1

Many libraries and their userswere excited several yearsago when Google estab-

lished a project to digitize the collec-tions of five major research libraries.It sounded like a dream come true tomake the content of these librariesfreely available worldwide. However,not all were enthusiastic about the vi-sion or the reality of the project. TheAuthors Guild sued Google insistingthat their members receive financialrecompense for the use of their con-tent accessed via Google. Google fi-nally se9led with the Authors Guildthrough an agreement on royalty pay-ments that is still to be finally ap-proved. Where does this leave thelibraries involved? Public domainworks remain outside the se9lement.A Book Rights Repository will be es-

tablished with an up-front payment of$45 million. Users will be able to ac-cess scanned books, both for free andfor fee via institutional subscriptions.An ARL (Association of Research Li-braries)/ALA (American Library Asso-ciation) summary provides furtherdetail (h9p://www.arl.org/pp/ppcopy-right/google/index.shtml). Librariesworldwide are uniting to share theirdigital content in a variety of ways–there is the Open Content Alliance(h9p://www.opencontentalliance.org/),the HathiTrust (h9p://www.hathi-trust.org/); and numerous joint ven-tures which are regionally, nationally,linguistically or continent based.Many libraries have signed non-exclu-sive agreements and will continue to

Library Ma9ers @ McGillVOLUME 4 | ISSUE 11 | NOVEMBER 2008www.mcgill.ca/library-about/pubs/newsletter/

Usage has increased dramatically followingrenovations at the Schulich Library of Scienceand Engineering.

JANINE SCHMIDT,TRENHOLMEDIRECTOR OFLIBRARIES

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

DISCOVER THE WILLIAM OSLER PHOTOCOLLECTION: on Page 4

GETTING TO KNOW YOU: on Page 6

CLEARING THE BACKLOG: on Page 3

FROM THE TRENHOLME DIRECTOR OF LIBRARIES

make digital versions of their own col-lections (mostly in the public domain)available on their own websites. AtMcGill, we are working on our owndigitization projects of our collections,primarily from our Rare Books andSpecial Collections, focusing on contentin the public domain. We are seekingto share our content with the world andto participate with others in the democ-ratization of knowledge. Targeting ap-propriate content and developingmetadata standards and applicationswhich will expose that content are bothimportant components of our strategyas we go forward to facilitate access toour magnificent collections.

Many reports have been completedand surveys undertaken on a9itudes oflibrarians and faculty to the use of on-line resources for use in teaching andlearning and research. The academicworld has been faced by ongoing re-lentless change. Much of the changehas been driven by technological devel-opments and scholarship is not what itwas. Those of us who support theneeds of scholars must understandthose changes in order to provide effec-tive support for teaching, learning andresearch within the university commu-nity. Ithaka has sponsored variousstudies and its August 2008 reporthighlighted issues in the digital trans-formation occurring in higher educa-tion (www.ithaka.org/research/faculty-and-librarian-surveys). Notsurprisingly, faculty value e-resourcesmore than ever. They are not alwaysaware that their access is provided bythe Library’s payment of subscriptionsfor e-journals and e-books. The Li-brary’s role in supporting scholarship ishighlighted in the report in three ways- purchase, archive and gateway. Fac-ulty value the payment role, are reason-ably concerned about preservation but

for faculty, the importance of the gate-way function of the Library is dimin-ishing. At the same time, librarians seethe gateway role as increasing in signif-icance. The mismatch between viewsby faculty and librarians should causeus all to reflect on our goals and strate-gies.

The SALT (Senior Advisory LibraryTeam) has almost completed the revi-sion of the Library’s Strategic Plan insupport of the University’s StrategicDirections and activities. A copy willshortly be circulated to all for com-ment. Take the opportunity to reviewit, reflect on its content, our goals in thecurrent environment and provide yourinput to future directions and actions.None of us is as good as all of us.

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LIBRARY MATTERS @ MCGILL VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 11

Library Ma9ers @ McGill

The Library Matters @ McGill newsletter,

brought to you by the you-never-heard-it-from-

us editors, seeks to exchange and encourage

ideas, innovations and information from McGill

Library staff at all levels.

