Digitization 101

Christopher Kenneally recently did an interview Brad Turner, the Benetech Vice President, who is overseeing the company’s Global Literacy Program.  Benetech's mission is to help people with print disabilities and other learning challenges have access to materials in an accessible format.  Turner notes that 3% and 5% of the general population need material in an accessible format, which translates into millions of people in the U.S. and worldwide.

I found this conversation to be quite interesting. First, it interested me because because I had not heard of Benetech before. Second, I know how important meeting the accessibility needs of our community is.  Acquiring material for your library does not automatically mean that everyone in your community can use it.  The person may not be able to use the material's native format.  Third, I know that this work has become easier because content can be placed in a digital format or is being created in a digital format.   In fact, Benetech was founded by someone interested in pattern recognition, which is the foundation of OCR.

If you're interested in accessibility or how a rocket scientist got involved in making print accessible, then I hope you will listen to or read the interview. This 15-minute interview is available as audio and text on the Beyond the Book website.

According to Atlas Obscura:

If you’re the British Library, you get creative and set up a special studio to photograph the titanic Klencke Atlas.

The British Library has a video of the process:

This quote seems to be all anyone needs in order to be tempted to read this article:

...the idea that somewhere at Google there is a database containing 25-million books and nobody is allowed to read them. It’s like that scene at the end of the first Indiana Jones movie where they put the Ark of the Covenant back on a shelf somewhere, lost in the chaos of a vast warehouse.

Image from Wikimedia

Last Monday, I had an opportunity to visit Scanarkist, which is both a digitization service bureau and an authorized business partner for Treventus Mechatronics.  They are also a sales partner for the Bookeye and WideTek scanners from Image Access.  It was the Treventus ScanRobot that I had come to see and I also got a peek at Nainuwa and other software solutions.

Scanarkist had exhibited at the IFLA conference in August, where a number of digitization vendors had their equipment on display.  While I had seen the equipment at IFLA, it was good to have an opportunity to sit down with them.  (I must thank my schedule which placed me in NYC walking distance from their location.)  I want to note a few things from that visit:

• ScanRobot 2.0 MDS:
• The ScanRobot can scan up to 2,500 pages per hour.  Watching it work, this page count seems quite do-able.  (I say that because often the count is based on optimum conditions, etc.)  
• It will scan with very little human interaction, although they recommend having someone nearby in case the ScanRobot detects an errors (e.g., flipping two pages at once).  In  service center, I believe a person could watch a couple machines at once.
• The 60° V-shape book cradle means that it is gentle on a book's spine.
• The machine uses prism capturing technology, which creates an undistorted image.
• The machine is on wheels and can be moved between locations or taken into the stacks.
• Nainuwa (software):
• The Nainuwa will handle a variety of different media, including images from the ScanRobot.
• It is possible to search within a document and then use information displayed to go directly to where the search term is mention.
• A part of an image and its OCR content can be copied and pasted.  While this is a useful feature, it can be associated only with specific types of users if copyright/ownership is a concern. 
• Content can be zoomed and bookmarked. Bookmarks can be organized so you can retrieved related images.
• The software has a responsive design, which means that it works on a wide variety of computing devices.
• Other software mentioned were:
• Scan Gate
• Scan Flow
• Customized tools

So who needs a book scanner these days?  Not everything that should be digitized has been digitized, even when it comes to books. Yet not everyone can purchase a book scanner which costs over $100,000.  Institutions with limited budgets - or institutions who need to scan books but don't have enough materials to warrant their own book scanner - need to be able to partner with someone. That partnership would allow for the purchase of an automated book scanner, which could then be shared.  I can see the Treventus - or similar technology - as a consortial purchase.  In fact, we have consortia who are sharing software and equipment already. They may not, though, have thought about a hardware purchase like this because of its cost.  Justifying the purchase would be important, as well as knowing that the consortium would "get its money's worth" or be able to sell the equipment once they are done (as a way of recouping some of the cost).

By the way, Scanarkist will lease the ScanRobot.  We did not talk about what that meant in terms of cost, but it sounds like an option that could ameliorate some of the cost concerns.

