Full grant proposal for the Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library ( CNDL )

Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library
Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

Table of Contents

1. Meeting the Purpose of the Authorizing Statute ............ 1

2. Extent of Need for the Project ................... ............... 10

3 S ign ifica nce ............................................... . . .......... 12

4. Q quality of the Project Design.......................................... 16

5. Quality of Project Personnel...................... ............... 21

6. Quality of Project Services ........................ ............... 24

7. Adequacy of Resources ............................ ............... 27

8. Quality of the Management Plan ............................... 31

9. Quality of the Project Evaluation ............................... 37

Appendices:
Appendix A: CNDL Partner Agreement Letters
Appendix B: External Letters of Support
Appendix C: Technical Specifications
1. Web Specifications
2. Equipment Specifications: Hardware and Software
3. Imaging Specifications
4. UF Digital Library Center Capacity: Personnel
Appendix D: Management Plan
Appendix E: Resumes for Relevant Faculty, Staff

Budget Narrative

Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library:
Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life
Abstract
In order to preserve and increase access to valuable resources for the study of the
Caribbean and the advancement of Caribbean Studies, the Latin American and
Caribbean Center at Florida International University and the Center for Latin American
Studies at the University of Florida, in consortium with the libraries at Florida
International University, the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, and
the University of the Virgin Islands, propose a multifaceted, collaborative international
digital newspaper library. The Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library (CNDL) will cross
borders and build collaboration among diverse institutions to share resources in a
common space, expanding the range of Caribbean materials available to scholars,
students and citizens.
This digital library will comprise newspapers that examine similarities and differences in
histories, cultures, languages and governments. Caribbean newspapers cover the news
of the day-economic, political, cultural, and environmental. CNDL will be an umbrella
for regional newspaper digitization, including literary news journals, traditional
newspapers, government gazettes, and other works in newsprint whether held in
isolation at a single institution or in incomplete runs across multiple institutions. CNDL's
primary output will be a critical mass of currently endangered resources, largely
unavailable to American researchers.
Building upon the success of a cooperative pilot project and progress made over the
course of planning CNDL meetings, this project proposes to meet the following goals:
o Increase access to and preserve Caribbean newspapers of note in English,
French, Haitian Creole, Spanish, Dutch, and Papiamento by digitizing, archiving
and making them searchable through a centralized interface;
o Digitize complete runs of individual Caribbean newspaper titles, whenever
possible, to unite fragmented collections and to present the most complete
history;
o Build capacity for newspaper preservation and access in the Caribbean region by
developing a multi-layered, comprehensive digital preservation and metadata
creation training program with guidelines for negotiating Internet distribution
permissions from targeted publishers;
o Cultivate new research initiatives among Caribbean scholars by providing
increased access through full text searching and article-level indexing;
o Create tools to assist with overall newspaper digitization and create software to
assist with newspaper segmentation, both manually and automatically, into the
individual article level. Several suitable titles will be initially chosen for a pilot;
o Ensure sustainability of the CNDL by consolidating existing organizational and
technical frameworks established by Digital Library of the Caribbean and assist
local partners in incorporating newspaper digitization into national public policy
agendas, and support for secondary grant-writing and other fundraising activities.

Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

1. Meeting the Purpose of the Authorizing Statute

The Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library (CNDL) is a multifaceted initiative that brings

together international, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural partners within the Caribbean

Basin region to facilitate access to historic and contemporary newspapers (1700s-

present), employing proven techniques in electronic delivery and retrieval. This project

enables the wide dissemination of Caribbean newspapers to meet the needs of scholars

by making Caribbean newspapers searchable through a single interface.

In order to preserve and increase access to valuable resources for the study of the

Caribbean and the advancement of Caribbean Studies, the Latin American and

Caribbean Center (LACC) at Florida International University and the Center for Latin

American Studies (CLAS) at the University of Florida, in consortium with the libraries at

Florida International University, the University of Florida, the University of Central

Florida, and the University of the Virgin Islands, will partner with 15 Caribbean

institutions and publishers to build CNDL and to promote Caribbean studies and

languages. CNDL will foster an understanding of the Caribbean region through increased

research assisted by advanced technology, shared collections and inter-institutional

collaboration.

U.S. educational institutions have long mined Caribbean resources for research and

teaching. For this reason, the Farmington Plan, a 1960s Rockefeller Foundation

program similar to TICFIA, supported collection and preservation of world resources for

U.S. scholars. The University of Florida used micrographic technology to generate tens

of thousands of reels of significant content, including newspapers, from the region.

Digital technologies now offer unprecedented opportunities for widely disseminating

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

resources formerly acquired only by a fortunate few. While the University of Florida is

digitizing its microfilm holdings, CNDL will procure new content from the region and also

provide access to newspapers poorly microfilmed in the past.

The Caribbean, with its mixture of cultures, ethnicities and languages, offers a unique

vantage point from which to develop understandings of major world trends, including

migration, economic and cultural integration, human security and the development of the

nation-state. Pan-Caribbean research provides scholars, students, citizens and their

leaders with a great range of perspectives on history and current events, increasing and

facilitating prospects for new research and the context necessary to make informed

decisions and to develop effective policies.

a) What are the objectives of the project?

CNDL builds upon the success of a cooperative pilot project, the Digital Library of the

Caribbean (dLOC)1 and the earlier, pre-Internet University of Florida Caribbean

Newspaper Imaging Project that digitized newspapers for CD-ROM distribution. dLOC

partners have successfully modeled a centralized digital cooperative across countries

and institutions to make digital collections accessible through a single multi-language

interface. CNDL was developed to support the great need and commitment to

newspaper preservation and dissemination in the Caribbean before these valuable

resources are lost forever, due to the harsh climate and lack of preservation resources.

dLOC has demonstrated commitment to CNDL, hosting three planning sessions within

the last six months. A CNDL workshop, led by representatives of FlU, UF and UVI at the

Association for Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL)

1 www.dloc.com

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

conference in May 2008, was enthusiastically received. A second CNDL meeting in

September 2008, hosted by the Universiteit van de Nederlandse Antillen organized

participation of the Dutch Caribbean Libraries. A third CNDL planning meeting held July

2008 at the University of Florida mapped out the governance model and the

technological framework for the project.

This proposal intends to use Federal funds to meet the following objectives:

Increase access to and preserve Caribbean newspapers of note in English,

French, Haitian Creole, Spanish, Dutch, and Papiamento by digitizing, archiving

and making them searchable through a centralized interface;

Digitize complete runs of individual Caribbean newspaper titles, whenever

possible, to unite fragmented collections and to present the most complete history;

Build capacity for newspaper preservation and access in the Caribbean region

by developing a multi-layered, comprehensive digital preservation and metadata

creation training program with guidelines for negotiating Internet distribution

permissions from targeted publishers;

Cultivate new research initiatives among Caribbean scholars by providing

increased access through full text searching and article-level indexing;

Create tools to assist with overall newspaper digitization and create software to

assist with newspaper segmentation, both manually and automatically, into the

individual article level. Several suitable titles will be initially chosen for a pilot;

Ensure sustainability of CNDL by consolidating existing organizational and

technical frameworks established by dLOC and assist local partners in

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

incorporating newspaper digitization into national public policy agendas, and

support for secondary grant-writing and other fundraising activities.

The objectives of CNDL address six of the seven TICFIA-authorized activities to advance

teaching and research in international education and foreign languages. There are

pockets of innovation at institutions around the Caribbean where attempts have been

made to digitize and deliver resources. The digitization of the Jamaica Daily Gleaner, the

only major Caribbean newspaper to provide digital access to its entire historical archive,

has already resulted in a number of published works including Lara Putnam's "To Study

the Fragments/Whole" in the Journal of Social History. 2 In view of the limited number of

trained technicians available, and the high costs of equipment, networking, and web

connectivity, these efforts are admirable. However, there has not been a comprehensive

plan to make historical and contemporary Caribbean newspapers widely available

through a paid or free system, nor accessible through a single interface. Further, there

has not been an arrangement within the region to leverage extant expertise or resources

for creating metadata and advancing search options, even though these are essential for

expedient newspaper research.