The newsletter is published monthly. The

latest issue, as well as an archive

of past issues, can be found at

www.mcgill.ca/library-about/pubs/newsletter/.

We welcome your contributions. The deadline

for submissions is the first day of the issue

month. Send your input to the you-never-

heard-it-from-us editorial team:

Louisa Piatti, louisa.piatti@mcgill.ca

Jessica Hunt, jessica.hunt@mcgill.ca

Cathy Martin, cathy.martin@mcgill.ca

Joel Natanblut, joel.natanblut@mcgill.ca

FROM THE DIRECTOR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“The librarian of today,

and it will be true still

more of the librarians of

tomorrow, are not fiery

dragons interposed be-

tween the people and the

books. They are useful

public servants, who

manage libraries in the

interest of the public...

Many still think that a

great reader, or a writer

of books, will make an

excellent librarian. This

is pure fallacy.”

-Sir William OSLER, 1917

Janine SchmidtTrenholme Director of Libraries

cordially invites you to the

AAnnnnuuaall FFeessttiivvee FFêêttee

Tuesday, December 16, 20084:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Redpath Hall

RSVP: by December 10, 2008rsvp.libraries@mcgill.ca

(514) 398-4681

Congratulations to everyone who has contributed to work on the cataloguing backlog. We have made some amazingprogress over the last year with over 80,000 items loaded on to our online system. Thanks to all for the great achieve-

ment!

Janine Schmidt

Trenholme Director of Libraries

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LIBRARY MATTERS @ MCGILL VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 11

CLEARING THE BACKLOG

Collection Status Date Numbercomplete

Numberin progress

Numberleft to do

Numberin collection

Blackader Cutter Complete 11/13/2008 2,027 2,027

BlackerWood Cutter Complete 10/27/2008 1,500 1,500

Fraser Hickson New project 11/19/2008 182 50 1,000 1,232

HSSL Cutter In progress 10/27/2008 16,202 1,500 16,298 34,000

Islamic Recon In progress 11/17/2008 10,000 2,200 1,800 14,000

LTS Backlog Project 2006/2007 Complete 12/1/2007 5,000 5,000

Music Scores Complete 12/1/2007 1,000 1,000

Osler Paris Theses Complete 12/1/2007 2,000 2,000

RBD B. Morgan Complete 10/27/2008 567 567

RBD Colgate New project 11/19/2008 400 80 2,630 3,110

RBD Cutter Complete 10/27/2008 1,200 1,200

RBD Fisher Complete 10/27/2008 465 465

RBD Friedman Complete 10/27/2008 542 542

RBD Guidebooks Complete 10/27/2008 650 650

RBD Klibansky Collection In progress 10/27/2008 5,807 990 6,797

RBD Lande Complete 10/27/2008 11,949 11,949

RBD Long 18th Century Plays Complete 12/1/2007 1,200 1,200

RBD Map Room (Maps) Complete 10/27/2008 1,249 1,249

RBD Max Stern In progress 11/20/2008 2,370 700 3,070

RBD Play Scripts Complete 10/27/2008 2,449 2,449

RBD Redpath Tracts In progress 10/27/2008 17,127 1,000 18,127

RBD Stearn Collection New project 11/19/2008 2,517 2,517

Stephen Leacock New project 11/19/2008 1,000 1,000

Date updated Total in progress Total le8 to do Total of collectionsTotal Complete 83,886 11/20/2008 6,520 25,245 115,651

by Megan Chellew, Greg Houstonand Chris Lyons

The McGill Library is pleasedto introduce The WilliamOsler Photo Collection, a

searchable and browsable website of384 images drawn from the Osler Li-brary’s collection of photographs ofSir William Osler (1849-1919), whograduated from Medicine at McGillin 1872, taught here for ten years,and went on to become one of themost famous doctors in history. Hisbequest of 8,000 rare medical booksformed the nucleus of the librarythat bears his name. The Osler Li-brary has an extensive collection ofphotos of Sir William from all stagesof his life, along with pictures ofLady Osler, Revere Osler and otherfamily members. Our current proj-ect has been to digitize the collectionfor the following reasons:

1. To make these images freelyavailable to the public, especiallyseeing that there is a persistent andworldwide interest in Sir William;2. To help preserve the material bycreating high resolution digitalsurrogates (tiffs) to reduce han-dling of the originals and to act as

archival backups in case anythinghappens to the originals;3. To develop a prototype for fu-ture McGill Library digitizationprojects.

