the expertise acquired through on the job experiences
with equipment, through formal in house staff development of established staff or targeted
recruitment?
(The primary interest is in library-based staffing and the desirable mix of skills and capabilities for
such an area. Details about expertise available elsewhere in the university or commercially would
also be useful)
8
What equipment does the library currently have at its disposal for research digitisation? (The
primary interest is in library-based equipment. Details about equipment available elsewhere in the
university or commercially would also be useful)
9
How is the equipment funded and updated?
Institutional Digitisation Activities (not associated with the library)
10
Are there major centrally managed digitisation facilities, either at whole-of-institution or
faculty/school level, within your university that are not associated with the library?
If not, please skip questions 11-13.
11
What is the general nature of digitisation undertaken by these facilities?
(In answering this question, only a brief outline is required to provide a general indication of
22
whether the activity is for administrative, teaching or research related. It would be useful to
describe type of material digitised ie hard copy (paper/books/maps/prints etc etc), audio, video,
objects) Details of specific projects is not required)
12
13
If the central facility undertakes the digitisation of research material, please describe briefly the
type, quantity, date ranges, funding sources of each major digitisation project/activity. Please also
highlight non-paper based activities, needs and relative volumes (e.g. video, audio, objects).
.
Is there scope for the central facility to undertake research material digitisation either for the
institution and/or on behalf of others? How would this differ from the library-provided service?
Who would most likely be responsible for it?
Future Activities
14
Do you have a desideratum of research materials for digitisation in the future by either the library
or by your institution?
15
What materials would you prioritise for a national research digitisation project?
16
What barriers are there to the digitisation of this material? Please include some specific examples.
17
Would your institution participate in a national digitisation programme if Government funding was
dependent on co-contributions?
18
How would you envisage the corpus created by a national digitisation programme being
maintained and accessed once project funding is exhausted?
19
Name of Institution
Respondent
Contact details
20
Can the responses to this questionnaire be attributed publicly to your organisation?
Yes
Thank you for responding.
23
APPENDIX 2
RESEARCH MATERIAL DIGITISED
Australia National University
1. China Digital Archive 1966-1976
http://anulib.anu.edu.au/subjects/ap/digilib/chi/cr/china.html or http://hdl.handle.net/1885/7575
This consists of scanned images of locally held, privately held, shared and purchased rare materials
relating to the Cultural Revolution.
Type: documents, photographs, newspapers, tracts and other publications
Quantity: Total approx. 500 documents with each document ranging from 1 page to c. 150 pages
Date ranges: 1966-1976
Funding sources: The Project was funded jointly by the Library, a grant from the Luce Foundation
(USA) and the Pacific Rim Digital Library Alliance (PRDLA). This funding covered purchase of
equipment (a Big Mac with flatbed scanner attached plus a digital microform scanner, etc.)
2. Giles Pickford Photograph Collection
https://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/20
This is a donation by Giles Pickford. It includes 12+ albums of family photos. Those relating to China
have been digitized and available for open access, all other family photos have been digitized in high
resolution and await uploading to the ANU Digital Repository (DSpace).
Type: photographs
Quantity: Approximately 350 photographs (mainly those relating to China) plus family photos
Date ranges: 1870-1949
Funding sources: Locally funded by the Library
3. His Imperial Majesty's Shoot in Nepalese Terai, December 1911
http://hdl.handle.net/1885/21
Photographs of King George V hunting expedition to Nepal. Originals held in the Library’s Rare Book
Collection.
Type: photographs
Quantity: 50 photographs
Date ranges: 1911
Funding sources: Locally funded by the Library
4. 红旗 (Red Flag) 1958-1988
http://hdl.handle.net/1885/7485
Table of contents to the full range of this Chinese Communist Party central organ.
Type: printed document
Quantity: 50 documents
Date ranges: 1958-1988
Funding sources: Locally funded by the Library
5. Digitisation of rare printed works from the Pacific and Southeast Asian rare materials:
http://anulib.anu.edu.au/subjects/ap/digilib/
These are materials collected in the Rare Book Room of the Asia Pacific Library and recommended by
researchers for digitisation on an ad hoc basis.