OBJECTIVE 1. To facilitate access to or preserve foreign information resources in
print or electronic forms.

CNDL will employ proven techniques in digitization and electronic information delivery to

provide global access to and to preserve Caribbean newspapers that exist in print,

microform, and born-digital formats. Unlike other international newspaper projects, CNDL

will provide both out of copyright and still copyright protected newspaper issues. Utilizing

2 Putnam, Lara. "To Study the Fragments/Whole: Microhistory and the Atlantic World," Journal of Social
History 39, no. 3 (Spring 2006).
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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

a proven infrastructure, CNDL partners will 1) acquire permissions from a title's copyright

holder; 2) contribute newspaper collections; and, 3) provide metadata for optimum

usability. Partners in the project will contribute digital content along with metadata to a

centralized repository. Programming and technical support will be provided by the

University of Florida Digital Library Center (UFDC), and materials will be freely

accessible through a centralized web portal.

In accordance with the decision in July 2004 by the Association of Research Libraries to

endorse digitization as an acceptable preservation standard,3 CNDL seeks both to

preserve and to provide continuing access to newspapers from the Caribbean Basin

region. CNDL partners will work together to obtain copyright permissions and provide

digital access to content. Through coordination with the Florida Center for Library

Automation, CNDL will provide redundant file storage back up services and forward

migration of file formats for the newspapers included in the project.

CNDL newspapers present the history, culture, environment, economy and politics of the

region. The project has written commitments to participate from four U.S. and 15

Caribbean institutions (Appendix A), including (See Appendix D for full details about

targeted collections):

The Archives Nationales d'Haiti and the Bibliotheque Haftenne des Peres du

Saint-Esprit will contribute Le Nouvelliste. It is notable as an opposition paper

during the U.S. occupation (1915-1934) and for its record of the 1937 Haitian-

Dominican crisis. Commercial and cultural information includes the opinion of

blackness, Africanism, Afro-Caribbeanism. Renowned authors and scholars,

3 http://www.arl.org/arl/ pr/digitization.html
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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

including the enigmatic Stenio Vincent, the historian Stephan Alexis, and

intellectuals such as J.B. Romain and Rene Victor contributed articles to the paper.

Le Nouvelliste provides historical context to the country's long and often tortured

relationship with the United States.

The Grenada Newsletter serves as the most comprehensive source of recent

Grenada history (1973-1994). It was published by award-winning journalist Alister

Hughes and covers the period from just before independence through the People's

Revolutionary Government to the U.S. intervention.

The National Library of Jamaica, will contribute The Daily News (1973-1983),

from a time when Democratic Socialism was the modus operandi of the

government, and Galls Newsletter (1882-1899), which offers views into daily life in

the 1800's; as well as newspaper sources from Jamaica Unshackled4 (1930s).

The University of Florida will contribute the Diario de la Marina (Havana, Cuba)

and its in-exile variants published in Florida and New Jersey. This contribution will

span the years 1899-1961. Reporting covers Cuba's independence from Spain,

the Spanish-American War, U.S. occupations, a succession of regimes, and the

Cuban Revolution. In addition, law gazettes are targeted for digitization including

the gazettes of the British colonial territories, Surinam, and others.

CNDL will seek funding from its Caribbean partners and Caribbean and U.S. foundations

to supplement holdings with additional issues and complementary titles. U.S. copyright

law holds that newspapers published before 1977, provided they were published without

copyright notice, are within public domain. Newspapers published before 1923 are in the

4 Jamaica Unshackled is a digital collection compiled by the National Library of Jamaica (www.nlj.org.jm/nljdigital.htm).
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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

public domain regardless of copyright notice. Digitizing based on public domain alone

would limit the project to newspapers published prior to 1977 if not earlier. This would

substantially reduce the usefulness of the resource. However, by working in partnership

with copyright holders, CNDL will gain access to newspapers and the non-exclusive

electronic distributions permissions in perpetuity. Agreements already exist with

publishers for seven titles (see Appendix A). Further, advisors from the dLOC will

provide guidance on collection development to ensure coverage of the critical mass

necessary for research inquiry.

