Institute of Museum and Library Services

Digitization & Preservation of Selected Afro-Cuban & Cuban Exile Collection
National Leadership Grant 1999
Grant #LL-90160

FINAL REPORT
October 1999-September 2002

INTRODUCTION

The Cuban Heritage Collection (CHC) of the University of Miami Libraries is recognized as the foremost source of materials about Cuba and its culture that exists outside Cuba. The Collection spans nearly 300 years and contains over 250,000 items including rare books, journals, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, personal papers, postcards, photographs, oral histories, maps, and posters.

The CHC received a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services in the 1999 granting cycle. The principle goal of our IMLS-funded digitization project was to utilize digital technology to preserve and improve access a sampling of the holdings of the Cuban Heritage Collection. The stated objectives in our grant application were to:

1. preserve unique and rare materials
2. provide improved access to these materials
3. test alternate conversion technologies
4. test extended indexing techniques
5. publish an electronic (CD-ROM) product

This final report for grant #LL-90160 will demonstrate how these objectives were met, challenged, or modified throughout the administration and implementation of the Cuban Heritage Collection’s three-year digital initiative in order to successfully accomplish our principle goal. It will also illustrate how we effectively managed the various technological and personnel challenges that enabled us to productively establish a methodology for digitally converting and extending access to our unique materials.

SUMMARY

This National Leadership Grant represented a new foray into digital preservation and access issues for the Otto G. Richter Library. Although its Archives and Special Collections department had been a partner in a Library of Congress National Digital Library Program project, the CHC digitization project was the first that the Richter Library supported solely with internal resources. Such a project was a large undertaking for both the Cuban Heritage Collection and the Richter Library, one in which several challenges arose and were met with varying degrees of proficiency, creativity, and success.

This grant-funded project can be divided into two 18-month phases. The first phase, from September 1999 to March 2001, was shaped by various technological and personnel complexities. In phase two, from April 2001 to September 2002, necessary modifications were made to allow us to shift our focus to content and delivery.

Outputs

• Digitally preserved 569 discrete items, represented by 1,780 digital images. These items include photographs, posters, manuscripts, and the first issue of the rare Cuban periodical El Negrito (1821).

• Created an online exhibition of highlights from the CHC that serves as an introduction to our holdings. This exhibition was a test-bed for digital processes at the Cuban Heritage Collection. It was recently renamed Memory and Record: Research Resources at the Cuban Heritage Collection.

• Processed and created finding aids for two personal papers collections, the Tomás Estrada Palma Collection (CHC0460) and the Polita Grau de Agüero Collection (CHC0356).

• Reorganized and edited the finding aid for the Cuba: Capitanía General Collection (CHC0380).

• Published these finding aids online on the Cuban Heritage Digital Collection Web site with links to selected digitized items from these collections.

• Began processing and digitizing the Lydia Cabrera Collection (CHC0339).

• Tested alternate conversion technologies, primarily using a flatbed scanner to digitally preserve CHC materials but also utilizing a digital camera to establish alternate procedures for digitizing bound, fragile, and oversized materials.

• Developed a first-generation database for the management of digital image creation and delivery and for the storage of descriptive and administrative metadata. This database is mappable to EAD, Dublin Core, and MARC and prepares us for the next generation of digital imaging management technology soon to be acquired by Richter Library.

• Enhanced our online delivery of digital images with online exhibitions and Cuban Memories, an occasional publication focused on exploring primary sources.

Outcomes

• Preserved rare and deteriorating materials by creating digital reproductions that diminish the handling of original primary resources.

• Extended and improved access to unique materials in the CHC by processing collections following archival practices and standards, publishing finding aids online, and through these finding aids providing access to digital reproductions of items from the selected collections.

• Created an online collection of materials that is available to students, faculty, and staff of the University of Miami as well as scholars and the general public throughout the world.

• Developed a methodology for the digital preservation of materials from the Cuban Heritage Collection as well as materials from other parts of Richter Library.

