A DSpace batch load for one item

The Curation System for DSpace (as of release 1.7) includes a Bitstream Format Profiler curation task by default. The task can be performed on any DSpace object (item, collection, community). Operating the profiler on an item examines all the bitstreams in an item and produces a table (profile) that is configured to display in the Admin UI. The result shows the count of bitstreams of the named format in the left column and a letter in parentheses which is an abbreviation of the repository-assigned support level for the format (U-Unsupported, K-Known, S-Supported).

I thought this task would be fun to run on an item that we had to batch load into the Knowledge Bank given the number of files:

The item profiled above, the Índice crítico del teatro uruguayo (1808-1980) [Critical Index of Uruguayan Theater (1808-1980)], contains 2,895 bitstreams. However, as the item is archived as a Web site, only one bitstream (the index.html file) is displayed as a file via the public UI .

The Critical Index of Uruguayan Theater collects the archive produced between 1976 and 1980 by Graciela Míguez (1949-2000) and Abril Trigo. It consists of three interconnected parts: an inventory of authors and playwrights, an index of the theatrical plays attributed to them, and a set of critical-analytical reviews of an extensive and representative selection of plays. For nearly 30 years, Abril Trigo preserved the archive of typewritten records containing this unique cultural resource.

In 2008, The Ohio State University Libraries digitized and indexed the records for presentation on the Web. The Critical Index of Uruguayan Theater was archived in the Knowledge Bank in 2009. Due to the number of files, we batch loaded the item. The archive directory for the batch load contained just one item directory with the dublin_core.xml metadata file, the contents file listing the files to be added as bitstreams to the item, and the 1,448 content files (PDF, HTML, PNG, JPG, and CSS).  The total count of bitstreams profiled above includes 1,443 extracted text files (the 1,443 Plain Text) and 4 thumbnails (4 of the 7 JPEG files) generated post-load by the media filters.

Crowdsourcing captions... image metadata from Antarctica

The Byrd Antarctic Expedition Photo Albums contain more than 3,500 images in 5 albums covering Richard E. Byrd's first and second expeditions to Antarctica in 1928-1930 and 1933-1935, respectively. Over 3,000 digitized images from the albums have been archived in the Knowledge Bank in the Byrd Antarctic Expedition Photo Albums collections.

Although all but a handful of the individual item records have generic keyword metadata, relatively few of the album images in the Knowledge Bank have more specific captions (less than 6 %) as part of the metadata. A researcher in Antarctica recently sent captions to our Polar Curator for an additional 122 Knowledge Bank images. I will be using the DSpace batch metadata editing feature to add the new captions to the existing item metadata. I am also looking at usage of the images respective to the quality of the metadata and to metadata enhancements over time.

http://hdl.handle.net/1811/25316

Existing keywords: 

expedition members (crew and personnel); books;

recreation; equipment and supplies; furniture

New caption: "The Aviation Pilots in Conference in the Library". Left to right: Dean C. Smith, Alton N. Parker, Richard E. Byrd, Bernt Balchen, and Harold June.

http://hdl.handle.net/1811/25296

Existing keywords: expedition members (crew and personnel); dogs; animals; equipment and supplies

New caption: Freddie Crockett holding one of the camp's favorite pets, Belle, after she was bitten in a fight.

The Ohio State University official student yearbook - the Makio

Congratulations to our new Ohio State alumni!

9,700 students graduated from The Ohio State University this past Sunday, June 12, 2011. As they look forward, we have an opportunity to look back:

We are currently adding digitized copies of the official student yearbook of the The Ohio State University, the Makio, to the Knowledge Bank.
We started archiving the yearbooks with the first Makio published in 1880.

Left: page image from the Makio, Volume XI, 1891


"The Library contains over 10,000 volumes of valuable material, selected with special reference to the wants of the University" -- Makio, 1891

Below: page images from the Makio, Volume I, 1880