Finally, it was wonderful that several vendors were at IFLA and were able to bring their equipment.  I don't think it is clear to vendors, though, which conferences they should attend and why.  Clearly they cannot go to all of them. And any conference will pitch themselves as "the place" to be.  I wonder if there is a place for library vendors to receive unbiased advice on where to exhibit?

DLSG Booth

When I started this blog in 2004, digitization was a growing area in libraries. For some, it was still something new, while others had and were embarking on massive projects. New hardware and new projects/programs garnered attention. For me, Google Book Search ushered in a huge possibilities. Over the years, I've been heartened by the advances in technology, the breadth of projects (even digital collaborations like those discussed at WLIC), and the number of cultural heritage institutions that see digitization as part of what they do.

At the World Library and Information Congress, I was impressed with the number of digitization hardware vendors in the exhibit hall.  Among them were: (this list may not be complete)

• Atiz Innovation, Inc. (added 09/23/2016)
• Crowley Company 
• Digital Transitions Division of Cultural Heritage
• e-ImageData Corp.
• Image Access (DLSG)
• Indus
• Qidenus Technologies GmbH  (added 09/23/2016)
• Ristech - Which owns Kirtas and i2S DigiBook
• Scannx, Inc. (added 09/23/2016)
• SMA Electronic Document GmbH
• ST Imaging
• Treventus (added 09/23/2016) 
• Zeutschel GmbH

For any librarian interested in digitization, this was a plum opportunity to talk with vendors and to look at hardware.  Yes, there was an impressive array of hardware on display for librarians from around the world.

In talking with a representative from one of the companies, we went over some of the acquisitions that have happened in the industry.  We also talked about where in the world the big scanners are being sold.  Not every institution can afford these large, expensive equipment but some institutions can put together programs that are large enough and funded well enough to afford a piece of equipment that costs over $100,000 (U.S.).

One positive that has happened over the years is that the technology is less expensive - more affordable - equipment has improved.  Look, for example, at the microfilm readers that are also scanners.  Look at the equipment meant for end-users (library users) which many institutions have been able to purchase.  Yes, even look at the equipment that many of us have at home. While these printer-scanners are not what a large digitization program would use, they put an ability into our hands that can be used to digitize materials and share them on a personal level.

Yes, this was an amazing opportunity for the librarians at WLIC and I hope some took the time to look, talk, ask for a demo, or obtain information to take back home.  Seeing this variety of hardware in one spot may not happen soon.

Crowley Booth

Versascan large format scanner

All of these papers are available through the digital program on the IFLA web site.

Julia Brungs and Vincent Wintermans - Digitally reassembling scattered collections

Commons terminology:

Restitution - Each term means something different.  Often used for physical materials.



Unification - some of these terms are used with digital collections



Digital unification - what role can IFLA play?
Yes, documentary heritage items are in countries or institutions different from the county of origin.






People are positive about the fact that this conversation is happening.
What should IFLA's role be in this? What role can each of us play?

UNESCO and the Memory of the World:

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Jaesun Lee - Digital Reunification of Dispersed Collections: National Library of Korea Digitization Project

Over its history, Korea has been overtaken and people have immigrated to other countries.  Korea's cultural items became scattered across many countries. Korea is currently a divided country.

The National Library of Korea began in 1945.  It began digitizing in 1996.  (See photo below.) Digitization has helped the library save the content of items which were deteriorating.



Digitization of rare books held abroad. There are five steps:

• Planning: Target materials list preparation (photo)
• Planning: Prior consultation at the working level - this is part of the selection prices
• Visit / examination - this is also part of the selection process
• MOU/agreement between NLK and partner institution (Memorandum of Understanding)
• Digitization - both NLK and the partner institution play important roles

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NLK is also collaborating with overseas Korean studies librarians, oversees Korean cultural heritage foundation, the a Cultural Heritage Administration, and others.  NLK is working with the Korean Association for the Preservation of Old Books.

She noted that many materials on Korea have been digitized by NARA in the United States, and which are available online. 





