Wk2: Introduction to imaging
by Howard Besser
Part I: Key Concepts and Terms
-The digital image defined
pixels=set of dots or squares arranged in a matrix of columns and rows, color or shade of gray=continuous tone image
scan – sample at reg. intervals/more samples more accurate
-digi-no material existence / data or binary code
-image hard to search for if not associated to metadata
-Standards
natl and intrnatl standards exists / allows precise search and retrieval
-choose open standards rather than proprietary
The National Digital Library Program of the Library of Congress, the California Digital Library, and the Colorado Digitization Program are some examples of groups that have made available their own standards, guidelines, and best practice recommendations
-file formats and technical metadata schemas
(Q:what about Unesco standards?-unsure if its also about metadata…) will check notes-VAM
-Metadata
prescribed list of elements, or fields, known as a metadata schema / physical card-catalogue entry, a set of fields for a database or collection management system record, or an XML (Extensible Markup Language) document—and still convey the same meaning
-Good metadata: appropriate to the materials digitized and their current and likely use; supports interoperability; uses standard controlled vocabularies to populate elements where appropriate; includes a clear statement on the terms of use of the digital object; supports the long-term management of digital objects; is persistent, authoritative, and verifiable.
-images without appropriate metadata will quickly become useless—impossible to find, view, or migrate to new technology
-Metadata: allows collection managers to track, preserve, and make accessible digital images and enables end users to find and distinguish between various images; allows digital image collections to be reused, built upon, and become part of larger cultural heritage offerings within and across institutions
-three broad types: descriptive, which describes content (; administrative, which describes context and form and gives data-management information; and structural, which describes the relationships between parts and between digital files or objects.
-Controlled vocabularies, thesauri, authorities, and indices provide accurate and consistent content
The image
-eeeek! will have to re-read when it’s not so late at night…need fresh brain and eyes.
-Networks, System Architecture, and Storage
-dig. image collections distributed over networks
-extremely important to keep redundant copies of digital assets on different media—for instance: CD-ROM, magnetic tape, and hard disk—under archival storage conditions and in different locations
(imagine if the internet would cease to exist? just like the good ol’ paper trail days..what then? – can’t even imagine)