• Established a methodology for the creation of EAD-ready finding aids as well as for publishing them online.

• Served a wider range of our various user groups: materials available online can be accessed at any hour of any day, which facilitates research for those who cannot access the CHC in person or during our regular service hours.

• Established new avenues through which to promote the availability of materials both online and in the CHC.

• Defined the CHC’s Web identity and created recognition of the Cuban Heritage Digital Collection brand name.

• Improved the CHC’s understanding of copyright issues especially as they pertain to digital media.

NARRATIVE

Phase One: September 1999 to March 2001

In phase one, the Cuban Heritage Collection prepared the infrastructure to support the digitization of selected special materials. This involved purchasing hardware and software to digitize materials and to store and deliver digital files as well as hiring and training staff to select, catalog, and digitize selected materials.

Technology

The initial plans of this project were to utilize the Electronic Museum Management (EMu) system from KE Software to index the metadata in a database and to provide delivery of the digital images over the Web. A significant amount of time during the first 20 months of the project was spent on acquiring this software and the hardware to support operations of this system. The hardware included a Sun Enterprise 250 server, an external 90 GB RAID storage subsystem, and a magneto-optical jukebox.

We experienced significant difficulties with the RAID storage subsystem. The configuration of the RAID system caused the server to crash when the RAID subsystem malfunctioned. After isolating and resolving this problem, it was determined that two of the five RAID disk drives were defective. These drives were returned to the vendor – Rising Edge Technologies, Inc. – and replaced with new drives. However, when these drives were installed, the RAID subsystem continued to malfunction. After extensive troubleshooting and assistance from technicians at Rising Edge, it was determined that the RAID subsystem had experienced a “catastrophic failure.” Rising Edge requested that we return the subsystem for repair. In hindsight, we should have requested the vendor to provide us with a replacement subsystem as it took the vendor several months to repair the RAID subsystem and return it to Miami. Once we realized that the subsystem was going to take longer to repair than expected, we immediately acquired four 36 GB internal disk drives for the Sun server so that we could continue loading digital images onto the server. The vendor did eventually return the RAID subsystem, though we again immediately experienced problems with the device. Indeed, this particular RAID subsystem has proven so unreliable that we have decided not to utilize that specific device on any server that is critical to this project. Fortunately, the internal disk drives of the server now provide more than adequate disk space for the scope of this project. Based on our experiences, we decided no longer to continue business with Rising Edge Technologies, Inc.

Personnel

The staffing structure of this project changed significantly during phase one. Materials selection, indexing and scanning were the onus of the scanning team, consisting of a Scanning Team Supervisor and two research assistants. These positions were not designed to be staffed by professional librarians, although Pedro Figueredo, the Scanning Team Supervisor, had over a decade of library experience and was working to complete his MLS degree. The research assistants had to be trained not only to digitize archival materials but also to select and catalog them. Due to various circumstances, the research assistant positions experienced a high degree of turnover during this phase, which meant that our project team had to continuously be retrained, never quite creating a general base of proficiency or expertise in the necessary areas.

In 2000, we received an IMLS directed grant for further digitization of CHC materials. As a result, Pedro Figueredo was promoted to Project Manager and additional research assistants were hired. This restructuring, along with support staff turnover and the resignation of Principal Investigator Diana G. Kirby in March 2001, led to personnel instability that called for the re-examination of the staffing structure. It was decided that Jeff Barry, Assistant University Librarian for Digital Library Initiatives, would serve as Principal Investigator, and an archivist with an MLS would be hired as Project Director to coordinate all digitization efforts and properly process and select materials.