Driss Khrouz - Digital preservation and access on collaborative platforms
Please note that you can use Google Translate to obtain a translation of this paper. The paper is available on the IFLA web site.

Why this project?  The answer can be found in a quote in the paper, where it is stated that the presence of the French language in the digital space is at stake.  This project has brought together people from 19 countries.  Please read the paper for information on it.

What is at stake, right now, is the presence of the French language the digital space. Tomorrow, which will not be digitized and made ​​accessible online risk to simply be overshadowed, if not forgotten. Now our community has large wealth sharing and to share. -  Abdou Diouf

Caroline Brazier - Digital access and cooperation of shared collections: The British Library and its international collections

The British Library collections reflect global history, not just British history.



Some collaborators are small scale, yet they can still have a large impact.  Some collaborative projects come out of support from philanthropic support provided to other national libraries.  She noted that sometimes the digitization project is part of a larger project.

The impact of mass digitization  project can take time to be realized.  As an example,she spoke about a digitization project of Hebrew manuscripts where a copy of the digital files will be given to a library in Israel.

One of their largest partnerships is with the Qatar National Library which is interested in materials on the Gulf region.  This partnership has included technical collaboration and the creation of school/academic materials.

Digitization allows access to be given to fragile items that are physically housed around the world.

They have also done 3D digitization/modeling which has allowed people then to engage in 3D printing.

She noted that they are entering into a partnership with the National Library of Korea, its newest partnership.  This will help to provide digital reunification of Korean materials held in the British Library.

They are part of the endangered archives program.  The physical items remain in situ.  A coy of the digital file is given to the owner of the physical item.  She noted that digitization does not need to use high tech setups.



Future priorities:

• Shared priorities for mass digitization
• Continually improve the service of discover, access, and reuse
• Realize the full potential of digital research technologies (future proofing)

Isabelle Nyffenegger - A national library, a universal heritage
Again, you can use Google translate to read this paper (which is available on the IFLA web site), which is written in French.

According to ABC news, the U.S. Supreme Court today let stand the lower court rulings which favored Google.  Rather than Google's book digitization being "epic scale" infringement, the lower courts have said "that Google can provide small portions of the books to the public without violating copyright law." 

How many years has this been winding its way through the courts?  11 years.  I hope the publishers will talk about what they gained from this effort or what changes they have already made based on it.

Tim Wu writes:

Today, the project sits in a kind of limbo. On one hand, Google has scanned an impressive thirty million volumes, putting it in a league with the world’s larger libraries (the library of Congress has around thirty-seven million books). 

I remember when everyone was talking about Google Books. It grabbed our imaginations. As a digitization consultant, I thought it was something we'd be able to learn from. However, the ability to scan millions of books ran into the reality of authors' rights.

If you've not thought about this project for a while, this article sums it all up nicely. Of course, what it doesn't say is whether we'll ever get the access to those 35,000,000 volumes in the way that we want.

In a New York Times article, Brewster Kahle talks about expanding what the Internet Archive can do, if anyone (and everyone) can become a curator.  In terms of digitization, this text stood out to me:

A new book scanner was presented; Robert Miller, the archive’s director of books, literally unveiled it. This baby was only 40 inches tall and 62 pounds, versus the earlier version’s six feet and 350 pounds. In other words, it is portable, and can be taken to collections that are too fragile or cumbersome to make their own way to the archive. It’s much easier to use, too.

While that's not quite smaller enough to fit into anyone's home, it is a size that would fit into many libraries.

Last Thursday was Global Accessibility Awareness Day and I spent part of the day attending a webinar about making ebooks accessible.  The way we're making ebooks accessible is by digitizing them (or using digital files from teh publisher) and then creating different file formats with different attributes/features for those with print disabilities.  In the United States, the organizations that are doing this are using Section 121 in the U.S. Copyright Law.  This section of the U.S. Copyright Law begins:

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, it is not an infringement of copyright for an authorized entity to reproduce or to distribute copies or phonorecords of a previously published, nondramatic literary work if such copies or phonorecords are reproduced or distributed in specialized formats exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities.