Type: Books
Quantity: 5+
Date ranges: ca. 16th century to 1919
Funding sources: Locally funded by the Library, or paid for by requestors. Some may have been
financed by the Luce foundation or PRDLA grants. 6. Photographs from the ANU Archives
https://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/4 and Noel Butlin Archives Centre:
https://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/22
Quantity: c. 2,000 images
Date range: 19th to 20th century
Funding source: cost-recovery from client requesting image, local Archives funding, donations from
24
Friends of the Noel Butlin Archives Centre
Some of these images are available through the NLA Picture Australia service.
7. Audiovisual digitisation project (initial stages):
Quantity: 20 audio tapes so far, out of over 6,000 items
Date range: 1950s-1990s
Funding source: internal project funding
While this is primarily a preservation strategy, we are prioritising material relating to the Canberra
centenary in 2013, Nobel prize winners, Prime Ministers and other VIPs most likely to be requested
for access.
Bond University
The School of Business Discussion Papers published in hardcopy July 1990 – August 1998, have been
digitised and placed in the University’s digital repository, e-publications@bond.
Digitisation of the Bond University Law journal The National Legal Eagle published in hardcopy 1995to present has been undertaken and uploaded into e-publications@bond.
Out of print books are also digitised and uploaded into the repository, after thorough investigation
of the copyright status and receipt of the appropriate permission.
Central Queensland University
• Theses – ad hoc as ILL requests come in.
• 1000 + Historical photographs – Central Queensland Capricornia collection.
• 500+ Research publications for CQUniversity’s Institutional Repository, ACQUIRE as part of ASHER
project and ongoing for HERDC and ERA.
Charles Darwin University
AraDA – digitising the material in the East Timor Collection that is out of copyright. Funding was an
ARC LIEF grant in 2001.
LAAL – Living Archive for of Aboriginal Languages – just approved – funding from LIEF grant 2011.
NT Historical Photographs Collection – gradually digitising collection of old, out-of-copyright
photographs
Curtin University
Curtin University Library currently has a range research collections which have been made
discoverable and accessible via online archives and which have significant proportions of digitised
content. Building on the successful establishment of the John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library
(JCPML) (http://john.curtin.edu.au/) and its digital archive focusing on the life and times of John
Curtin, the Library has accepted donations of other research collections to date. They are
• Personal papers of former Western Australian Premier Dr Geoff Gallop (1890- )
http://john.curtin.edu.au/gallop/index.html
• Online annotated bibliography of noted author Elizabeth Jolley (1965-2010)
http://john.curtin.edu.au/jolley/index.html
• Personal papers of former Western Australian Premier Dr Carmen Lawrence (1978-2008)
http://john.curtin.edu.au/lawrence/index.html
• Project Endeavour: Jon Sanders' Triple Circumnavigation of the World Collection’ (1985-2010)
http://john.curtin.edu.au/endeavour/index.html
• WA Folklore Archive (1980- )- http://john.curtin.edu.au/folklore/index.html
The JCPML collection is the largest and encompasses approximately 500 shelf metres; Gallop and
Lawrence collections are both approximately 25 m, Jolley is 6m, Project Endeavour is 10m and
Folklore is also 10m. The collections are primarily document focussed but also include audiovisual
materials, photographs, and some objects.
The Library has also digitised selected content (pamphlets and out of print/out of copyright books)
from its Women’s Health Collection (http://john.curtin.edu.au/womenshealth/).
In general the Library has covered the cost of developing the collections, including digitising content
and creation of websites to promote the discoverability and access to material.
25
Edith Cowan University
Only those areas excluded in this survey. Nothing outside of those areas.
La Trobe University
• Out of print and some special collection works – 6 books by Walker, William Sylvester, 1846-1926
July 14 – 21 2011
• Historic city plans – 2 volumes of collected plans for Bendigo
• Videos of performances funded as part of an ARC project, 4.5 TB of files created
• Six archaeological drawings from field work
Monash University
The range of digitised materials available through the Monash University Repository
(http://arrow.monash.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Index) includes and unpublished published
works like books, book chapters, journal articles,conference papers, manuscripts, theses, technical
reports, working and discussion papers, and conference posters. Material generated by researchers
forms an important and growing component of material being digitised. These include data sets,
collections of images, audio and video files .
Murdoch University
Nothing as yet. The Irene Greenwood Digitisation Project is our first involvement in the digitisation
of any materials held by the Library.
