Technology

Students will be able to perform effectively in the library and information science professions by demonstrating competency in the application of technology. By the conclusion of the master’s degree program, students should be able to:

• demonstrate effective use of current technologies

• explain the impact and potential of current and emerging information technologies for management and delivery of services

• organize and provide digital resources and services

• evaluate and select appropriate technology for specific information services or applications

• analyze issues, concepts, and challenges related to the impact of technology on information ethics and policy

ISCI 777 Final Project Summary*

*Digital Collection: https://www.akstanhope.usccreate.org/

ISCI 777 with Professor Amie Freeman in Fall 2024 gave me an opportunity to work with digital collection design and descriptions more closely. In addition to building a digital collection using Dublin Core metadata standards, I submitted the following summary in reflection of the final project:

● Collection focus and background on your selection of the topic

I wanted to begin building a collection of public art installations and large scale works by Mary Edna Fraser, with whom I currently work. I initially imagined this as a proof of concept for additions to the Lowcountry Digital Library, hosted by the College of Charleston SC. Although that direction has shifted somewhat, it still feels very relevant for me to thoroughly describe the images in her collection for future acquisition.

Not only do I find Mary Edna’s work compelling on a personal level, but I am impressed by her ability to combine art and scientific evidence in a novel form of environmental activism. We maintain a professional website with a fairly up-to-date gallery, but I tried to dive deeper into preservation of temporary art installations as well as applying appropriate metadata to existing digital images.

● At least two target audiences with a light persona and at least one discrete use case per audience (as X, I want to Y, so that Z)

“The primary audience for this digital collection consists of students and educators, particularly high school, graduate, and post-graduate, with an interest in art and science” [About].

Use case: As a graduate student with an interest in art and scientific research, I want to learn more about Mary Edna’s large scale works and installations, so that I can understand how art can impact public understanding of the effects of climate change.

 “Secondary audience includes contemporary artists, curators and collaborators on future conservation awareness/action campaigns and exhibits” [About].

Use case: As a curator/collaborator, I want to understand the existing collections in Mary Edna’s body of work, so that I can plan an exhibit that would raise awareness for [an affiliated non-profit].

 ● Digitization approach for your captured images

Mary Edna has a trusted photographer, Rick Rhodes, who regularly delivers .tiffs of her final works, and she also documents many of her installations personally via iPhone. I have full access to all of these images. Mary Edna retains the rights to most of the images in her collection.

 ● Metadata elements used and why

I was able to fill in all of the Dublin Core elements for most of these entries.

● Thesaurus and authority services used and why

I used Library of Congress Subject headings as well as Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names for Coverage.

● External references and sites linked within content and site and why

I linked back to Mary Edna’s website as a Source for most of these items…(not totally sure that is best practice!)

 ● Collection and Preservation Policy and why (note you can point to this on the site and focus on the "why")

I could have possibly been more explicit about the Collection Policy in About section, but I decided that the scope of this collection is relatively clear and finite. In terms of digital preservation, our studio hard drive is the main storage method for all .tiffs. Rick Rhodes stores the original files of his photographs as well.

 ●Copyright and Sharing Policies and why

“These images and descriptions are meant to connect users to the original pieces, inform them of the research and causes represented, and inspire reuse and repurposing. Note that rights and permissions are indicated according to best available information at the time of entry. Please use the Comments section available under each item to address any relevant questions or concerns” [About]. Self-explanatory, I hope? I added the Comments plug-in to make this user-friendly!

 ● Marketing and Outreach plan by audiences

I admit I have not fully extrapolated these plans but a natural place to start would be through the channels of Mary Edna’s publishers, Duke University Press and USC Press. Beyond that, past collaborations with museums, artists, and conservation groups offer additional outreach opportunities (via their websites, social and/or print media).

● Evolution and validation plan - as you introduce this site, what major questions or hypotheses would you still want to test or dig further into? What concerns do you still have about the site or areas would you like to "get a bit more finished"?

The biggest project, besides simply adding items from Mary Edna’s existing gallery, would be creating collections of the exhibits the works have been in to date, as well as partnerships and collaborations. This would be a good way for users to find provenance of the images, and for curators in particular to see previous exhibition groupings.

Using image vision AI, I would also add more tags including styles, elements, and colors for those who may be searching in these ways. I tend to classify the items chronologically and/or geographically, but I realize that is not how most people browse art in general.

Reflections on the process (Planning, Metadata, Storage/Retrieval, Copyright, Audience/Discovery, Preservation) - as you moved through the modules and built out your site:

● What were some of the major challenges you encountered in each phase? How did you overcome them?

It was interesting to consider users outside of a commercial standpoint, as Mary Edna’s professional website includes a shop (merchandise only) and is basically promotional. There is inherent research value beyond the “art for sale” transaction and I wanted to make this clear. I did initially struggle to define these audiences but our in-class exercises helped dial it all in...

 ● What insights would you share with a colleague about each area or value would you focus on using your site as an example?

This is a redundant answer but there is a lot of information here (which I did not even have in full grasp beforehand) about Mary Edna’s professional partnerships. This is as valuable to her as it is to all of these people and organizations, not to mention their audiences.

● What were three major insights you will take forward with you professionally from the course and this project.

Metadata makes things findable. It may be an obvious point but this course really drilled in the many considerations that go into describing digital items.

AI can help. It is easy to fear the future on this front but I think it takes more intelligence and creativity to focus on the ways we can adapt technology to meet our human needs, and vice-versa.

Memory workers have an important job to do. It is not the first time we have been faced with a massive shift in the information landscape, and once again we possess the necessary tools to bridge old infrastructure with new. (I like to think of this as “institutional wisdom” but it has to work in practice as well as in theory. : )