OBJECTIVE 2. To develop new means of immediate, full-text document delivery
for information and scholarship from abroad.
All newspapers included in this project will be processed using the PrimeRecognition

optical character recognition software. This process ensures that all CNDL newspapers

will be fully text searchable. Participating contemporary publishers of titles such as The

Nassau Tribune are contributing their newspapers in born-digital full-text format. The

newly accessible content with increased usability through full-text searching and

mechanisms for article-level indexing, and user-contributed text editing from multiple

sources not previously available outside its respective country of origin will engender

new Caribbean research.

OBJECTIVE 3. To develop new means of shared electronic access to international
data.
CNDL will use a single delivery system as an umbrella for searching and accessing

documents. Most of the newspapers selected for digitization are not available

electronically anywhere at this time. Shared electronic access will be presented under

each institution's banner as well as under the umbrella of the CNDL banner. In addition,

the creation of an open-source newspaper digitization and segmentation toolkit will

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

provide a new means for creation of shared data. CDNL partners will ensure the highest

quality of both the digital product and the corresponding metadata.

OBJECTIVE 4. To support collaboration projects of indexing, cataloging and other
means of bibliographic access for scholars to important research materials
published or distributed outside the United States.
CNDL will provide software to assist the partners in the creation of metadata consistent

with each institution's standard practices. The Metadata Control Director will provide

assistance to ensure each item is cataloged and indexed for searching within the

framework of CNDL, through both manual and automatic metadata enrichment. The

quality of cataloging and other metadata contributed by partners will be ensured by the

application of the Dublin Core Standard and the guidelines developed by the Library of

Congress including the METS, MODS and MARC formats, as well as guidelines of the

UFDC. In addition, several titles will be chosen to act as a pilot for article-level indexing

and contents will be exposed to Google for searching outside CNDL's web interface.

OBJECTIVE 6. To assist teachers of less commonly taught languages in
acquiring, via electronic and other means, materials suitable for classroom use.
The study of Caribbean linguistics is incomplete without an understanding of the various

Patois and Creole languages spoken there. These languages are increasingly

recognized as tools for understanding the merging of cultures and migration patterns of

local peoples. Through keyword searching for unique words and phrases, newspapers

will support development of curricula and provide teachers with additional resources for

documentation and student research. Newspapers connect students to living history, as

evidenced by the Newspapers in Education Program, which features lesson plan

suggestions designed to support the use of newspapers in middle and high school

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

classrooms.5 Curriculum guides used in conjunction with newspapers published in

Caribbean languages will open a new world of culture and history for students.

OBJECTIVE 7. To promote collaborative technology based projects in foreign
languages, area studies and international studies among grant recipients under
this title.
CNDL will engage the collaborative expertise, the technical and information resources,

and the digitization experience of its partners to further strengthen pan-Caribbean

collections through improved access to Caribbean newspaper holdings, including those

in French, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Dutch, Papiamento, and other languages. This

project will increase the capacity of the U.S. Dept. of Education's Title VI Latin American

and Caribbean resource centers to promote and to support similar technology-based and

collaborative research projects among its multi-lingual Caribbean Studies scholars.

Multi-lingual guidelines for metadata and guidelines for conducting copyright assessment

and requesting Internet distribution permissions will encourage new content.

CNDL will enhance the freely available multi-lingual, standards-based metadata and

dLOC digitization toolkit to include additional languages and digitization tools for multi-

volume sets. This will include the ability to graphically zone individual articles on the

newspaper page and add minimal IPTC G2 compliant metadata6 for each article. In

addition, software will be developed and implemented with several titles to automatically

zone each newspaper page into articles and collect minimum metadata. The software

will be released as open-source for other collaborative projects to employ.

