Digitising

If you need a manuscript or three, but! No facsimiles!
Just come and see me in the archives
I’ll make a reservation and the items will be waiting
if you order them up online. 1
Glitter in the pounce, glitter by the ounce 2
shining just the way you like
If you’re feeling like you need a copy as a JPG
You met me at the perfect time

You want them for analysing
I got your back, I’m digitising
The NEH is subsidising 3
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

(I got) UV, white light, raking, back light,
I can do multi spectral imaging 4
I’m digitising
(repeat)

These images are valuable; they illustrate material-
ity and should be shared online
We can make them findable, accessible, reusable, 5
With IIIF APIs 6
Meta-data here, meta-data there
ISAD(G) 4 life! 7
Let’s circulate to scholars so instead of spending dollars
They can use our copies day or night

You want them for analysing
I got your back, I’m digitising
The NEH is subsidising
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

(I got) UV, white light, raking, back light,
I can do multi spectral imaging
I’m digitising
(repeat)

I can help you build a static site 8
I can help you build a static site
Cause the long-term maintenance is slight
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
(I’m digitising)
(repeat)

The studio’s so cold I want a parka 9
When I’m digitising there I freeze my ass off
But even if I wanted to I can’t stop
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
(repeat)

You want them for analysing
I got your back, I’m digitising
The NEH is subsidising

I got UV, white light, raking, back light,
I can do multi spectral imaging
I’m digitising

I can help you build a static site
I can help you build a static site
Cause the long-term maintenance is slight
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
(I’m digitising)
(repeat)

(I got) UV, white light, raking, back light,
I can do multi spectral imaging
I’m digitising
(repeat)

Notes

1. Different archives, libraries, or special collections have their own policies on access and ordering material. Prof. Claire Bourne has compiled a useful guide of questions to ask before and during a visit: https://www.ofpilcrows.com/blog/2019/3/31/a-working-list-of-questions, accessed 10 June 2022. Back to text
2. See e.g. Liza Blake, “Pounced Corrections in Oxford Copies of Cavendish’s Philosophical and Physical Opinions; or, Margaret Cavendish’s Glitter Pen”, New College Notes Vol. 10 (2018), no. 6 (PDF). Back to text
3. The National Endowment for the Humanities is a major funder of humanities research in the United States of America. This includes digitisation projects, under their Humanities Collections and Reference Resources grants. See https://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/humanities-collections-and-reference-resources, accessed 10 June 2022. Back to text
4. Normal photographs are taken using white or visible light. Ultraviolet light causes parchment to fluoresce, increasing the contrast with the ink. Raking light (i.e. light shone at an angle to the surface) is useful for recording texture, shininess and other fine detail. Transmitted or back light is useful for viewing watermarks and any holes caused by binding or damage. Multi-spectral imaging refers to using light of multiple frequencies (not necessarily visible) to produce an enhanced image compared to what can be seen by the naked eye.
   For a general discussion of these and other digitisation methods see T. R. Hanneken, “Deep Digitization: Considerations and Tools for Imaging Cultural Heritage Beyond the Basics.” Digital Humanities Conference 2019, Utrecht. https://jubilees.stmarytx.edu/thanneken/2019/DH2019_Utrecht-paper.html, accessed 10 June 2022. Back to text
5. Best practice for sharing data is summarised by the FAIR principles: data should be findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. See https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/, accessed 10 June 2022. Back to text
6. The International Image Interoperability Framework (pronounced triple eye eff) defines a set of standards for sharing images online. These standards are expressed as Application Programming Interfaces, i.e. the formats and functionality that a IIIF-compatible service must provide. See https://iiif.io/, accessed 10 June 2022. Back to text
7. The General International Standard Archival Description. See https://www.ica.org/en/isadg-general-international-standard-archival-description-second-edition, accessed 10 June 2022. Back to text
8. The Endings Project recommends that for long-term sustainability, project websites should not depend on server-side functionality (e.g. databases, scripts). See https://endings.uvic.ca/principles.html, accessed 10 June 2022 Back to text
9. Reading rooms or archival repositories are often climate controlled, to preserve the documents they contain. This is often a lower temperature than is comfortable for people working there. Prof. Megan Cook started a crowdsourced spreadsheet "How Cold Is That Library" for researchers to share their experience and provide advice on what to bring or wear. See https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Jeb1W-VZuuCSWpRd0tBragq0er57V7DAJg_D3ajwrmo/edit#gid=941395214 Back to text