Creating an Online Resource for Medical Archives at the Wellcome Library

Christy HenshawProgramme Manager - Wellcome Digital LibraryLibraries@cambridge Conference 2012

The Wellcome Trust

• A global charitable foundation

• Achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health

• Supporting the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities

• Exploring medicine in historical and cultural contexts

The Wellcome Library

• Major resource for the study of medical history

• Collections of books, manuscripts, archives, films and pictures on the history of medicine from the earliest times to the present day.

• Provide insight and information to anyone seeking to understand medicine and its role in society, past and present.

• Provide access to a growing collection of contemporary biomedical information resources relating to consumer health, popular science, biomedical ethics and the public understanding of science.

The Wellcome Library

The Wellcome Library

The Library Transformation Strategy2009 - 2014

To provide global access to, and expert interpretation of, a world class collection that explores medicine in its cultural contexts

• Targeted collecting – putting challenges in context

• Expert interpretation – engaging (new) audiences

• Strategic digitisation – online access to our collections

The Wellcome Digital Library Pilot

Genetics and its Modern Foundations 2010-2013

A new online resource for everyone interested in the history of human and animal health.

Aims• build sustainable/expandable mechanism – foundation stone

for WDL• digitise key library holdings - relating to a major Trust

challenge area• digitise important third party content – linked to theme• use innovative content and tools – to encourage discovery and

use• explore commercial partnerships – enhance access to non-

theme material

Archival material – 1.1m imagesWellcome Library - 600,000 imagesExternal – 500,000 images

Books related to genetic research - 600,000 images

ProQuest, Early European Books – 5.5m images

Medical Officer of Health reports – 400,000 images

Born digital material – initially small but growing

Digitising archives – key tasks

2 years – 10 collections – 600k pages

Physical preparation• Flattening• Check sequence of items• Protect fragile items with sleeves• Remove staples• 0.6 FTE

Digitisation• Complete “cover to cover” digitisation• Canon digital cameras (medium format)• 2 FTE

Digitising archives – managing users

Managing information• Make clear which items are not available in the catalogue(s)• Maintain up-to-date list online• Keep up-to-date schedule on staff wiki

Reducing impact• Good understanding of timing built over time• Remove items for shortest possible time• Include a good buffer in advertised “unavailability” time• Set targets/batches based on complete series (if possible)

External partners

1.5 years – 9 collections – 500k pages

• Churchill Archives Centre• Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory• KCL• University of Glasgow• UCL

Wellcome Trust provides the funding, digitisation managed by and carried out at the host institutions.

Sensitivity and archives – access policy

Sensitivity and archives – overview

Archives commonly contain the following types of content that may be sensitive:

• Personal information

• Private information

• Medical information

• Personal opinions

• Formal assessments of others

• Clinical images or other visual content

Assessing sensitivity - overview

10,000 files with ca. 1.1m pages of content – impossible to read everything

Step 1 Analyse series level metadata for sensitivities

Step 2 Determine level of checking required for risky series (usually a percentage, or number of files)

Step 3 Check items

Step 4 Determine whether further checking is required

Step 5 Carry out further checking

Step 6 Record items to be suppressed (may be entire file)

Sensitivity and archives – online access

Access category Sensitivity Online availability

Open (>100 years old) Non-sensitive Open access

Open (<100 years old) Non-sensitive Registration only access

Closed Highly sensitive No access

Restricted Some sensitivity Access with special permission in the Library only

Sensitive items

Examples of content we would restrict from online access:

• Reference letters about a 3rd party less than 60 years old

• Job and grant applications submitted by a 3rd party less than 30 years old

• Letters or notes discussing someone’s

• Mental health

• Debilitating diseas

• Sexual orientation

• Race/ethnicity

Information may not be sensitive if it is in the public domain.

Registration

Registration requires a user to provide an email address and agree to a set of Terms of Conditions of Use (still in draft) that will include something along these lines:

I will not make any use of personal data on living persons that contravenes s.33 of the Data Protection Act 1998. In particular, I will not use the information obtained from archival material:

(a) to support measures or decisions with respect to particular individuals;

(b) in such a way that substantial damage or distress is, or is likely to be, caused to any data subject.

Reuse

Distribution and reuse is encouraged within the parameters of the Terms and Conditions:

• Complies with Copyright Law and Data Protection Act• Acknowledges copyright holder(s)• Non-commercial

Viewing, zooming, downloading, sharing, printing: all permissible.

Accessing high resolution images (i.e. TIFFs) will incur an administration fee.

Use for commercial purposes may incur a fee.

Thank you!

Christy Henshaw

c.henshaw@wellcome.ac.uk

Useful links

Access policy: goo.gl/WPVww

Archives digitisation: goo.gl/T1RS9

WDL information: goo.gl/uR5OI