Digitizing the University Libraries Student Artwork Contest
Last year, University Libraries organized an artwork contest which highlighted the artistic talents of App State’s students. Over 30 pieces were submitted in a variety of sizes and formats--from sculptures, to photographs, to acrylic paintings that were large enough to take up an entire wall!
After the conclusion of the contest, library personnel decided to preserve these artworks in digital format for posterity. This is where the Digital Scholarship and Initiatives (DSI) team came in with our equipment and standards for digitization and preservation. Many of these adopted standards include those set forth by national and international organizations and initiatives such as the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiatives (FADGI).
Digitizing the Art
For digitizing cultural heritage materials such as artwork, DSI follows guidelines that include a high-resolution minimum (expressed as dots per inch, or DPI) for capturing images and then exporting them in the correct format. When creating a digital surrogate of an object, we want to capture and retain as much data from the original as possible.
In service of these efforts, DSI uses professional-grade scanning equipment that can scan a variety of formats, such as 3D objects, documents, photographs, books, transparencies, or, in this case--large pieces of art. For the 2D items, we used the Bookeye 4, an overhead scanner which is ideal for oversize, bound, and fragile items. Using our 3D scanning setup, we were also able to scan submitted sculptures, allowing viewers an interactive 360-degree view.
i am everything from everyone i've ever loved, by Abby Dent
Bookeye4 in action scanning Stargazing on Memories, by Annette Curti
While the scanning bed fits materials up to 2’x3’, it still could not accommodate a few of the largest pieces of art. One item was almost five feet tall! To tackle this, we took several scans of them piecemeal by carefully rotating them on the scanning surface. We then stitched them together in Photoshop to make one final image.
The Boonies, by Emily Kellogg, was almost as tall as our Digitization Technician!
After exporting the master copies in TIFF format, the digitization team wrote technical metadata for each item, which captures important information about the object, such as its title, creator, format, etc. The images and corresponding metadata were then securely stored in long-term preservation. Access copies (slightly compressed versions) of each image were then made for upload to Omeka S, an open-source publishing platform. These access copies were used for a public-facing online exhibit displaying the digitized artwork, which is now one of the University Libraries Digital Collections titled Student Art Contest. Also, several of the original artworks are displayed on the second floor of the library in case you would like to see them in-person.
The DSI team at University Libraries offers digitization for App State students, faculty, and staff projects, in addition to a wealth of other services to aid in your digital projects. Find out more about DSI by visiting the Digital Scholarship and Initiatives website!
Image description: Large acrylic painting held upright in the DSI scanning room. Sai Estep peers over the top of the painting and scanning equipment is visible in the background.
Preparing to digitize The Boonies, by Emily Kellogg