Queensland University of Technology
To date the Library has digitised:
• The Sugar Industry Collection
• OzCase – law materials
See http://www.digitalrepository.qut.edu.au/digitalcollections/
And some of the fulltext resources available in the AUSTLIT Children’s Literature Digital Resources
collection http://www.austlit.edu.au/specialistDatasets/ChildLit/CLDR
Swinburne University of Technology
The Library retrospectively digitised all HERDC material from before 2007 with funding from our
research office. In addition, for future value we’ve digitised a valuable out of print book to be rereleased as a free online text; old university council minutes; old course handbooks; and archival
photographs, slides and audiovisual material. We are also responsible for digitising course readings
for lecturers.
University of Adelaide
The following is a sample of material digitised from the Barr Smith Library Rare Books & Special
Collections:
• RA Fisher Digital Archive (approx 780 items) – funded through the royalties from the publication of
Fisher’s Collected papers – royalties donated by Prof Henry Bennett of Dept of genetics – see
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/special/mss/fisher/gateway.html
• On Dit (U of Adelaide student newspaper 1932-2008 - 1353 files) – special project undertaken in
periods of low demand by the Digital Resources Management Centre which produces online student
resources
• Selected manuscripts and photographs from the Daisy Bates Papers
• Manuscripts and texts relating to indigenous languages egg George Taplin’s mss ‘Vocabulary and
grammar of the language of the aborigines who inhabit the shores of the Lakes and lower Murray’ –
to support the reintroduction of indigenous language programmes
• Selections from the German Settlers in SA Papers egg Diary of Joh. Hansen 1841
• Photographs and selected items from the Sir Mark Oliphant Papers (in response to remote
research queries)
26
• Selected out of print items from the Pacific Collection egg ‘Statistics of the Tonga Islands for the
half years ended 30 June, 1887, 1888 and 1889 : Trade and Commerce’ and ‘Phœnix guano from
McKean’s Island, Pacific Ocean : imported by the Phœnix Guano Company’ / Williams & Haven,
general agents (1851) - (in response to remote research queries)
• Theatre programmes from the Theatre Collection linked to Ausstage (approx 70 items) plus approx
40 programmes and images of Ballets Russes material – in support of the Ballets Russes ARC project.
Other programmes and images are added via our Theatre Programme Collection Volunteers Project.
• 5 texts from the Alan Wilkie – Frediswyde Hunter-Watts Theatre Collection including the Australian
section of Wilkie’s unpublished autobiography
• Gillen ms of ‘Notebooks on anthropology of the Aranda people and Aranda vocabulary’ (5
volumes) - in support of the Spencer and Gillen ARC project
• Approx 70 texts from the Rare Book Collection, including D’Urville’s Voyage de la corvette
l’Astrolabe : exécuté par ordre du roi, pendant les années 1826, 1827, 1828, 1829M. in support of
the Baudin Legacy ARC Project
The Fisher Digital Archive has been the only funded project. Most of the digitisation has been
performed in-house in response to requests by users for copies/scans which are supplied to the
requester and also added to our Digital repository – see
http://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/handle/2440/5
Most requests for scans are channelled through our Document Delivery Section which handles the
financial invoicing and delivery.
University of Ballarat
The Library does not have a formal digitisation program in place at the moment. However UB is
currently participating in a collaborative pilot project to create records, including digitised images,
for items from the Art & Historical Collection, designed to share records with other Victorian
collecting organisations and the general public.
University of Canberra Library
N/A
University of Melbourne
The following is a sample of material digitised from the Library collections in the last 12 months:
• Colonial Fiction – (completed 200 of approx 550 titles)
• Melways editions 1,2 and 4 (total 30 editions)
• Victorian Parliamentary Papers (Ned Kelly)- 16 titles 18-1900’s
• Victorian Parliamentary Papers (Gold) 18-1900’s
• Sir Andrew Grimwade Speeches – 3 boxes of loose material 1970-80’s
• Maps - Sands and McDougall, MMBW
• Middle Eastern Manuscripts 189 manuscripts
• Foy and Gibson collection (catalogues 1901-1967)
• Speculum: Journal of the Melbourne Medical Students' Society (1884-1914)
• Final report of the Constitutional Commission 1988.