5 See examples in the Newspapers in Education Program, (http://www.naafoundation.org/), other U.S. sources
(http://www.com/search/newspapers%20in%20education%20new%20yvork%20times).
6 International Press Telecommunications Council news exchange (G2) formats: see
http://www.iptc.or'/cms/site/single.html?channel=CH0087&document=CMS1206527645546. The G2 formats incorporate the
News Industry Text Format (NITF), which originated among U.S. publishers.
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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

2. Extent of Need for the Project
The barriers of language, nationality, and culture that have hindered access to

information across the Caribbean for centuries still exist today. They are compounded

by challenges of geographic isolation, high cost of travel to and within the region,

ineffective or non-existent guides for finding information, and threats from tropical storms

and hurricanes, improper climate control, and inadequate storage methods and facilities.

Although efforts to collect key Caribbean newspapers have been made, largely in

microfilm, the format is increasingly disliked and rejected by researchers, and is not

widely accessible. CNDL seeks to address these difficulties through compilation of a

critical mass of Caribbean newspapers, electronically disseminated to ensure wide

access by researchers and other learners. Given numerous access barriers to Caribbean

newspapers, the need for a single interface for searching multiple newspaper titles is

evident. The proposed CNDL meets this need.

Jocelyn Josiah, Caribbean advisor in information and communication for UNESCO,

assessed the need for a project such as CNDL at a Barbados Memory of the World

Committee meeting in 2004, saying,

"Persons who manage archives and the storage of information in this region
[Caribbean] have been challenged to lead public education about the
importance of preserving such records [newspapers] and creating more
knowledgeable societies." 7
This quote underscores the longstanding dilemma facing libraries and information

centers in meeting the challenge of preservation and dissemination of Caribbean

newspapers. Devastating storms and inadequate storage facilities continue to deplete

7 Cited by the article "Preservation of history crucial" (Barbados Advocate. 2004 July 02. P.6).
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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

newspaper resources. Compounding the problem, newsprint is a highly acidic medium

and decays without deliberate and continuing intervention.

Newspapers are highly ephemeral; most are read then discarded. And, where in the

past there may have been multiple copies of historic newspapers in libraries throughout

an island, their number in most cases has been reduced to a singularity. The Bahama

Pundit puts the change in appreciation for the value of preserving local heritage and

information this way:

"The resources needed to remind every generation of the heroism of those
men who paid the ultimate sacrifice over 143 years ago in the waters off
the Western Esplanade are relatively small. But the resources required to
preserve, protect and promote the unique manner in which we have
expressed the human journey in our national story will be substantial."8

Although the Association of Caribbean Universities (UNICA) was successful in the late

1960's in establishing a regional association to unify information resources centers,

effective resource sharing has yet to be achieved among institutions in cooperation with

NGOs and commercial publishers. Among members of the Association for Caribbean

University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL), there have been successful

efforts to digitize targeted collections. However, the absence of widespread technological

expertise, and limited human and financial resources has prevented efforts to compile

the region's newspaper holdings for shared access with searching across titles.

Because newspapers are such an important primary resource for the Caribbean, limited

access to their content has led to voids in scholarship that perpetuate misunderstandings

as inaccuracies go uncontested. In his article published in the Caribbean Quarterly,9

Matthew Smith explained the significance of the 1946 Haitian Revolution through the role

8 Simon. "The Heritage Sector-Part 2." (Bahama Pundit. 2008 October). Cf, http://www.bahamapundit.com/2008/10/the-
heritacge-sectorpart-2. html#more
9 Smith. "Vive 1804!: The Haitian Revolution and the revolutionary generation of 1946."(Caribbean Quarterly 2004: 50.4).
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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

of the press where underutilized news sources led to interpretative misunderstandings.

The underutilization of critical news sources is exacerbated by barriers to access. CNDL

will support scholarship in Caribbean Studies by providing electronic access to the

Caribbean's newspapers.

3. Significance

The Caribbean spans over one million square miles of water and is comprised of

hundreds of islands and countries from which emanate a multiplicity of languages,

dialects, and cultures. Occupied over the years by English, French, Danish, Spanish,

Dutch, American, and the Knights of Malta, among others, the Caribbean peoples reflect

a composite of identities and experiences that mirror the western world today. The

recorded daily life that newspapers provide uncovers the blending of African, Indian,

Chinese, Arabian, English, and other nationals for economic, political and social survival

in the Caribbean context. Understanding how these distinct cultural groups work

together holds significant potential for informing the study of societies nationally and

globally. Each newspaper publisher's perspective on daily events varies according to its

advocacy position and motivations for influencing public opinion. CNDL will provide

access to searchable contemporary and historic newspapers along with accompanying

contextual information for supporting Pan-Caribbean research enabling scholars,

students and citizens to draw more informed conclusions.

a) What is the national significance of the proposed project?