In 2007, to our good fortune, wereceived a $25,000 grant from theJohn P. McGovern Foundation ofHouston, Texas, to digitize the Oslerphotographs. The Foundation hasbeen a staunch supporter of SirWilliam Osler’s legacy and medicalhistory in general for a number ofyears.

The project really took off at thebeginning of 2008. A team was puttogether consisting of a number of

people from across the McGill Li-brary system and beyond, poolingconsiderable expertise and talent.Those involved from the Library in-clude:

�� Pamela Miller (History of Medi-cine Librarian) and Chris Lyons(Liaison Librarian) from the OslerLibrary;�� Louise O’Neill (Associate Direc-tor, Library Technology Services,Elizabeth Thomson (Systems Ana-

lyst), Mutugi Gathuri (Web De-veloper and Programmer) andGreg Houston (Digitization Ad-ministrator) from Library Technol-ogy Services;�� Megan Chellew (Cataloguing li-brarian) from Collection Services;There were others involved aswell, namely: �� Alan Burk: Special Consultanton Metadata and Digitization, whowas here at the beginning of 2008to help develop metadata for thisand other projects; �� Jacqueline Barlow (a librarianwho was hired as a cataloguer andresearcher for the project);�� Deepak Matthews (a studenthired to scan the images and dobasic transcriptions).

The tasks needed to complete theproject were many. The first stepwas to examine digital projects thathad been undertaken by other insti-tutions. Examining other projects al-lowed the team to see what bestpractices and metadata standards al-ready existed and could be adoptedor adapted for McGill’s needs. Proj-ects examined include Harvard Uni-versity’s VIA project(h9p://via.lib.harvard.edu/via/de-liver/advancedsearch?_collection=via),and Picture Queensland(h9p://www.pictureqld.slq.qld.gov.au/);metadata standards examined in-clude Dublin Core (www.dublin-core.org) and CARLCore(http://carl-abrc-oai.lib.sfu.ca/).

The next step was to develop anapplication profile for McGill thatwould outline how the metadatawould be entered for the Osler proj-ect and, potentially, for future proj-ects. The profile describes eachmetadata field and explains how it

LIBRARY MATTERS @ MCGILL VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 11

DISCOVER THE WILLIAM OSLER PHOTO COLLECTION

4

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LIBRARY MATTERS @ MCGILL VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 11

is to be used; this includes specify-ing what controlled vocabularies areto be used where and ensuring thatthe metadata entered is consistent.The application profile needed to becompliant with Dublin Core, whichis a recognized metadata standard,and also to accommodate localneeds. For the Osler project, this in-cluded finding a way to make use ofthe Oslerian eras that were origi-nally used within the Osler Libraryto organize the physical project.

At the same time as the applicationprofile was being developed, workbegan on several sample metadatarecords, which helped take the proj-ect out of the abstract. By looking atactual photos from the collection,team members were able to see howthe metadata fields would work andhow information could be included.

Once the application profile was inplace, a user guide was created. Thisuser guide is specific to the Oslerproject, and outlines how each meta-data field is to be used. As the de-scriptive metadata was entered,many new examples of metadatawere encountered that had not beenanticipated. Any time a decision wasmade about how to handle a partic-ular example of metadata, the userguide was updated to reflect that de-

cision.A selection of the photos was made

by the Osler Library to determinewhich photos were originals. If therewere multiple copies of a photo, thebest image was selected. Once thephotos were selected, a digitizationguideline was prepared for the scan-ner. Every image was carefullyscanned in colour at 600 dpi and up-loaded to a network folder accessi-ble by different members of theteam. After archival images werebacked up, web surrogates weregenerated including thumbnails.Image processing was done to re-store a small number of damagedphotographs.