Content

The first product of our digitization efforts under this grant resulted in the development of an online exhibition entitled Highlights of the Cuban Heritage Collection (the title of which was recently changed to Memory and Record: Research Resources at the Cuban Heritage Collection). This online exhibition served several purposes. First, we were able to test the hardware and software we selected for our project. Second, this endeavor allowed us to develop workflows and quality control measures for our larger digitization efforts. Third, it allowed us to test digitization methods for various materials in different sizes, formats, and physical conditions. Finally, it allowed us to develop a project with which we could use digital technology to offer access and a thematic introduction to the vast and varied holdings of the CHC.

The Highlights exhibition resulted in the identification of many of the technological difficulties previously identified but also in a successful online exhibition that made accessible via the Web CHC content never before delivered to such a broad audience. It also established basic procedures and practices for our team to follow for the digital preservation of selected materials.

Also digitally preserved during phase one was the first issue of El Negrito, a rare Cuban periodical from 1821. With this endeavor, we experimented with transcription, an effort we decided not to continue with other digitized material.

Finally, materials from the Lydia Cabrera Collection were selected for digitization, and an online exhibition was prepared and delivered to serve as an introduction to the content of this important collection related to Afro-Cuban culture and religion. This online exhibition is linked to from various other pages on the Web and receives an average of 383 hits per month (based on a sample analysis of Web hits conducted from March to August 2002). Additionally, 151 items from this collection were digitized as a sample of materials from a personal papers collection. This resulted in the creation of 936 digital images.

Phase Two: April 2001 to September 2002

Technology

In order to get the project technologically “back on track” due to the hardware delays described above, an assessment of the technological architecture originally designed for the project determined that to utilize the complex KE EMu object-oriented database management system would shift the focus of the project away from the digitization of selected Cuban and Cuban exile materials and towards a pilot project demonstrating the capabilities of the KE EMu system. It was decided that the focus of the project must be kept on the content of the Cuban Heritage Collection rather than on proving the worthiness of proprietary software. It also was determined that a museum collection management system was not the appropriate tool to manage the metadata and Web delivery of archival manuscripts. Additionally, KE EMu did not fit into the newly developed library technology strategy. Based on these factors, it was decided that the project would not pursue the utilization of this specific software any further.

While experiencing difficulties with KE EMu, a customized Microsoft Access database was created to allow us to manage our digital workflow. When we abandoned the KE EMu system, we focused on how to best utilize the Access database to continue our project. The technical strategy for this project shifted to the development of EAD-ready finding aids that would be encoded and delivered in HTML. The finding aid structure would be used to deliver online images, facilitated by the implementation of locally developed Perl scripts. Access’ reporting functions have been successfully utilized to create templates for encoding our finding aids.

Procedures were also developed for the storage of our master, or TIFF, images onto gold CD-Rs and for their conversion to compressed formats. Using the DeBabelizer software, we batch converted the TIFF images to three sizes of JPGs for online delivery. The compressed JPGs were then stored on our Sun server. Tools for tracking the scanning and imaging processes were developed and used to monitor workflow.

Personnel

María R. Estorino joined the Cuban Heritage Digital Collection (CHDC) as Project Director on May 1, 2001. Ms. Estorino has a MLS from Simmons College in Boston with a concentration in archival management and is knowledgeable in Cuban and Cuban American history and culture. The Project Director position was redefined for the incumbent to be responsible for processing, selecting, and describing materials to be digitized and for overall project planning and scheduling, reporting, and outreach and publicity.

The research assistant positions were also reclassified to focus on completing all tasks related to digital preservation: scanning, converting, and storing digital images. The research assistants were trained in basic archival concepts such as the proper handling of special materials, and were delegated special content-driven assignments such as assisting with the development of online exhibitions. The Project Manager, Pedro Figueredo, became responsible for managing the imaging processes, supervising the research assistants, quality control, and coordinating the Web delivery of our materials. Two new research assistants were hired in August 2001, both of whom stayed on our team through the conclusion of this grant. Eugenio Alonso continues to work as a research assistant under our IMLS 2000 directed grant, and Alejandra Valencia was transferred to the position of Collections Assistant in the Cuban Heritage Collection.