The quality of research collections and the extent of activities at the major Caribbean

research centers at U. S. institutions of higher learning speak to the demand for

information services and signify the importance of Caribbean resources, particularly

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

newspapers. Scholarly interests of faculty and students are often guided by the issues

and the realities affecting the communities that surround them. The influx of peoples of

Caribbean Basin origin in Florida, New York, New Jersey, California, as well as the

Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec and British Colombia, and the nations of the

United Kingdom, France and the other former colonial powers contribute to the

international need for Caribbean Studies. For example, the majority of Florida's

immigrants come from the Caribbean Basin (50.9% since 1996).10 The challenges and

opportunities of immigration are mirrored throughout the U.S., in large cities and,

increasingly, in rural areas. CNDL will deliver newspapers that will improve the

understanding of issues stemming from the significant immigration now facing the U.S.

Caribbean newspapers also have the potential to inform and impact contemporary

nation-state building. From the stories and experiences of peoples and the official news

of governments, from those that have enjoyed independence for centuries to those that

have only recently gained independence, the study of the Caribbean offers policy

makers, citizens and students an opportunity to compare the formation of states. The

Caribbean includes young democracies, commonwealths, dependent territories, and

independent countries. CNDL, including at least 32 titles of historic and contemporary

newspapers from across the Caribbean, will provide scholars, students, policymakers

and citizens with the materials they need to gain a more complete understanding of the

region and apply that understanding to current events.

10 Federation of American Immigration Reform. FAIR (2008). Florida Immigrant Admissions. (Based
on INS data for FY 1996-2005). Retrieved from:
http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=research_research0703.
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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

b) What is the potential contribution of the proposed project to the development
and advancement of theory, knowledge, and practices in the field of study?
CNDL brings diverse viewpoints from a variety of newspapers together in a single

centralized interface, thus allowing for the searching across perspectives and titles. This

ability to search multiple titles across time periods and cultural legacies provides

researchers and students with information to explore new perspectives. CNDL also

advances Caribbean and language studies by engendering new research through

improved access to the diverse voices and interpretations of events found in newspapers

for comparing and contrasting ideas.

For example, in addition to historians and social scientists, research groups such as the

Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST)11 can use newspapers

as a vehicle for conducting further research into sea turtle conservation efforts using

published data and environmental news. As CNDL attracts new content, it will provide a

growing resource of searchable newspaper archives providing scholars with the primary

source information necessary to test both new and long-standing hypotheses.

c) Describe the likely utility and high quality of the products that will result from
the proposed project, including the potential for their being used effectively in a
variety of other settings.
CNDL will follow the collaborative structure modeled by UFDC, allowing partner

institutions and publishers to centrally store their electronic materials. CNDL products

will be of the highest quality, based on tried and trusted methods at the UFDC (see

Technical Specifications Appendix C). Because CNDL will also be part of the UFDC and

dLOC collections, the collections will benefit from a large existing user base. UFDC

collections are harvested by and included in digital libraries such as the National Digital

11 WIDECAST & SPAW. UNEP-Caribbean Environmental Programme WIDECAST & SPAW (2003).
Retrieved from: http://www.cep.unep.org/programmes/spaw/widecast.html
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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

Science Library, Florida Electronic Library, Internet Archive, and commercial search

engines, among others.

Currently, there are no inclusive, high-quality, web-based collections of Caribbean

newspapers that enable global access and facilitate resource sharing to the extent of this

proposed initiative. CNDL serves Caribbean Studies researchers and complementary

academic fields, such as Latin American Studies, International Relations, Political

Science, History, Literature, Sociology, Journalism, Sciences, etc. Policy makers,

citizens and civic leaders will also benefit from expedient access to these newspapers.

d) To what extent will the results of the proposed project be disseminated in ways
that will enable others to use the information and strategies?
CNDL will be a freely available web portal for electronic newspaper collections on

Caribbean Studies, open to all users regardless of geography or institutional affiliation.