A descriptive file-naming conven-tion was developed to help referencescans back to the original material.The filename was divided into twosets of numbers: the prefix is basedon collection level information and

the second set is the work item num-ber. The filename structure was alsoexpanded to include other aspectssuch as document type (photo or let-ter) and front/back indication.

Once the photos were uploaded, aMySQL-based editor was created tohelp input and modify descriptivemetadata based on the applicationprofile. This editor was accessed by

different members of the team andincluded an image preview func-tion for close analysis of the scans.Descriptive information was basedon a several sources including cata-logue cards. The technical metadatawas extracted automatically whenthe images were processed intoDigiTool, our digital asset manage-ment system.

A website template was developedas an API driven web front endwhich could be used on differentback-end technologies and there-fore as a model template for futuredigital projects. The look and feel ofthe design reflects the Osler projectbut can be easily adapted to othercollections. A persistent navigationbar is used at the top; it includes asearch box and other browse op-tions. Other sections include a biog-raphy, a description of collectionand a "contact us" page. Having anAPI driven web template shouldallow for changes to be made to theback end technologies in the future,without affecting the look and feelof the front end.

The URL for the project ishttp://digital.library.mcgill.ca/osler/.We invite you to explore it andwelcome any feedback you mighthave.

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LIBRARY MATTERS @ MCGILL VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 11

AMY BUCKLANDLiaison Librarian,

Howard Ross Library of Management

Where were you born?- Pointe Claire, QCWhat part of town do you live in?- I just moved to The Deege (NDG).How long have you worked at the li-brary?- I started in Sept 2008 officially, butdid my MLIS practicum and workedover the summer in Library Technol-ogy Services.Do you have any pets?- One cat, Mizi. One conjoint, Jon. (I <3bad jokes)What is your favorite place in Mon-treal?- Any terrasse on a summer evening.And the Fluevog store on St Denis.What is your favorite dessert?- Bilboquet ice cream cake – the pearand chocolate one.What are you reading and/or listeningto? - Books: Clay Shirky’s Here ComesEverybody - Blogs: Fast Company, Ideas andThoughts (Dean Shareski’s blog), I CanHas Cheezburger (and about 200 oth-ers)- Listening: my friends’ channels onLast.fmWhat are your other interests?- Rugby, educational technology, figur-ing out new ways to ingest chocolate,trying to MacGyver my work PC to actmore like my Mac at home.

What is your pet peeve?- People who complain about/dismissthings without having tried them.What is/are your favorite quote(s)?- “The internet is made up of wordsand enthusiasm.” Erin McKean, Editorin Chief, Oxford American Dictionary(check out her TED talk here -h9p://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/er-in_mckean_redefines_the_diction-ary.html)What is one thing that people do notknow about you?- I can (mostly) read Hebrew and Russ-ian but I have no idea what I’m read-ing.

VALERIE FORTINCoordinator, Collection Development

Where were you born? - Sherbrooke, QuebecWhat part of town do you live in?- Pointe ClaireHow long have you worked at the li-brary? - 31 yearsDo you have any pets? - Not any more, but my son has a pugWhat is your favorite place in Mon-treal? - The mountain first thing in the morn-ingWhat is your favorite dessert? - Anything with chocolateWhat are you reading and/or listeningto? - Reading: No. 1 Ladies DetectiveAgency Series by Alexander McCall

Smith- Listening: classical musicWhat are your other interests? - My kids, cooking, travelling, reading,theatre, concerts, walking and biking, volunteer workWhat is your pet peeve? - Bad driversWhat is/are your favorite quote(s)?- “When one door closes, anotheropens.”What is one thing that people do notknow about you?- I am an avid biker and go on severalbike trips every summer.

MAYA KUCIJLiaison Librarian,

Education Library & Curriculum

Resources Centre

Where were you born?- I was born on the island of St. Croixin the U.S. Virgin Islands. What part of town do you live in?- I live in NDG.How long have you worked at the li-brary?- I’ve been a liaison librarian at the Ed-ucation Library since September. Ispent the summer in Rare Books a8ergraduating from SIS.Do you have any pets?- Not since the ants in my son’s antfarm died. What is your favorite place in Mon-treal?- Breakfast at St. Viateur on Saturdaymornings with my family, especiallywhen we can sit outside in the sum-mer.What is your favorite dessert?