• Programs of the Marshall-Hall Orchestral Concerts 1892-1910
With the exception of the Speculum these have not been funded projects. The following link has the
broad range of digitised material available via the digital repository
http://library.unimelb.edu.au/digitalcollections/cultural_and_special_collections
Work is also undertaken on a ‘on demand’ basis for research projects i.e. questionnaires, surveys,
medical records, CPA archives (majority of this work is fee for service)
27
Corporate support – Digitisation of invoices for University corporate systems, Minutes of
governance committees of the University , legal agreements (latter two are fee for service) .
Library collections and archival collections digitised are all potential research material. Much of this
material is in hard copy i.e. books, prints, loose leaf archival material is directed through the central
digitisation service. Although a portion of this is object based and in particular collections like those
held by the Grainger Museum require digital photography and rendering into 3D objects to provide
the best online access experience. The Library also has central resources for professional digital
photography and expertise in creation of 3D objects as well as digital media services (audio and
video digitisation) all on a fee for service basis.
Digitisation of hard copy Library collections are primarily undertaken through internal resources but
grants and sponsorship are sought where possible to increase throughput.
University of Newcastle
Over 29,000 images from a variety of sources including:
• glass plate negatives
• photographs
• plans, maps and other large format materials
• books
• manuscripts
• individual copies of newspapers
• theses
In addition we have a number of online sourcebooks consisting of thousands of digitised materials in
PDF format for research use.
University of New England
UNE Heritage Centre has been digitising research material since 2004. This has been based on the
desire to protect original documentary material or to provide access to researchers unable to visit
the Centre. While many items have only had a few pages copied for specific research or a fee for
service basis, however some of the major tasks undertaken include
Aerial Photos Ellis Thorpe Collection 1943 -1970 459 files 2.21GB UNE department support
Belfield Weather records 1878 - 1908
1272 files 1.42GB volunteer assistance
A0002 OGILVIE PAPERS, GLEN INNES. 1891 – 1936
172 files 37.2 MB
A0103 OLLERA STATION GUYRA 1838 -1968
307 files 245 MB
A0109 WYNDHAM PAPERS – DINTON – DALWOOD 1827 – 1888
1435 files 235 MB volunteer assistance
A0136 BRINDLEY PARK, MERRIWA: 1877 - 1897
661 files 324 MB fee for service
A0147 WALLABADAH RECORDS 1869 - 1944
188 files 114 MB
A0238 BANANA GROWERS' FEDERATION 1918 - 2001 137 files 25 MB
A0313 BOUGHTON, C.F. PAPERS 1949 - 1954
262 files 245 MB fee for service
A0361 ANGLEDOOL 1883 – 1942
260 files 248 MB
A0654 SAUMAREZ DIARIES 1883 – 1895 1384 files 316 MB volunteer assistance
A1473 WHITE FAMILY ALBUMS c. 1890 – c.1930 319 files 383 MB archivist priority
University of Queensland
1. Fragile materials e.g. Queensland Statistics
2. Over the last couple of years the Library has been involved in the Text Queensland Project
http://www.textqueensland.com.au - this has included the digitistion of theses, books, journal
articles etc 3. Manuscripts s and related materials for online displays – as required egg Treasure of the Month
(http://www.library.uq.edu.au/fryer/treasures)
4. Architectural slides – these contribute to Digilib : architecture image library
28
(http://digilib.library.uq.edu.au/)
Digitisation of hard copy Library collections are primarily undertaken through internal resources but
external funds are sought for specific projects egg Text Queensland
University of the Sunshine Coast
Just over 1,600 plant specimens collected from local regions for more than 50 years – basic
collection data, dates and photos. The records have been made available in USC’s institutional
repository, COAST Research Database.
