Franziska
Frey
School of Print Media
Rochester Insitute of Technology
Creating and Sharing Digital Collections in a
University Environment
Many university libraries are busy converting some of their holdings
into digital form. Digital imaging technology offers institutions distinctive
advantages for accessing and sharing their collections. In the hands
of expert operators, today's best digital imaging hardware is capable
of representing almost any type of materials with such visual quality
that reference to the original materials is unnecessary for most purposes.
However, the required investment for digital image conversion is tremendous.
Furthermore, digital image conversion requires a deep and longstanding
institutional commitment to traditional preservation, the full integration
of the technology into information management procedures and processes,
and significant leadership in developing appropriate definitions and
standards for digital preservation.
With digital image systems available, faculty have the ability to access
high quality images to support their teaching, both in and outside of
class. The collections bought or developed for one discipline are available
to the entire institution. This talk will present some of the benefits
of creating and sharing digital collections, as well as some of the
institutional infrastructure that must underlie such collections.
About the Speaker
Franziska Frey is Assistant Professor at the School of Print Media at
Rochester Institute of Technology. She teaches courses in materials
and processes for printing, image database design, and digital asset
management. She is also a Faculty in the "Mellon Advanced Residency
Program in Photograph Conservation" at George Eastman House, International
Museum of Photography. Franziska Frey received her Ph.D. degree in Natural
Sciences (Concentration: Imaging Science) from the Swiss Federal Institute
of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland in 1994.
Before joining the faculty of the School of Print Media, she has worked
as a research scientist at the Image Permanence Institute at RIT. Her
work has primarily focused on establishing guidelines for viewing, scanning,
quality control, and archiving digital images. Franziska publishes,
consults, and teaches in the US and around the world on various issues
related to establishing digital image databases and digital libraries.
She is also actively involved in several international standards groups.
