Adoption of JPEG 2000 by Libraries and Archives; announcement of a meeting at Midwinter

[Peter Murray]

Has the landscape of access and preservation of digital imagery 
fundamentally changed?  Perhaps -- read on...


For many years, libraries and archives have used the JPEG and TIFF 
coding standards to store and make available images in an electronic 
format.  Decades of research in image compression techniques as a 
subfield of signal processing have yielded advancements through the use 
of wavelet transformation, and some have adopted products based on 
proprietary wavelet compression implementations such as SID.

In the 1990s, under the auspices of the International Standards 
Organization and the standards section of the International 
Telecommunication Union, the Joint Photographic Experts Group worked to 
create a new imaging standard using wavelet compression.  The work of 
the committee reached a pinnacle in December 2000 with the ratification 
of Part 1 of the JPEG 2000 standard.

As JPEG 2000 is embraced by specialized vertical markets (such as 
medical imaging and national defense intelligence gathering) and appears 
in the consumer digital camera and scanner markets, it has the potential 
to revolutionize common practices in libraries and archives. In addition 
to achieving greater magnitudes of compression with reduced or no loss 
of image data, JPEG 2000 was designed to embed the technical and 
descriptive metadata associated with images that has become crucial to 
long-term usability of the image file as a digital artifact.

With funding from the Gladys Kreible Delmas Foundation and the 
Connecticut State Library, the University of Connecticut convened the 
Symposium on the Adoption of JPEG 2000 by Archives and Libraries on 
November 4-5, 2004 to begin the process of understanding, coordinating 
and accelerating the implementation of the standard by providing a forum 
for delegates to outline the efforts required to achieve wide-scale 
adoption.

Out of the symposium came several desires that would aid our communities 
in making decisions regarding a JPEG 2000 practice as well as provide a 
forum for sharing information about JPEG 2000 in archives and libraries. 
    The lead request was the creation of a website that would allow 
users to register and post their own information on articles, projects, 
and products that use the standard.  That website is now available:

~  http://j2kArcLib.info/

And it has contains information such as:

~  Report on the Symposium
~  http://j2karclib.info/node/42

~  Project Briefing at the CNI Fall Task Force Meeting
~  http://j2karclib.info/node/30

~  Resources by Focus
~  http://j2karclib.info/resources/by_focus

~  Resources by Type
~  http://j2karclib.info/resources/by_type

The skeleton is there and waiting for information to be added. Symposium
participants will be adding information as we come across it; feel free 
to create an account on the site to add your own information.

Second, a mailing list has been created where subscribers can talk about 
the application of JPEG 2000 in archives, libraries, and related fields. 
  One can subscribe through through the web 
(http://listserv.uconn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=j2karclib-l) or send an 
e-mail to listserv at listserv.uconn.edu with "subscribe [your name]" as 
the first line of the message.  Archives to the list will be available 
in GMANE.ORG shortly.

Third, ALA (American Library Association) has assigned space for a
meeting of parties interested in JPEG 2000 during their upcoming
Midwinter meeting in Boston.  Tables 2 and 3 in the Marriott Grand
Ballroom G from have been reserved from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday,
January 15th to reconnect with each other and explore interest in
creating an interest group for JPEG 2000.

Last, on a personal note, I've completed the transition from Connecticut
to Ohio.  If you haven't done so already, please update your contact
information for me (see below).  Thanks!


Peter
-- 
Peter Murray                       http://www.pandc.org/peter/work/
Assistant Director, Multimedia Systems  tel:+1-614-728-3600;ext=338
OhioLINK: the Ohio Library and Information Network   Columbus, Ohio