Notice that this work must be done by an "authorized entity" and that "specialized formats exclusively for use by blind or other persons with disabilities."  Bookshare is one such entity and it provides information on its web site about the legal framework in which it operates.  The company also discusses its Digital Rights Management Plan and how it ensures that its books are not "out in the wild", but are instead serving people with print disabilities. 

Sitting in the webinar, I was proud to see digitization serving an important function and copyright law recognizing this area as being worthy of an exemption.  When people say that the copyright law is outdated, I'm happy to have examples like this that demonstrate how it is serving real needs in our communities.

So that you can find all of the blog posts I've written for the 2014 Computers in Libraries Conference, here is a quick index:

Brainstorming session

Day 1:

• Hack Libraries: Platforms? Playgrounds? Prototypes? - David Weinberger, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-hack-libraries-platforms.html [Keynote]
• Weathering the Virtual Library - Adriana Edwards-Johnson, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-weathering-virtual-library.html
• Enabling Innovation - Jill Hurst-Wahl, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-enabling-innovation-jill-hurst.html
• Moving Ideas Forward - John Liebhardt & James Stephens, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-moving-ideas-forward-john.html
• Libraries & the Big Picture: Facts, Trends, & Next! - Kathryn Zickuhr, Marydee Ojala, & Stephen Abram, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-libraries-big-picture-facts.html
• Ideas from the "Enabling Innovation" brainstorming session, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-ideas-from-enabling-innovation.html [Long!]

Dorotea Szkolar

Day 2:

• Hacking Strategies for Library Innovation - Mary Lee Kennedy, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-hacking-strategies-for-library.html [Keynote]
• Method for the three-dimensional digitization of books using terahertz radiation (patent), 
http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-method-for-three-dimensional.html
• Ready for Change? 8 Steps! - Myles Miller, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-ready-for-change-8-steps-myles.html
• Stop Being Generic: On Demand & On Target - Chad Boeninger & Julian Aiken, 
http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-stop-being-generic-on-demand-on.html
• Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, 
http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-trans-pacific-partnership.html
• Library Data Mashups - Samantha Becker, Michael Crandall, and Rebecca Blakewood, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-library-data-mashups-presented-by.html
• sheetsee.js - a tool for visualizing data, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-sheetseejs-tool-for-visualizing.html
• Embracing the Innovative & Nontraditional - Dorotea Szkolar, Hannah Sommers & Robert Goldstein, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-embracing-innovative.html

Chances of Success

Day 3:

• Hacking Library Spaces: Lessons From Tactical Urbanism - Mike Lydon, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-hacking-library-spaces-lessons.html [Keynote]
• Technologies: Marketplace Report - Marshall Breeding, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-technologies-marketplace-report.html
• Library Hackathons: How, Why, & Impact! - Justin Grimes & Nate Hill, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-library-hackathons-how-why-impact.html
• Hacking the Librarian: Evolving Personal & Career Development - Jennifer Koerber, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-hacking-librarian-evolving.html
• Community Impact: Tactics & Recognition, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-community-impact-tactics.html

Several people remarked about the abundance of good content in this conference. It could be that the conference theme sparked threads and presentations that were quite timely.

Thinking quickly, the themes/ideas that stood out to me were:

• Be tactical
• Take big risks
• Work with your community and keep them first in your mind
• Brainstorming can be fun and useful
• Hack your library and your career
• Global and local policies matter
• Being awesome doesn't always require a lot of money
• Introducing new tech is important, but building community is more important

I was amazed at the number of people that commented positively on my brainstorming session (Enabling Innovation), including a woman in the Dupont Circle Metro elevator on Wednesday afternoon.  I hope that people take the results of that session and use it, as well as use my slides. (If anyone wants me to reprise that presentation, let me know.)

The 2015 Computers in Libraries Conference will be March 23-25, 2015 at the Washington Hilton. This will be CIL's 30th anniversary, so I expect that the atmosphere will be special, as we look back in some ways, as well as keeping our eyes on the future. I look forward to see you there!

First of all, here is a link to the index of my blog posts for day 1, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-index-of-day-1-blog-posts.html And here is a list of my blog posts from day 2 , in reverse order of publication:

• Embracing the Innovative & Nontraditional - Dorotea Szkolar, Hannah Sommers & Robert Goldstein, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-embracing-innovative.html
• sheetsee.js - a tool for visualizing data, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-sheetseejs-tool-for-visualizing.html
• Library Data Mashups - Samantha Becker, Michael Crandall, and Rebecca Blakewood, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-library-data-mashups-presented-by.html
• Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-trans-pacific-partnership.html
• Stop Being Generic: On Demand & On Target - Chad Boeninger & Julian Aiken, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-stop-being-generic-on-demand-on.html
• Ready for Change? 8 Steps! - Myles Miller, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-ready-for-change-8-steps-myles.html
• Method for the three-dimensional digitization of books using terahertz radiation (patent), http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-method-for-three-dimensional.html
• Hacking Strategies for Library Innovation - Mary Lee Kennedy, http://hurstassociates.blogspot.com/2014/04/cildc-hacking-strategies-for-library.html

Stephen Abram mentioned this during his session yesterday at CIL and I've located the patent,which is available at http://www.google.com/patents/US8564855

Abstract:
A process for digitizing closed books without having to open them, of printed documents or manuscripts, bound or in batches, without having to separate them, using an imaging system of a three-dimensional object by Terahertz waves including acquiring by an THz acquisition subsystem a set of three-dimensional low-resolution images representative of this object and obtained by application of shifts orthogonal three-dimensional in translation according to which the object and the THz acquisition subsystem are relatively shifted relative to each other, a process in which, during these three-dimensional shifts, the amplitude of the relative shift in each of these three dimensions is less than the spatial resolution of the THz acquisition subsystem in each of these three dimensions and a three-dimensional super-resolution processing step is provided, capable of generating a super-resolved 3D image from a linear combination of 3D low-resolution images and an image-restoration step capable of generating a restored super-resolved 3D image from deconvolution by the point spread function calculated from the 3D super-resolution image.

Like many others, I was mesmerized by Google's digitization program and then by the litigation that followed.  The Copyright Clearance Center's Beyond the Book podcast has covered Google's efforts, the lawsuit, and the aftermath and given many of us a concise summary of what is occurring.  This 15-minute podcast entitled "The Battle for the Books" is an interview with journalist and attorney Jeff Roberts provides an overview of it all and some of the elements that you may not have considered (e.g., "East Coast against West Coast, Manhattan Island versus Silicon Valley, technology upstarts taking on publishing elites").  If you have not kept up with the lawsuit, this will be you quickly up-to-date and likely leave you wanting to know more.

This podcast is also, in essence, an introduction to Roberts book The Battle for the Books: Inside Google's Gambit to Create the World's Biggest Library.The book is available for the Kindle, which points at something that occurred over the last 10+ years; Google is not the dominate purveyor of books that we thought it might become.  Instead Amazon marshaled its forces and created an ebook distribution service that many of us use.

In my campus class on digitization, one student brought this article in for discussion.  In 2011, the Internet Archive announced that it had created a physical archive of books that it has digitized.  According to the Internet Archive, some libraries do not want the books returned after they have been digitized.  Their goal? 

The goal is to preserve one copy of every published work. The universe of unique titles has been estimated at close to one hundred million items. Many of these are rare or unique, so we do not expect most of these to come to the Internet Archive; they will instead remain in their current libraries. But the opportunity to preserve over ten million items is possible, so we have designed a system that will expand to this level. Ten million books is approximately the size of a world-class university library or public library, so we see this as a worthwhile goal. If we are successful, then this set of cultural materials will last for centuries and could be beneficial in ways that we cannot predict.

Read the article for more information on how the books are being stored, which I must admit is interesting.  The phrases "climate controlled" and "shipping containers" are often used together in my world!

The web site says: 

Starting this semester, Duke University faculty, students, and staff can request to have certain public domain books scanned on demand. If a book is published before 1923 and located in the Perkins, Bostock, Lilly, or Music Library or in the Library Service Center (LSC), a green “Digitize This Book” button will appear in its online catalog record.

