GOOD PRACTICE IN DIGITISATION
FORM FOR NOMINATION

This is the form for the nomination of a good practice in digitisation.
Please, send a form for each different project.
Each project can be “nominated” for more than one area.

Send the form/forms to the attention of Maria Teresa Natale by e-mail to minerva2@beniculturali.it orf by fax to +390667232499.

The form will be submitted to the National representative for approval.

English must be used.

NAME AND ACRONYM OF THE PROJECT:

Digitisation Project of 27 Medieval Manuscripts of the City of TOURNAI

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AREAS for nominations of 'good practice' for on-going projects on digitisation:

1) X Digitisation Project Planning (The Reasons for the project, Human Resources, Research, Risks

2) X Selecting Source Material for Digitisation (Establish Selection Criteria, Selection Against the Criteria)

3)  Preparation for Digitisation (Hardware; Software; Environment)

4) X Handling of Originals (Moving and Manipulating Original Material)

5) X The Digitisation Process (Using Scanners; Using Digital Cameras; Software Applications for Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

6) X Preservation of Digital Master Material (File Formats; Media Choices; Migration Strategies)

7)  Meta-Data (The Scope of Meta-Data Used for Object Description; Appropriate Meta-Data Standards)

8)  Publication (Image Processing; 3D and Virtual Reality Issues; Online Publication)
9) X IPR and Copyright (Establing Copyright; Safeguarding Copyright)

10) X Managing Digitisation projects (Digitisation Process management; Team Development; Staff Training; Working with Third Parties for Technical Assistance; Working with Third Parties in Cooperative projects and Content Sharing; Costs

RESPONSIBLE BODY AND/OR ANY SPECIFIC 
CO-ORDINATING BODY/MECHANISM/INSTITUTION

Name of the institution: Bibliothèque locale et principale de la Ville de Tournai

English name of the institution: Local and Principal Library of the City of Tournai

Acronym of the institution: 

Mailing address : Boulevard des Frères Rimbaud 2, 7500 Tournai

Country: Belgium

Tel.: +32 (0) 69/25.30.90

Fax: +32 (0) 69/25.30.94

E-mail

URL

Type of institution:  National		 Governmental		 Regional
            x Other   Specify Municipal

Sector:  Archive  x Library  Museum  Foundation  
             Other   Specify ........................................................................

Legal status: x Public   Private    No profit

Description of the institution (max 200 characters):

Local and principal library of the city of Tournai. 11 libraries compose the network.  The Library possesses an invaluable reserve (27 medieval manuscripts), a local and regional fund and also a funerary heritage fund

CONTACT PERSON OF THE PROJECT

Name: De Smet Surname: Danielle

Gender:    M	x F

Title: Director

Institution: Bibliothèque locale et principale de la Ville de Tournai

Mailing address: Boulevard des Frères Rimbaud 2, 7500 Tournai

Country: Belgium

Tel.: +32 (0) 69/25.30.90

Fax: +32 (0) 69/25.30.94

e-mail: 

Contact languages: French, English

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

Duration: Culture Contract 2003-2006 Library 
(execution time of digitalisation process: 2 months)

Objectives and priorities  (max 200 characters):

The principal objective of this digitalisation project is to be able to allow the medieval manuscripts consultation in full safety and to the largest audience. The priority is the old documents safeguarding (coming from an invaluable reserve) of and to preserve historical works with high irreplaceable values.

The main features for what you consider the project a 'good practice' example, with respect to the selected areas ((max 200 characters for each area):

1)	Digitisation Project Planning (The Reasons for the project, Human Resources, Research, Risks
Principal reason for the project: To preserve these manuscripts, while allowing their consultation by the largest audience.
Human resources: The objective is to integrate the project into the current operation of the Library.
Research: Contacts were established with French specialists of the Public Library of Valenciennes, having already experience in the field.

2)	Selecting Source Material for Digitisation (Establish Selection Criteria, Selection Against the Criteria)

The selection question arose, but in regards of the collection quality, the choice to digitise the totality appeared logical, moreover financial possibilities allowed it.

4) Handling of Originals (Moving and Manipulating Original Material)

With regards to moving, digitalisation work will be carried out in the library, in order not to damage the original material by a transport which could cause irreversible damages, and so to bring a maximal guarantee for the preservation of the medieval manuscripts in their present state 

5) The Digitisation Process (Using Scanners; Using Digital Cameras; Software Applications for Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

The selected process is the combination between " silvery negatives photo shootings’ and ‘digitalisation on numerical discs "

First phase

The process will consist in photographing in an analogical way:

Illuminated Folios in colours in Ektachrom format (slide) with the 6 X 9 format, which authorises a better definition at the time of the digitalisation (for a number of +/- 700 scans).
Non-illuminated Folios (texts) in Ektachrom format with the 24 X 36 format which cost is definitely less (for a number of +/- 11.000 scans). 

Second phase 

Inventory and digitalisation necessity of slide reproductions with a high performance scanner under a format which takes into account, the cost and the quality, in others words a good compassion ratio.

6) Preservation of Digital Master Material (File Formats; Media Choices; Migration Strategies)

The file format choices for the scan definition is the BMP format (not compressed) +/- 18 Megabits per image.
The selected support for the data conservation is DVD-ROM.

8) Publication (Image Processing; 3D and Virtual Reality Issues; Online Publication)

The project aims in a first time to obtain, a DVD publication, then an on-line publication within an Intranet application, before perhaps going over an Internet diffusion, if the IPR problematic (in the framework of a web diffusion) is resolved. 

9) IPR and Copyright (Establing Copyright; Safeguarding Copyright)

The question also arose, not on the IPR, but rather on the diffusion problem of digitised information via the Web, indeed, because of the absence of a clearly defined legal framework, reserve and prudence are retained for the moment (= neither publication, nor Web diffusion)

10) Managing Digitisation projects (Digitisation Process management; Team Development; Staff Training; Working with Third Parties for Technical Assistance; Working with Third Parties in Co-operative projects and Content Sharing; Costs

Working with Third Parties for Technical Assistance

In order to carry out this work, the project provides a call for bids to solicit a third parties experience for technical assistance.
Indeed, it will be called upon an experimented photographer (in this kind of process) who will be able to come with his material on the conservation place.

Costs: 

For slides with the 6 X 9 format, the price is 2,40 € per unit
For slides with the 24 X 36 format, the price is 0,60 €  per unit

Problems encountered and lessons learned:

In the whole, the project preparation didn’t encounter large difficulties.  
The only question put on standby : is the conciliation problematic between works representation diffusion on Internet and works rights protection.

Comments:

A project built in a methodical way through the various developments parts.

I agree this information may be published on Minerva Knowledge Base: http://www.minervaeurope.org

X Yes  No

Signature: _____________________

Name: Danielle De Smet

e-mail: