BETHLEHEM UNIVERSITY: A CASE STUDY:APPLYING TECHNOLOGY TO LIBRARY

SERVICES.TWO THUMBS UP FOR LIBRARY DIGITIZATION!

byFrancis Sleibi

April 2013

Project Outline

Utilizing the new technology to digitize the library resources.

Converting rare books, videos, magazines, books into digital format.

Applying technology in classroom for teaching purposes. (Streaming server).

Digitized Library

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Number of Students/Staff/Faculty – Academic Year 2012- 2013

Library Resources

Bethlehem University Library Collection: 96,019 Titles

Available Digital Resources at Bethlehem University Library

Originally in digital form. (CDs/DVDs films)

Digitized and have a printed form. (Books accompanied with CDs/DVDs)

Printed form and converted into digital form. (Scanned books/ images)

Evolution of the Project:

In 1996 BUL started in-house card catalog.

In 2005 a new Library Management System being purchased. (Libsys – Noursoft) Locally made in Palestine.

In 2009, BUL initiated a pilot project to easy access:

- VHS cassettes.

- Palestinian Oral History.

- DVD films.

Followed by:

Important historical documents from the university archives

Rare books on and about Palestine/the Holy Land

Works started…

Steering committee:

- Two members from the Library (audio visual center head and software/hardware assistant).

- Two members from the computers center (network administrator and software/hardware assistant)

Software & Hardware Used

Software:

- Windows 2003 R2 64bit

- Open Source Media Server for the video streaming. (Red 5.0)

Hardware:

- Dell Server with RAID capability:

Dell Power Edge R510 Server Xeon, Quad Core 2.4 GHz, 12 GB of memory 6*300 GB

Data Row Format:

Archival Original format (Meta Data saved on DVD/CDs/NAS storage):

Video: MPEG4/WMV/AVI/MOV

Audio: WAV

Internet format Access:

Video: Flash video

Audio: MP3

Software Used:

Converting films/audio/videos:

- Total video convertor.

Editing films:

- Nero, Adobe premier

Editing sounds:

- Sony Sound Forge.

Archiving books:

- XMAG software

Red5 Media Server Installation

Installing the Java

Red5 Configuration.

Using the Jwplayer for displaying the digitized material.

Our Success Story: the first among West Bank Universities

http://www.eifl.net/news/palico-projects-and-events-fall-2010

Backup System for the Stream Server - Nov. 2010

Dell PowerVault DL2200

6T Hard disk RAID

After three years, almost 40% of the stream server is being filled.

Library User Questionnaire Study• In November 2011, a user study was done for a follow up of the project, evaluating library

services and the efficacy of the library resources:

NAS Storage:

A new Network Attached Storage NAS of 3T size was purchased in April 2012 for manipulating the video/audio files.

RAID technology.

System Mechanism

Libsys Server

Search Library Catalog

Access the

streaming files

Stream Server + FTP server

Backup system

Tape backup

• 538 DVD films Link

• 20 Rare books Link

• 1095 issues of Al-Quds newspaper. Link

• 8 volumes of Bethlehem University Journal. Link

• 165 BU Archive films Link

• 53 BU Archive Audio sounds

• 131 Audio cassettes Palestinian Oral History. (Dr. Adnan Musallam) Link

Project Results : Live DEMO

Selection Criteria – Arabic English Books

According to date (before 1900 and up to 1947, old and rare, without copyright dates/places, nor authors);

According to subject (on and about Palestine, written/contributed by Palestinians living here in Palestine or overseas).

According to subject interest and significant contribution to the arts, culture and education in Palestine; work by artists, painters, authors, etc., regardless of publication date.

Selection Criteria – Archives

Based on the recommendation of the UNESCO Archivist who visited the Archives in August of 2009.

1. The idea of preserving the value of the original materials is the main objective of digitization.

2. Another criteria in selecting materials to be digitized is the educational use of the materials to the teaching-learning activity in the university.

3. A practical criterion is space-saving; keeping ephemeral files on electronic format saves space for other more important records.

Selection Criteria – Audio Visual Center

Materials chosen for conversion to e-format include archival resources, books in Arabic/English on Palestinian topics, old newspapers in Arabic/English (including those on microfilms and microfiche) and oral history recorded tapes..

Stream Server Policy

Usage of the steaming server materials falls under the Teach Act/Fair Use.

Uploaded Materials are not allowed to be downloaded/ republished under any circumstances (not for sale, rent, and share).

The Computer Center is the party to support the maintenance/backup and software updates for the Server.

The AVC staff are the only authorized technical party to upload/remove materials into/from the Stream Server after consulting the Library Administrative Team.

Accessing the streaming material is limited to be used through BU Intranet (Campus’ PCs).

The Library can loan headsets to be used for viewing the streaming material from the Library PCs.

Films, videos/other materials recorded for teachers/staff may be stored in the streaming server for the duration of its use or, at most, for the term it is needed for classroom use.

Equipment Used in scanning materials

- Flatbed scanner (HP ScanJet 8270) Automatic feeder and negative scanner

- Duplex scanner with a very high speed. (Canon DR3030c )

- Eye camera scanner . (Jetion DB24) Scanning rare books, maps, 3D shapes

Project Challenges

Adopting E-Documents archiving system.

Upgrading the Libsys/Streaming server.

Authentication Server for accessing the online materials.

Copyright/Intellectual Property issues

Budget constraints

Sustainability

Human resources available.

Annual Library budget.

Funding from granting agencies.

The project team will follow digital preservation standards to ensure the technical continuity of the materials digitized.

The life of the storage media and the accessibility to the contents of the digital collection.

Working

Hard with

Determination

Accessing online the digitized materials in the classroom/Library.

Output:

Work Progess…. 2012-2013

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO THE VICE CHANCELLOR BROTHER PETER BRAY FOR HIS

ONGOING SUPPORT....