The turn-around time will be less than two weeks.

This is a pilot project.  Pending the results of it, they may expand in order to digitize other materials on-demand. 

This is a cool service!  Are there any other libraries doing this?

This past week, the judge rendered his decision in the Authors Guild v. HathiTrust et al. copyright case.  Yes, HathiTrust won!  The Authors Guild is reportedly now considering their next step, so this still may not be over.

You can read the Honorable Harold Baer, Jr.'s decision at  http://www.tc.umn.edu/~nasims/HathivAG10_10_12.pdf

Since I know that commentaries and summaries written by others can be quite helpful, here are several that I have found:

• Authors Guild. "Orphan Works" Unresolved in HathiTrust Ruling, http://www.authorsguild.org/advocacy/articles/orphan-works-unresolved-in-hathitrust.html
• Crews, Kenneth. Court Rules on HathiTrust and Fair Use, http://copyright.columbia.edu/copyright/2012/10/11/court-rules-on-hathitrust-and-fair-use/
• Grimmelmann, James. HathiTrust Wins, http://laboratorium.net/archive/2012/10/10/hathitrust_wins
• HathiTrust. Information about the Authors Guild Lawsuit, http://www.hathitrust.org/authors_guild_lawsuit_information
• Kolowich, Steve. Legal Sweep, http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/10/12/hathitrust-ruling-universities-fair-use-winning-streak
• Milliot, Jim. Authors Guild Pondering Next Steps in HathiTrust Lawsuit, http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/copyright/article/54354-authors-guild-pondering-next-steps-in-hathitrust-lawsuit.html
• Sag, Matthew. HathiTrust Wins on Fair Use, and just about everything else, http://matthewsag.com/hathitrust-wins-on-fair-use-and-just-about-everything-else/
• Sims, Nancy. Author's Guild v Hathi Trust: A Win for Copyright's Public Interest Purpose, http://blog.lib.umn.edu/copyrightlibn/2012/10/authors-guild-v-hathi-trust-a-win-for-copyrights-public-interest-purpose.html
• Smith, Kevin. A big win for fair use and libraries, http://blogs.library.duke.edu/scholcomm/2012/10/11/a-big-win-for-fair-use-and-libraries/ 
• Vaidhyanathan, Siva. Universities Are Vast Copy Machines—and That’s a Good Thing, http://chronicle.com/blogs/conversation/2012/10/12/universities-are-vast-copy-machines-and-thats-a-good-thing/

Reading the article, this text stood out to me:

Google isn't saying whether it has pulled back from its longstanding goal of collecting all of the world's knowledge. Some of its digitization efforts have shifted to Europe. Much of the company's public focus lately has been not on mass digitization but on how to use individuals' data to create more focused advertising and online browsing. Meanwhile, a copyright-infringement lawsuit brought against it by authors' and publishers' groups drags on. 

The company has been digitizing books since 2006 and converted millions of books to digital form. It could be that Google has hit a maturation point or it could be something else.  For example, has Google gotten what it needs out of this effort (whatever that might be)?  (There were rumors early on what why Google might be doing this work, e.g., making its search engine better or capturing more eyeballs on the Internet, and maybe those needs have been satisfied.)  

I cannot let the last Wednesday in 2011 go by without looking backwards over the last 12 months. What stands out amid the growing din of the "news"?

Google

• Google shut down its newspaper digitization program. (post) This was one of many things that Google did away with in 2011, in an effort to rid itself of those products and services that have not had the desired impact. (article)  Of course, after its long shopping spree, something was bound to be let go. (post)
• Google's amended Book Search settlement was rejected. (post) This was, of course, a surprise to no one.

HathiTrust

• In 2011, the Authors Guild turned its attention to the digitization work that the HathiTrust had been engaged in. (post)  The trial is scheduled to begin in November 2012. (article)

Georgia State 

• I keep thinking that the copyright lawsuit against members of the George State University administration should be settled by now.  The judge was expected to release his decision in early fall.  I've searched for any recent news and found none. Because so many colleges and universities are using digital course reserves, this will have far reaching implications. (related blog post)

And...yes...those all (above) have to do with copyright. 