An aggressive outreach plan will promote use directly to scholars, students, teachers

and citizens. Outreach initiatives include: presentations at conferences related to

Caribbean Studies; two Teacher Training Workshops; and a Caribbean Speaker Series

that will disseminate work being conducted using collections in CNDL video broadcast to

institutional partners (see Management Plan). Project staff will present at library and

discipline specific conferences. Additionally, CNDL will be marketed with the aid of direct

mailings, bookmarks, postcards, posters, screen-savers and calendars. Exposing

metadata to other harvesters will also promote CNDL more broadly.

e) Describe the extent to which the size of the potential target audience gives the
project national significance.
CNDL will provide Caribbean newspapers to scholars, teachers, students, citizens and

policy makers. Project resources will serve academic scholars and students across the

U.S. and the world, especially as educators push to internationalize their curriculum.

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

Additionally, U.S. Government agencies such as WIDECAST, NOAA, and National Fish

and Wildlife Service engage in numerous research activities that include the Caribbean

Basin. The cultural and linguistic diversity of newspapers targeted for this project will

make the resources attractive to a broad audience of multi-lingual researchers studying

the Caribbean immigrant experience and for students of French, Spanish, Creoles and

Patois. Newspapers from Caribbean partners will provide language teachers with new

resources for curriculum building by adding language to the context of history and

culture.

4. Quality of the Project Design.
The Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library is a multifaceted initiative to provide access to

and preserve contemporary and historical newspapers from the Caribbean. CNDL will

provide access to and preserve Caribbean newspapers located in foreign institutions,

supported through Federal funding, while U.S. institutional partners pledge to use local,

non-Federal funding to contribute valuable newspapers from the Caribbean held at

partner institutions. Partners will obtain permissions and access to current and historical

newspapers for digitization.

To date, CNDL has received permissions from our 15 partners or publishers to digitize at

least 32 titles. CNDL is actively pursuing Internet distribution permissions for additional

newspapers which will be enhanced by a decentralized organizational structure where

local partners will obtain the skills to negotiate distribution permissions. U.S. institutions,

when possible, will match partner contributions to ensure the most complete

chronological and geographical coverage possible. This critical mass of resources

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

available through a central web portal will form the basis of an aggressive outreach

program that will target scholars, teachers, students and citizens.

Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library

BUILD: TO PROVIDE: THROUGH: IN ORDER TO:
Training program for Access to historical Outreach Advance Caribbean
obtaining Internet and current Studies
distribution newspapers Curriculum
permissions Metadata and Development Promote an
understanding of
Local infrastructure contextual supports Engender new world events and
Centralized Preserve cultural research trends
technology & support and historical
resources within
Web-based interface newspapers

a) Describe the extent to which the proposed project represents an exceptional
approach for meeting statutory purposes and requirements.

The Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library provides an umbrella for newspaper

digitization that might not otherwise exist or that might exist in isolation at single

institutions. CNDL will develop the technology and infrastructure to create access to

resources in a centralized environment to cultivate new research and teaching. This

centralized nature is even more significant when considering the realities of the

Caribbean individual countries separated by more than water separated by language,

ethnicity, and culture. Collaboration in a region as diverse as the Caribbean is not a

simple task, but mutual interest and broad benefit transcends these barriers.

CNDL has written commitments to provide access to newspaper collections from 15

Caribbean institutions, representing the multi-lingual and multi-cultural mix of the region.

(See Management Plan for Collection Details) CNDL will provide electronic access with

the capability for article-level indexing in multi-lingual interfaces to these disparate

collections, thus advancing pan-Caribbean scholarship. U.S. partner institutions, using

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

local institutional and non-Federal funding, will contribute unique newspapers from the

Caribbean to enrich the digital collections in CNDL. The Florida partner libraries each

have significant Caribbean collections, and the University of Florida holds one of the

oldest and largest Caribbean collections in the U.S. including resources on every country

and culture in the Caribbean Basin.

