Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Science & Technology Libraries

Publication Date

2006

Keywords

digital libraries, leaf, Yale, Peabody Museum

Abstract

This article describes a digitization project inspired by the innovative leaf morphology classification work of a faculty member in the Geology and Geophysics Department and the Peabody Museum at Yale University. We began our initiative by scanning the Flora Fossilis Arctica, a 7-volume fossil leaf identification tool covering various geological areas, published between 1868 and 1883. This classic paleobotany resource was digitized, creating tiff, pdf, and searchable pdf files. We are now converting the searchable pdf files into ASCII text, enhancing the raw data with metadata elements, placing this material on the web for searching and display; and linking this material to an existing set of preserved leaf plates, a locally created index of annotated article clippings, an online leaf morphology tutorial, and the published online literature. Many decisions must be made in terms of host platforms, mark-up standards, search and linking options, and preservation documentation. This article will outline our decision process as we explore the post-digitization dataset handling, which may prove instructive for others attempting to create and link locally digitized materials.

Comments

Original article found at "Yale Leaf Morphology Digitization and Network Project" Science and Technology Libraries 26 (3/4): 137-155 (2006).

DOI

10.1300/J122v26n03_09

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