- I will name you five: Mandel-hörnchen (almond crescents), choco-late cake, peanut bu9er pie, mintchocolate chip ice cream, Oreo cookies.What are you reading and/or listening

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

Amy and her Second Life avatar Jambina Oh

Valerie at her desk

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LIBRARY MATTERS @ MCGILL VOLUME 4 | ISSUE 11

to? - Books: Gulf Music by Robert Pinsky,The Astonishing Life of Octavian Noth-ing, Traitor to the Nation v. 2 The King-dom on the Waves by M.T. Anderson,A Visitor For Bear by Bonny Becker- Podcasts: Radiolab, This AmericanLife, Daniel Pinkwater on children’s lit- Music: Margaret WhitingWhat are your other interests?- I have 2 small children. Does that an-swer the question?What is your pet peeve?- Being asked for a snack right beforebedtime.What is/are your favorite quote(s)?- “You get what you get and you don’tget upset,” the mom in Pinkalicious, byVictoria Kann.What is one thing that people do notknow about you?- I once had a poem published in Sassy.- I’m related to Charles Dickens.- I know a lot of very silly camp songs. - I was an exchange student in northernGermany when I was 16.

ADAM LAUDERLiaison Librarian,

Humanities and Social Sciences Library

Where were you born?- TorontoWhat part of town do you live in?- The PlateauHow long have you worked at the li-brary?- 9 monthsDo you have any pets?- NoWhat is your favorite place in Mon-treal?- The mountainWhat are you reading and/or listeningto? - Les Choses (with the help of a dic-tionary!)What are your other interests?- Art, film, classical music, architecture

What is your pet peeve?- Leading questions (joking)What is/are your favorite quote(s)?- Glass has no secrets (Walter Ben-jamin)What is one thing that people do notknow about you?- I am curating an exhibition of art-works, advertisements and films byCanada’s first abstract painter, BertramBrooker (1888-1955), and his contem-poraries, which opens on January 10 atthe Art Gallery of Windsor. The exhibi-tion, “It’s alive! Bertram Brooker andvitalism,” will travel to Sarnia in thesummer before opening at the AgnesEtherington Art Centre at Queen’s Uni-versity next November.

DAWN MCKINNONLiaison Librarian,

Howard Ross Library of Management

Where were you born? - Wiarton, OntarioWhat part of town do you live in? - West Island (Pierrefonds)How long have you worked at the li-brary? - 52 days (almost 2 months)Do you have any pets? - Not currentlyWhat is your favorite place in Mon-treal? - My homeWhat is your favorite dessert? - My homemade browniesWhat are you reading and/or listeningto? - Reading: Queen of the South by Ar-turo Perez-Reverte- Listening to: The Killers’ new single,

HumanWhat are your other interests? - I’m interested in everything – at leastonce! (Cooking, playing outdoors &reading, of course.) What is your pet peeve? - Intolerance, rudenessWhat is/are your favorite quote(s)? - “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistica-tion.” - Leonardo da Vinci- “We do not inherit the earth, we bor-row it from our children.”- “It is never too late to give up yourprejudices.” - Henry David Thoreau What is one thing that people do notknow about you? - I have a weakness for Kra8 Dinner.

Library Ma9ers @ McGillThe quotes in this month's newsletter weresubmitted by David Crawford (Emeritus Li-brarian-Life Sciences). The you-never-heard-it-from-us editorial team issues achallenge to all to send us quotes ... it couldbe in a specific discipline, or quotes you findparticularly interesting, insightful, intriguing orjust quotable! Send us your quotes and seeif they make it to a future issue of thenewsletter.

“The old man was peering in-

tently at the shelves. "I'll

have to admit that he's a very

competent scholar."

"Isn't he just a librarian?"

Garion asked, "somebody

who looks after books?"

"That's where all the rest of

scholarship starts, Garion.

All the books in the world

won't help you if they're just

piled up in a heap."

- David EDDINGSKing of the Murgos, 1998 Del Rey

Dawn at the Howard Ross Information Desk