potential digital asset management systems before settling on one called Piction. This new system will act as a repository for images, born-digital materials, and films digitized from obsolete formats, as well as podcasts, videos, and digital publications. These will be stored within the system and organized with a readily searchable infrastructure. Made possible by a generous foundation grant, Piction will transform the work done at the Newberry by replacing the cumbersome and inefficient paper-based order and retrieval system with an easy and, in most situations, “self-serve” download process for staff. “For example, a simple keyword search for an image of a ship will call up illustrations from publications in which the user might expect to find them, such as a book about the voyage around the world by James Cook,” Thom said. “The search also will retrieve images from more surprising sources, such as a beautiful color illustration from an account of the great eruption of Mount Vesuvius and a whimsical drawing from a French children’s book (Alphabet des insects, for the letter “Y” for “yacht”). This functionality is possible because we are gathering into one place thousands of scans of materials from across the entire Newberry collection and describing them on a detailed and individual level.” The Newberry also has plans to implement an e-commerce module that will eventually allow the public to efficiently order images. These capabilities also benefit the staff, enabling them to devote more time to valuable digitization projects, research, and assisting patrons with their scholarly endeavors. “Piction will give the Newberry a means to manage the library’s rich collection of digital content,” Strohm said. “The system will allow us to organize, track, and describe the images, audio, video, and other assets in a meaningful way. It will also provide mediated access to this content, first for Newberry staff, and eventually to researchers all over the world.” Caring for and managing these digital assets is essential to the Newberry’s mission. In its endeavor to foster an ethos of free and open access to information, knowledge, and services, the Newberry’s implementation of a digital asset management system is an essential step toward a long-term digital strategy. The digital environment is constantly evolving and there are still many challenges to be met, but the implementation of Piction fulfills one of the most fundamental infrastructural requirements for moving the Newberry forward in this digital age.
Newberry Statistics 2011-12 850,370 total titles in online catalog 453,445 online catalog visits 47,084 books paged 17,600 reader visits 15,764 titles cataloged 15,093 participants in non-seminar public programs 10,020 reference inquiries answered 3,070 items treated in conservation 2,514 titles purchased and received 1,043 teacher participants in Teacher Programs 1,412 participants in continuing education seminars
267 linear feet of modern manuscripts acquired
210 schools involved in Teacher Programs
40 short-term fellowships
40 participants in ACM–Newberry undergraduate programs
20 participants in Newberry Library Undergraduate Seminar
11 long-term fellowships
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