This reassessment of our organizational structure led to improvements in the workflow which allowed us to deliver online finding aids and digital images in a more consistent and timely manner.

Content

In June 2001, Ms. Estorino and Esperanza B. de Varona, Head of the Cuban Heritage Collection, evaluated the materials selected for digitization under this grant. After an extensive review that took into consideration such factors as processing status of the collection, subjects and time periods covered, researcher demand, and the project’s new technical strategy, we decided to focus on the digital preservation and online delivery of personal and corporate papers collections. This new direction meant that we would not be digitizing books or periodicals. The concentration on personal and corporate papers still allowed for a variety of materials formats to be digitally preserved, including manuscripts, photographs, other graphic materials, as well as a few objects.

The original proposal included the following selection of materials for digitization:

The Lydia Cabrera Collection: This collection consists of approximately 150,000 pages of personal papers of one of the 20th Century’s leading writers of Cuban folklore who is also an internationally known chronicler of Afro-Cuban culture.

Eight Periodicals from the late Nineteenth Century: Although the runs of these periodicals are incomplete, they represent an important resource for the cultural and political history of Cuba.

Twenty-five Books published in 1749: These works contain significant information about Cuban history, culture, economics and politics. Many are exceptionally well illustrated.

The Laureano F. Batista Falla Collection – 99,500 pages of personal papers

Exilio – a literary quarterly published in New York from 1965 to 1973 and featuring leading Cuban exile writers

The Pedro Pan Collection of photographs – 2,700 photographs associated with the “Pedro Pan Operation” that secretly transported 14,000 children from Cuba to the United States from 1960-1962

Our new focus on personal and corporate papers meant that the 19th century periodicals, the 25 books published in 1749, and Exilio would not form part of our digital collection. The Pedro Pan Collection was de-selected due to privacy concerns regarding the materials in this collection, and the Laureano F. Batista Falla Collection was de-selected because it was in the very initial stages of processing and required more work that would be allowed for under the timeframe of this grant.

The final selection of collections for digital preservation and online delivery was as follows:

CHC0460 – Tomás Estrada Palma Collection, ca. 1880-1999: Correspondence, clippings, and photographs that document Tomás Estrada Palma (1835-1908), first president of the Cuban Republic from 1902 to 1906, and his family.

CHC0380 – Cuba: Capitanía General Collection, 1851-1898: Collection of “bandos” (edicts), royal decrees, and official forms from 1896-1898 published during the governments of Valeriano Weyler and Ramón Blanco, Captain Generals of the Island of Cuba.

CHC0356 – Polita Grau de Agüero Collection, 1882?-2000: The Polita Grau de Agüero Collection contains letters, clippings, and photographs of Polita Grau, the former first lady of Cuba who later served 14 years in Cuban prisons for conspiring with the CIA to topple Fidel Castro and for her coordination, with her brother Ramón Grau Alsina, of Operation “Pedro Pan.” Also in the collection are photographs and clippings of former Cuban president Ramón Grau San Martín, Polita Grau’s uncle.

CHC0339 – Lydia Cabrera Collection: Correspondence, field notes, photographs, and manuscripts of Lydia Cabrera, one of the 20th century’s leading writers on Cuban folklore and an internationally known chronicler of Afro-Cuban culture and religion.

The Tomás Estrada Palma Collection was delivered online in October 2001. From it, 162 items were selected for digital preservation, resulting in the creation of 287 digital images. The Cuba: Capitanía General Collection was delivered online in February 2002 with 78 items preserved with the creation of 206 digital images. In August 2002, we delivered online the Polita Grau y Agüero Collection, including 241 digital images comprising 72 discrete items.

As noted earlier, 151 items from the Lydia Cabrera Collection were digitized in phase one. In phase two, an additional eight boxes of materials were added to this collection. This led to an assessment of the organizational status of the Lydia Cabrera Collection. We determined that this important collection required more processing than was originally believed, especially to provide the best possible organization of the materials for effective online delivery. We thus decided to support and complete the digitization and delivery of this collection under the 2000 directed grant received from IMLS.