University of Sydney
The majority of our work has been done in the area of Australian literary, historical and natural
science primary source material. These digital collections can be found at
http://sydney.edu.au/library/digital/ , the link featured on the Library homepage as part of the
Library’s Publishing and Partnerships initiatives - http://sydney.edu.au/library/
Digital collections
Many of these collections are text collections of primary source literary or historical works – XML
based and marked up using TEI5 (Text Encoding Initiative 5) guidelines to be used as searchable
corpora. Most have been funded as part of ARC LIEF, Linkage or Discovery grants. These collections
(or parts thereof) have been subsequently re-used in different contexts for individual research
projects (Furphy project), as part of semantic corpora (such Dictionary of Sydney, Aust e-Lit etc), as
part of other scholarly editing projects (forthcoming White and Harpur projects), or for re-publishing
through Sydney University Press (Classic Australian Works)
Common to many of these collections is the provision of a standard functional presentation
interface which allows searching and browsing as well as some design features. Our current
preference is XTF (eXtensible Text Framework) developed by California Digital Library which provides
for consistent technical management across most collections
These text collections include:
• Australian Digital Collections - http://adc.library.usyd.edu.au – corpora of eight collections that can
be searched as one or separately. These were previously part of the SETIS (Sydney Electronic Text
and Image Service) collections. These collections were developed in partnership through several
projects, mostly ARC funded including AustLit, and continue to grow.
• Australian Poetry Library - http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/ - over 42,000 poems digitised and
marked up as part of an ARC Linkage between Sydney and CAL. Includes some audio and video.
(Customised anthologies can be compiled on-line and delivered electronically or through print-ondemand via Sydney University Press)
Current text / scholarly editing /manuscript projects include:
• Early Australian science fiction (digitised for AustLit, ARC LIEF)
• Patrick White Notebooks (ARC Discovery)
• Charles Harpur project (ARC Discovery)
Images, data or grey literature collections. These include:
• Archaeology Fish-bones - http://fish.library.usyd.edu.au/ (faculty funding)
• Frontiers of Science (comic strip) - http://frontiers.library.usyd.edu.au/ (faculty funding)
• NSW Archaeology Online – http://nswaol.library.usyd.edu.au/ (NSW govt funding)
• eFlora - http://eflora.library.usyd.edu.au/ [developed in tandem with book published by SUP –
Flora of the Sydney Region - http://purl.library.usyd.edu.au/sup/9781920899301 ] (NSW Heritage
Trust funding)
• eBot - http://ebot.library.usyd.edu.au/ (faculty funding)
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Rare books - http://sydney.edu.au/library/libraries/rare/7digmat.html (internal funding)
Journal back-set digitisation
Several projects have been completed or are in progress to digitise back-sets of journals – to be
delivered through the Library’s Open Journal System platform http://escholarship.usyd.edu.au/journals/ (internal and external funding)
University of Tasmania
UTAS Library has a rare and special collections section and over 2000 items from this archive has
been digitised by the Library. These include letters, photographs, diaries, paintings and books.
Material has also been digitised under Part VB of the Copyright Act for Educational Purposes and for
print disabled persons (transcriptions services). A proportion of funds are claimed back via annual
Federal High Support Funding for transcription services digitisation activities.
University of Western Australia
The major project has been the complete set of the Westerly literary magazine from 1956. This was
funded by a grant from CAL (Copyright Agency Limited).
Some small-scale digitisation of slide sets has also been carried out, together with some digital
imaging from manuscripts and maps.
University of Western Sydney
The University Library is responsible for the Whitlam Prime Ministerial Library and e-collection. As
permitted by law, any materials related to the Whitlam Government, the Whitlam family, general
Labor party history as it relates to Mr Whitlam are digitised and made available via the website
http://egwpmc.uws.edu.au/ Over the past 3 years the following material has been digitised:
• Whitlam press statements, speeches, policy documents and photographs for the periods 19321972 – 5,000 items and 1973-2009 – 4,600 items
• Whitlam school reports, War photographs, travel diaries – 250 items
• Dismissal newspaper cuttings [1975+] – 45 items
• Freudenberg papers – 35 items
Note, however, that this does not represent the totality of the e-collection.
University of Wollongong
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Victoria University
As a part of ASHER funds and some of the digitisation project we are working in the last year are:
• Digitising of slides from the Faculty of Art, Education & Human Development. The slides ware
created by Judith Walton from School of Communication & Arts, after slides are digitised and the
material will be added to Victoria University Institutional Repository (VUIR)
• Crow Papers – (completed 228 papers of 1000s, 1930s – 1999)
• McLaren Papers (1960s – 2011)
• Research Group in Mathematical Inequalities and Applications (RGMIA) – (publications from 1998
to 2009)
• Institutional publications (55 titles in 1980s – 1990s)
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