About - Making the Digital Library

Dr. June Abbas is an Associate Professor in the department of Library and Information Science at the University at Buffalo. She is the author of articles on children's information seeking and metadata representation issues, use of digital libraries, and children and information technology. Dr. Abbas facilitated the construction of this digital collection, providing support to each team throughout the process.

The Management Team consisted of Carol Kowalik, Amanda Kuhnel, Brian Mahady, Erin Pautler, Tatjana Ravnik, Ellen Shannon and Jason Kovari. The managers ensured that each group working on the digital library understood the whole process and coordinated tasks accordingly.

The Copyright and Content Team consisted of Elizabeth Breslin, Karen Jury, Chris Hayes, Dana Wilson, Jason Kovari and Jacinta Penkszyk. We delved into contemporary intellectual property issues, studying the ways that the digital age is changing and complicating copyright law. Armed with this knowledge, we created a copyright and use policy to fit the needs of this collection. Additionally, we designed the content layout for this site and contextualized the collection through research of E. B. Green, William S. Wicks, and their firm. Read our Copyright Policy.

The Digitization Team consisted of Ellen Shannon, Ralph Vick, Dan Plassche, Elizabeth Kettell, Kristine Mostyn, Isobel Moody and Eric Decker. We captured, verified, and re-purposed digital images for the BECHS website. The capture process included scanning and taking photographs of houses in the greater Buffalo area. Verification focused on ensuring proper lighting, size, and appearance of images. We re-purposed verified quality images to a smaller file and pixel size for display on the web. Thanks to the help of iMedia, we completed each of the above steps for the first in a series of Green & Wicks ledgers. Read our Digitization Policy.

The Infrastructure Team consisted of Brian Mahady, Anna Jao and Tatjana Ravnik. Our job was to work out the technical issues arising from merging metadata, interface, and digitization specifications and designs into the Greenstone Digital Library management system. This involved customizing the user interface created by the Interface Team, configuring the search engine used within the Greenstone system and ensuring that metadata can be harvested under Z39.50 and OAI-PMH standards. We also orchestrated the entry of metadata by all project members in to the E.B. Green Digital Library. Read our Infrastructure Statement.

The Interface Team of Elizabeth Hicks, Laura Mendola Lusk, Eileen Ruberto, Erin Pautler, Richard Freeman and Grace Ruszala (not pictured) designed the E. B. Green Digital Collection site to serve as an online repository of BECHS - RL's collection of archival materials that comprise the architectural work of Green & Wicks. The team used a global design approach to develop an interface with the end-users in mind. This interface complies with both Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards to the greatest extent possible. Read our Compliance Statement.

The Metadata Team consisted of Kirill Tolpygo, Carol Kowalik, Colleen Lyon, Scott Richmond, Jacquie Keleher and Nicole Capece and assumed the task of choosing and creating the most effective scheme for capturing the descriptive data of the objects used in the E.B. Green Digital Collection. We all share an interest in cataloging and were excited to research many of the different types of metadata schemes being used today. Our team spent plenty of time at the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society poring over the ledger and, in the end, decided Dublin Core would serve best for our project. We added to the basic DC elements, creating a robust scheme that captures all the important characteristics of the objects presently contained in this digital library. Read our Metadata Policy.

The User Liaison team included Amanda Kuhnel, Nathan Tallman and Jason Imbesi. Our responsibilities were to maintain consistent communication between BECHS and other digital collection teams, identify the digital collection's user groups, create a purpose statement for the E.B. Green Digital Collection, and assist with the editing of its content. Working on this project has taught us the value of collaborative teamwork and involving users in digital projects.