General Workflow for Image and Metadata Capture

This document is intended as a quick reference for digitization workflow, specifically image and metadata capture for The Revolutionary City: A Portal to the Nation’s Founding, a collaborative digital project using Islandora and Drupal software. Refer to The Revolutionary City Digitization Guidelines for further details and instructions on steps in this workflow.

Review collection for metadata management

1. Find the Collection Metadata Management spreadsheet for the designated collection material or create one using a template.
   • Capture any pre-existing metadata.
   • If no finding aid or inventory exists, then create an inventory of the collection.

Digital capture on scanning equipment

1. Set up file storage.
2. Scan collection material according to project specifications.
   • Capture basic metadata while scanning material.
   • If using a book scanner, material will be scanned at a faster rate. Prioritize scanning over simultaneous metadata capture.
3. Perform any post-procesing to digital files.
4. Perform quality control on digital files.
   • Capture basic metadata while quality checking digital scans.

Metadata enhancement

1. Create and complete all required metadata according to project standards. See Required Metadata.
2. Review recommended metadata fields and create and complete metadata according to project standards. See Recommended Metadata.
   • Include as many fields as your time and factual information will allow.
   • DO NOT get in the weeds trying to include all fields/find accurate information.
   • A good rule of thumb is to spend only a few minutes searching for factual information and if unsuccessful, make a note and come back to it at a later time. Sometimes other material in the collection you have not gotten to prove to be useful.
3. Enter complete and formatted metadata into the Workbench tab in the Collection Metadata Management spreadsheet.
4. Perform quality control on metadata, ensuring data is in the correct field and format.

Prepare for upload

1. Ensure digital files are ready for transfer onto the server, including appropriate file names and formats.
2. Update The Revolutionary City Project Management spreadsheet to reflect the current status of the digitization process.