Kenneth Crews (post), Clifford Lynch (post) and Henrik de Gyor 

• I am always amazed by the people I get to talk to...from Henrik de Gyor (Another DAM Podcast), who is a fellow blogger, to people like Clifford Lynch and Kenny Crews. While these weren't news highlights for you, they were for me!

Martin King III and Ambassador Andrew Young 

•  In April, I was invited to a meeting with Ambassador Andrew Young and Martin King III.  The photo on the right was taken on my iPhone and you can see Ambassador Young checking his iPhone!
• Is this digitization related?  Yes.  JPMorgan Chase has been working with the King Center to digitization over one million documents.  (article)  This fall, Syracuse University's library announced plans to digitize audio and video materials in the King Center archive. (article)  The idea for SU to get involved with digitizing materials at the King Center was born at this meeting.
• There were other digitization-related ideas that came out of this meeting, and I hope they come to fruition.
• The lesson...you never know who is interested in digitization! The project of your dreams may be waiting for you in the next meeting that you attend.

Amazing Digitization Programs

• There are many amazing digitization programs going on now and they people involved aren't always who you would imagine.  For example, it's JPMorgan Chase that is working with the King Center on its digitization efforts. JPMC didn't hand the project off to someone else, instead they learned what needed to be done, how to do it, and then got to work.
• Among the programs that I should be following more closely is the Digital Public Library of America.  This sounds like an effort that more people and organizations need to know about and get involved in. 
• The need to handle "big data" - which can be created through digitization - is growing, and so some of the "projects" people need to get involved in are around analysis, open access, preservation, etc.  These projects may not be glamorous, but they are definitely necessary.
• We have so much born digital content now that comes to us in a variety of way, that digitization doesn't have that "oh wow" affect on people. People are concerned about ebooks, new apps, tablet computers, smartphones, etc.  Digitization remains important when people look for something from the non-computer era, but that isn't something that people do every day.  Does this mean that we should digitize less?  No.  But it does mean that we need to continue to educate people about why it is important.

On a Personal Note

• I wrote more than 130 blog posts this year in Digitization 101.  While that will sounds like a lot to some people, actually my blogging has slowed down...and my focus has shifted.  I find myself drawn more to copyright concerns these days, even though the topic of digitization is important to me (and my teaching).   In 2012, look for a continued stream of posts on digitization, digital libraries, copyright, etc., but don't be surprised if you see a greater proportion of blog posts on copyright.
• Teaching at Syracuse University has kept me quite busy.  (Sometimes too busy!)  Yet this was a prolific year for me in terms of publications.  In March, The Information and Knowledge Professional's Career Handbook written by Ulla de Stricker and I was released and has received positive reviews.  In April, The Atlas of New Librarianship, which was written and edited by David Lankes, was released.  It includes a section on "special librarians" written by Ruth Kneale and I.  And finally, Academic Entrepreneurship and Community Engagement: Scholarship in Action and the Syracuse Miracle which contains a chapter that I wrote.
• I've done my best to enjoy every day!  I hope you've done the same.
  

This is not a lawsuit that I was familiar, so thanks to Peter Murray for bringing it to my attention via Google+.

Quoting the Chronicle of Higher Education:

Those plaintiffs [AIME and Ambrose Video Publishing Inc.] claimed that UCLA had violated copyright and breached its contract by copying DVD’s of Shakespeare plays acquired from Ambrose and streaming them online for faculty and students to use in courses.

The judge dismissed the lawsuit and provided "a little bit of good news, hardly definitive, for the fair use claim that was being made by UCLA."  (Quoting Peter Smith) 

Here is the even better news, according to The Chronicle:

UCLA decision increases the chance that the HathiTrust digital-library consortium will prevail in its effort to fight off a separate copyright lawsuit brought by the Authors Guild over the digitization of books from university libraries.

That insight was given by James Grimmelmann, an associate professor at New York Law School.  Of course, it is up to the court to decide about the Authors Guild lawsuit, but we could use some good news in terms of copyright and digitization.