The three collections digitized under this grant form part of our Cuban Heritage Digital Collection. This website is linked to from over 50 other Web pages on the Internet. We receive an average of five reference queries a month related to collections on the CHDC site. Correspondence with various users demonstrates that the materials we are making digitally available are accessed by a variety of users from all over the world, from Cuban studies scholars to high school students, from Miami to France to Japan to Cuba.

Publicity

The expansion of content delivery allowed us to promote the availability of these materials on the Web. Our publicity and outreach efforts included press releases, conference presentations, announcements on listservs and to our mailing list, and articles in library and archives publications.

Presentations:

• Florida Chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries fall 2001 workshop, “We’re Digitizing Florida: Get the Picture?,” October 2001
• Three sections of a University of Miami English course, January 2002
• “Lunch and Learn,” a presentation for University of Miami faculty, February 2002
• Information Today’s Computers in Libraries conference, March 2002
• 32nd annual meeting of the Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL) in Ocho Rios , Jamaica, May 2002

Articles:

• The December 2001/January 2002 issue of Otto G. Ricther Library’s newsletter, Library Links
• The University of Miami’s online news-brief publication, e-Veritas and information technology newsletter, The Cutting Edge
• The November 2001 issue of the Florida Library Association’s News Digest
• The Society of Florida Archivists’ The Florida Archivist, Fall 2001 issue
• Research Buzz News, February 6 – February 13, 2002
• Library News Daily, February 28, 2002
• Society of American Archivists’ Manuscript Repository Section Newsletter, Summer 2002 issue
• “Colección Cubana en la Universidad de Miami,” by Olga Connor, El Nuevo Herald, August 11, 2002

CONCLUSION

The Cuban Heritage Collection and the Otto G. Richter Library of the University of Miami have learned several lessons as a result of this IMLS-supported digitization project.

• The complexities of such a large scale digitization program have led to the development of a technological infrastructure that has been tested and proven to be able to support further digital library initiatives.

• Through our experience, we discovered valuable evidence that there is greater benefit in using open standard technologies and to avoid closed, proprietary, commercial systems.

• Our improved understanding of our technological needs have allowed us to better prepare for and evaluate the next generation of hardware and software we will need to continue our digitization efforts.

• Technological, personnel, and content factors led to the development of efficient and productive processes and procedures for digital preservation and Web delivery of finding aids.

• We have learned the importance of personnel organizational structure and proper distribution of work to the success of this kind of project.

• As successful as our efforts have been and as positive a response as we have received, the need for workable and usable searching capabilities is obvious.

• For a staff of our size, there is an inverse relationship between the quality of descriptive and administrative metadata and the volume of materials digitally preserved. Because we were digitizing a large numbers of items, our core descriptive metadata was limited to five to eight fields. If we reduced the volume of our digital production, we could improve the quality and depth of our description of items.

• The challenges we faced led to a less-structured evaluation system than for which we had originally planned. Our evaluative reviews consisted primarily of an analysis of links to our Web pages, Web hit statistics, and user comments. We plan to undertake a more directed user review process of the Cuban Heritage Digital Collection in the future.

• We are actively reviewing image encryption technology as we have repeatedly discovered that our digital images are being published and otherwise used without our permission. We want to continue to offer high quality viewable images on the Web that cannot be downloaded for reproduction.

As previously mentioned, we continue our digitization efforts under our IMLS 2000 directed grant. We are planning to carry on with the development of the Cuban Heritage Digital Collection Web site as a gateway to finding aids of the personal and corporate papers in our collection with a smaller, more focused volume of digital images, online exhibitions of our materials, and other digital initiatives in the area of Cuban studies.

Principal Investigator: Jeff Barry

Report prepared by
María R. Estorino
Project Director/Archivist
January 2003
Revised February 2003