University of Maryland Early Dissertations for Doctor of Medicine (1813–1889): Challenges and Rewards of a Digitization Project

Abstract

The Health Sciences and Human Services Library holds in its Historical Collections dissertations required for obtaining the degree of Doctor of Medicine at the University of Maryland (UM) during the 19th century. A project to digitize these dissertations for inclusion in the UM Digital Archive began in 2011, thanks to an award from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Southeastern/Atlantic Region. This article presents challenges encountered, as well as rewards and learning experiences gained during this digitization project, especially in the assignment of accurate metadata, and in the assessment of scanning quality.

KEYWORDS:

• digital preservation and dissemination
• digital archives
• hidden collections
• manuscripts
• dissertations
• metadata management
• scanning quality control
• PDFs

Notes

ⁱThe digitization project was funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHS-N-276-2011-00004-C with the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland.

ⁱⁱThe Health Sciences and Human Services Library is a member of the Lyrasis Mass Digitization Collaborative <http://www.lyrasis.org/Products-and-Services/Digital-Services/Mass-Digitization-Collaborative. aspx >. It is through this Lyrasis partnership that the digitization by the Internet Archive's scanning center is coordinated. Accessed: September 14, 2012.