The William and Yvonne Jacobson
Digital Africana Program at UCT
Stanford University and the University of Cape Town Libraries
Phase One: Progress Report
Submitted April 2011
Report forwarded by Ms. Joan Rapp
Executive Director, University Libraries
University of Cape Town
Rondebosch 7701
South Africa
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The William and Yvonne Jacobson Digital Africana Program at UCT
Stanford University and the University of Cape Town Libraries
Phase One: Progress Report
For the period ending 31 December 2010
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Participants:
Representing Stanford:
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•
Mimi Calter
Julie Sweetkind-Singer
Assistant University Librarian and Chief of Staff
Head Librarian, Branner Earth Sciences Library & Map Collections
Representing University of Cape Town
•
•
•
•
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Joan Rapp
Lesley Hart
Sandy Shell
Janine Dunlop
Laureen Rushby
Executive Director: UCT Libraries
Manager of Special Collections
Head of the African Studies Library
Head of the Digital Initiatives Unit
Head of Government Publications
___________________________________________________________________________
Introduction
We are pleased to submit the first annual report on The William and Yvonne Jacobson Digital Africana
Program at UCT, a program to facilitate the digitization of UCT library collections or projects, in
particular those that support a collaborative Stanford-UCT digital library.
Origins of the project
Both Stanford University and the University of Cape Town hold impressive collections of African
historical maps. Stanford’s African cartographic holdings include the historical maps collected by the late
Johannesburg surgeon, Dr Oscar I. Norwich, and the University of Cape Town recently added the maps
assembled by Professor William Talbot, first professor of Geography at the University, to its existing
African map collection.
In order to make these maps accessible to the widest audience, Stanford Libraries have already digitized
the Norwich collection as well as their own holdings of African historical maps, dating from the late 15th
century to the early 20th century. These images are accessible on their Maps of Africa website,
http://www.lunacommons.org/luna/servlet/Stanford~6~1.
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During exploratory discussions in October 2009 between Mimi Calter and Julie Sweetkind-Singer of
Stanford and representatives of UCT Libraries, both universities agreed on a joint initiative whereby the
African historical maps held in UCT Libraries should also be digitized and made available on the Maps of
Africa site as well as on the UCT Libraries’ own website.
The discussions culminated in agreement that that we would approach the African map digitization
project in three phases:
Phase One.
African historical maps – maps of the continent of Africa and its constituent
countries and regions published before 1925 and housed in the African Studies Library
Phase Two.
The Imperial Map Series (housed in the African Studies Library) and the
Divisional Maps (housed in the African Studies Library and in Government Publications)
Phase Three.
The street plans of Cape Town (housed in the African Studies Library)
We were delighted and grateful to learn that UCT had received generous funding for the project from
the William and Yvonne Jacobson Africana Program.
Phase One:
African historical maps
Many of the African historical maps held in the African Studies Library are rare, some are unique, and
most have considerable intrinsic research value. However, their existence has been little known until the
commencement of this project. By making the map images and metadata readily accessible online, we
hope now to maximize their availability so that their full research value may be realized.
We began Phase One with a detailed costing of the project. We based this exercise on the cost per unit
broken down by physical format, as format determines the way in which each item will be digitized (e.g.,
by in-house flatbed scanners, in-house photography or outsourced).
Work during the first phase also included identification of maps to be digitized, which included ensuring
that there was no duplication of digitization already done by Stanford, and preparing metadata records.
Once digitization began, we started with the small maps, the dimensions of which were all A3 or smaller,
as they could be scanned on one of our A3 flatbed scanners. We have completed the digitization and
metadata of 46 maps in this category.
We have also been able to complete the digitization and metadata of 36 medium sized, 9 large, and 9
extra-large maps.
It is expected that with what has been accomplished in the planning phase – determining content
parameters in collaboration with Stanford, determining the scope of the project, developing costing
templates, selection of appropriate maps for digitization, and development of metadata templates – and
with the successful digitization of maps in various sizes, the number of items digitized in 2011 will
increase considerably.
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UCT Libraries will shortly be launching a sophisticated resource discovery platform to make our digital
collections readily accessible, and the maps and metadata will be available through that platform, with a
clear identification to the Jacobson funding that made the digitization possible. As part of our
collaboration with Stanford University Libraries, we will submit all map images and metadata to
Stanford, for inclusion on their Maps of Africa website.
The breakdown and totals of our processing and scanning progress are detailed below. A financial report
is appended.
Format
Total
Cataloguing
Digitization
Equipment
Small maps
46
46
46
ASL A3 flatbed scanner)
Medium maps
35
35
35
UCT Libraries camera
Medium maps
1
1
1
outsourced
Large maps
5
5
5
UCT Libraries camera
Large maps
4
4
4
outsourced
Extra large maps
4
4
4
UCT Libraries camera
Extra large maps
5
5
5
outsourced
Totals
100
100
100
We thank the funders, William and Yvonne Jacobson, for investing in this important project. It is one
that benefits two institutions of excellence, as well as making African content available to the wider
research community. We hope that this project is the basis of a continuing and growing spirit of
collaboration and partnership between Stanford University Libraries and the University of Cape Town
Libraries.
Lesley Hart
Project Director
Sandra Rowoldt Shell
Project Manager
April 2011