LIBRARY CONTENT

This digital library is a collection of information on American immigrant history. The collection contains a variety of formats to make it a rich experience for the user. Digitized photographs, print objects and interviews and links to websites that deal with immigration and genealogy constitute the collection.

LIBRARY ORGANIZATION

There is a front page with links to general information about the library and the project, to the collections of immigration resources and immigrant interviews and to interactive services that include, online reference, evaluation, a language selection feature, a way to add information to the library. There are links to university, museum and public collections that contain resources on particular ethnic groups and other sites that center around immigration issues. All pages are accessible by the navigation bar on the left. The interview collection is searchable by date of immigration. As an introduction to the future development of the library there are two pages included that deal strictly with individual ethnic group immigrant experiences and resources.

LIBRARY DESIGN

User Interface

The user interface is simple in construction and design for easy access by various user groups and different levels of expertise, from novice to expert. Navigation buttons are on the left hand side with text and photos on the right. Each separate section has its own navigation component for different pages within that section.

Each page is slightly different and was created that way to provide the user with options. We hope to get feedback on which pages and styles work best

so we can improve the usability for our users according to what works best for them. The main page is grey, while other pages are colored so that you always see when you are on the main page as opposed to special pages. For instance, the Belgian page uses the colors of the flag. The Polish page uses the color used on many Baroque buildings in that country for cultural flair.

If you see a feature or page design that you feel works better than others let us know what you think at: EVALUATION

Technical Information

The webpage is currently located on Tripod site builder, a free web hosting site. It is available at http://build.tripod.lycos.com . Some of the features are automatically added by the site itself, others were added manually.  The metadata information was manually added on the interview page but there is a metadata feature included on the site when creating each individual page. The Lycos search engine feature found on the bottom of the front page, the counter, the date and update stamps and the forms are all features provided for download on Tripod.

According to the Tripod site management information page the following browsers are supported for the two platforms:

"For Windows:

Netscape Navigator: Version 6.2 aand 7.0

Microsoft Internat Explorer: Versions 5.5 and 6.0

AOL Windows: Versions 6,7 and 8

For Macintosh: Netscape Navigator: Version 6.2"

(Index Page: http://buid.tripod.lycos.com)

The size of this library is as follows:

Main Pages:138k

Pages translated into Dutch: 609k (not currently being used)

Belgian Pages:113k

Polish Pages:260k

Pictures: 1,168k

Total disk space: 2,102k

Metadata

Metadata for items in the interview collection is a shortened version of Dublin Core and TIFF tags adapted from tables in Witten, I and Bainbridge, D. (2003) How to Build a Digital Library. New York, NY: Morgan Kaufman Publishers. The metadata information example format used was adapted from The Digital Library of Wielkopolska, http://www.wbc.poznan.pl/dlibra .

Photographs

The black and white photographs were digitized using the Epson Perfection 1660#2 scanner and software wizard on the microsoft windows platform. The file type is JPEG, and the picture type used was the "Grey Scale" for better resolution. The photos done using the "black and white" option available came out inferior to the "Grey Scale" option results. The "color photo" option was used on the menu cover.

     Picture of the SS Batory - Resolution 1275X1755, size 88.9KB  

     Picture of Gdynia Harbor - Resolution 1275X1755, size 71.7KB

     Picture of Copenhagen Harbor - Resolution 1275X1755, size 57KB

     Picture of Batory Dingroom - Resolution 1275X1755, size 70.2KB

     Picture of Menu Cover - Resolution 1275X1755, size 214KB

     Picture of Menu  - Resolution 1275X1755, size 226KB

The top left hand corner image was found on the Tripod photos and clipart

section. It was difficult to decide on the most appropriate image - transportation, old family picture from 1910, the statue of liberty, images of

computer chips, computers, surfing the web, etc.. Any and all would fit depending on what to emphasize the immigrant topic, the digital nature of the library or the fact that it is a library. In the end the books were chosen to stress

the library aspect, and to not loose sight of it.

Reference for the top corner image:

Books.gif : GIF Image - Size 6677 bytes - 84X75 pixels. Retrieved August 19, 2006, from: http://build.tripod.lycos.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/pictures/objects/law/books.gif

LANGUAGES

The foreign language translation is provided using Altavista BabelFish Translator. The difficulty in translation is that every time information is added it has to be translated again and it takes a lot od disk space. Using the Altavista tool lets people who want to use a different language to access the library that choice without using too much precious space or the need to update every page everytime when new information is added thereby saving maintenance time and costs. Due to the topic and intended users the translation feature is important to accessibility because many immigrants prefer or only speak their

native language. 

Reference: Atlavista. Babelfish Translator - Web Page Translator. Retrieved August 23, 2006, from: http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr

LIBRARY MAINTENANCE

The library needs to be added to, its links need to be checked and the entire site needs to be updated regularly. So that the public can see that the library is active a interactive feature was added on the bottom right hand corner. It states the date of the last update. Also, a day stamp was added to the bottom left hand corner so the public can compare the two dates side by side. Maintenance is an important and very labor intensive process. Information when changed on one page needs to be updated on other pages as well.

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT POLICY

There are two components to this digital library collection procedure. The first is searching, collecting and evaluating available information webpages that deal with immigration history and related topics. The second is to enable the public to contribute their family stories and memorabilia through the user interface. If not preserved much historical information is lost. This library strives to make

American immigration history more accessible by providing evaluated online and print and special interview collections available in one spot.

User Contribution Evaluation

Information provided by the public will have to be evaluated and verified for authenticity. This could be a good project for interns as a learning experience and research project. Conversely, the information provider will need to evaluate and the final product compiled  and give permission for its inclusion before it is inserted into the digital library and put online.

Online Resources

All online resources used in the library are checked for links and compared with other sites and evaluated for content applicable to this collection. We try to use educational, organizational, government sites but some commercial or personal pages may be used if they add information not found elsewhere. The

library is not responsible for sites that move or change their address, although we will try to monitor them to make sure of usability and when they are updated last.  

EVALUATION

For educational purposes and to improve the digital library from the user’s perspective an online survey and an email feature are included for the users to contribute their ideas as to what features work well, which do not and what features they would like to see added to improve the usability for them.

Let us know what you think at: EVALUATION