[Web4lib] Joyner Library at ECU Announces New Digital Collections

[Gueguen, Gretchen]

Apologies for cross-postings...
Digital Collections, at East Carolina University's J.Y. Joyner Library, is pleased to announce our all-new digital repository (http://digital.lib.ecu.edu).  The site offers a one-stop-shop for finding the library's special collections online. Materials from across the holdings of the library are selected for digital conversion and are added to our growing website. Some of the features of this repository are:

 *   One common database and infrastructure that could be utilized for multiple "collections"
 *   "Uncollected" items (digitized as a result of patron requests, exhibits, Preservation needs, etc.) are also included and may or may not be in a "collection"
 *   Any object can be found through searching or using one of the browse tools we've created - a "subject cloud<http://digital.lib.ecu.edu/subject.aspx>" built using LCSH, browsing through collections<http://digital.lib.ecu.edu/collections.aspx>, links to additional resources in item records<http://digital.lib.ecu.edu/5345>, and a faceted drill down for refining search in the search results<http://digital.lib.ecu.edu/search.aspx?q=Tobacco&index=subjects>
 *   Search results also have dynamic links to other library resources (such as other digital repositories, finding aids, and the catalog) to assist users looking to expand their search
 *   All objects can be commented or tagged by users
Based on the above principles we used a back-end XML database (TextML) and a METS/MODS record for every object. In addition, we included Dublin Core records in the METS (scripted from the MODS) for the purposes of OAI harvesting (which will be available soon), appropriate admin metatadata (MIX in most cases since we have a lot of images), and even the full text of TEI records when those were available. The web application layer was built using .NET. All images were scanned as high resolution TIFFs and lower resolution jpegs are served up through the interface.
In addition, we have built a suite of web-based tools for managing administrative activities such as metadata creation (both descriptive and technical) and tracking progress on activities.
We invite our colleagues to have a look through the site and send us any of their thoughts, comments, suggestions on the project, and hope you will enjoy exploring it.

Gretchen Gueguen
Digital Initiatives Librarian
Joyner Library Digital Collections
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC 27858-4353
252.328.4978
http://personal.ecu.edu/guegueng