More Info
Outside the ordinary
Day to day we focus on digitizing for patron access, exhibitions, publications, and general processing and preservation needs. However we also engage in a variety of unusual projects that really demonstrate the breadth and depth of Stanford Libraries' digitization services, the expertise staff bring to the work, and how we engage with departments at Stanford and institutions more broadly with a strong collaborative spirit. Read about three of our special projects below.
Sound in Images
Stanford Libraries holds a major collection of historic perforated paper rolls for mechanical player pianos — otherwise known as piano rolls. The rolls are rare and extremely delicate; to play back these musical recordings in their original form without damage or destruction is impossible.
In partnership with the Stanford Department of Music and with the benefit of collectors' expertise, the Libraries developed a formal program to preserve piano rolls digitally while making them widely accessible once again for research and enjoyment. The Digital Production Group produces the roll images using the custom engineered piano roll scanner shown above.
Demystifying technical errors
SMPL led the development and launch of a community-based resource for identifying and remediating errors encountered when playing back and preserving audiovisual material. The Artifact Atlas has been online since 2013, and is used for teaching in professional archival training programs and as a reference by media preservation practitioners in the field.
Explore the AV Artifact Atlas
Preservation and access go hand in hand
Stanford Libraries is a pilot participant in the Emulation-as-a-Service Infrastructure project (EaaSI), a multi-institutional effort led by Yale University Libraries to share legacy computing environments and software to address digital access challenges with emulation.
Read more about EaaSIDocumentation
The tables below, one for each lab, offer links to open documentation about our practices, equipment, file specifications, guidelines for digital media content producers and more!
Born Digital Preservation Lab
| Document title and link | Description |
|---|---|
| Imaging Floppy Disks | Describes how to image various types of floppy disks using different disk capture tools. |
| Imaging Optical Media | Describes how to image optical media using different optical media capture tools. |
| Imaging Zip Disks | Describes how to image Zip Disks |
| Imaging External Drives using FTK Imager | Describes how to image external hard drives and flash disks using AccessData’s FTK imager. |
Digital Production Group
| Document title and link | Description |
|---|---|
| General imaging guidelines | Describes typical imaging and post-production for digitization of printed materials |
| Current equipment list | Lists equipment current installed for digital imaging operations |
| Preservation and delivery file format specifications | Characterizes the files produced for preservation and for delivery to patrons |
Stanford Media Preservation Lab
| Document title and link | Description |
|---|---|
| Recommended Video Digitization Resources | This document aims to provide library professionals, technologists and others with definitive resources about video preservation. |
| Describing Digital Video and Audio for the SDR | Includes general guidelines content producers at Stanford University and information about required and optional metadata fields as well as available templates for preparing digital audio and video content to be deposited the Stanford Digital Repository (SDR). |
| Preparing Digital Audio and Video Content for the SDR | How to select, name, encode, organize and deliver media files to the SDR. For content producers at Stanford University. |
| Documenting Your Digital Video Production | Form for Stanford media producers to provide detailed technical information that will be useful for optimal content preservation and delivery. |