Full-text delivery of documents is critical to the needs of Caribbean researchers. The

ability to query full-text documents with article level searching across newspapers will

save research time and money. Researchers will more quickly locate the information

they need and will save money through reduced travel costs. In addition, access to

foreign information for use in humanist, sociological and scientific research will enable

more effective research and teaching.

b) Describe the extent to which the design of the proposed project is appropriate
to, and will successfully address, the needs of the target population and other
identified needs.
The interdisciplinary nature of the Caribbean newspaper collections of CNDL will

address the research, teaching and civic needs of scholars, teachers, students and

citizens. These populations require greater and more facile access to Caribbean daily

news in order to gain expertise and knowledge of a region that is not often given

adequate attention in the world arena. As a scholar-driven project with two internationally

recognized Caribbean Studies scholars at the helm and an Advisory Board of Caribbean

Studies scholars to guide its direction, CNDL ensures that selections of newspaper

collections will be of high research value in the U.S. and internationally.

An aggressive outreach plan and integration into the current academic studies programs,

using the existing wide-range networks of the Center for Latin American Studies and

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

Latin American and Caribbean Center, respectively, will guarantee that CNDL reaches

intended audiences. Plans are in place to deliver presentations, hold working meetings

and convene the Advisory Board at conferences throughout the four-year period. 12 In

addition, French librarians who were introduced to the Caribbean Newspaper Digital

Library at the IFLA 2007 conference expressed enthusiasm for the opportunity to

introduce this resource to their patrons, faculty and teachers.13

To increase awareness about Latin America and the Caribbean and provide material to

be incorporated into the K-12 curriculum, CNDL will host two Teacher Training

Workshops in collaboration with CLAS and LACC. These content-based workshops

based on the Newspapers in Education model will provide teachers with research

materials for curriculum development and with the opportunity to discuss strategies for

teaching Caribbean Studies in the classroom. The three CNDL Caribbean Lectures will

each highlight a research theme supported by CNDL collections and will be broadcast in

real-time through the Internet to Caribbean institutions and archived in CNDL.

c) Describe the extent to which the proposed activities constitute a coherent,
sustained program of research and development in the field.
CNDL will deliver newspapers from multiple international partners and provide them in a

centralized space, thus allowing for users to search across collections. Students

researching marine biology and changes to ecological systems in the Caribbean will find

newspaper accounts of weather, constructions, changes in fishing patterns, effects of

natural disasters, and other related information. Scholars across disciplines will have

access to a growing body of primary sources that will facilitate research on currently

12 Caribbean Studies Association, the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials, the Latin
American Studies Association and Association for Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries
13 Loving, M. (2007). IFLA, 2007.
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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

unexplored events and with a level of detailed analysis not easily attainable with today's

sources. Local sources are necessary to re-explore histories that are often written from

the perspective of former colonial centers rather than the local populations.

Students will have access to and be more comfortable exploring historical materials

online. As students research Caribbean literature in the pages of newspapers like The

Dominica Star, they will confront the interplay among literature, culture, and politics as

they relate to the histories of the individual countries and the larger histories of the

Caribbean and beyond. Policymakers shaping viable strategies for economic

development will be able to weigh the peoples' voices in popular newspapers and official

government gazettes. Longitudinal studies of the environment, political thought, and the

development of language will all be enabled by technologies of data aggregation. This

ability for pan-Caribbean research and discovery, facilitated through easy electronic

access, opens new avenues for research, especially for students who may not have the

time and funding to spend months researching at different institutions in various

countries. The mechanisms and the infrastructure for CNDL to deliver research to a

wide audience through advanced web technology, will promote the importance of

Caribbean studies, languages, and events in the international arena.

d) Describe the extent to which the proposed project is designed to build
capacity and yield results that will extend beyond the period of Federal financial
assistance.

An important feature of this CNDL proposal is the assurance of continued success,

beyond the TICFIA grant period. CNDL, built on a model of centralized technology and

electronic delivery (dLOC and UFDC), will provide partners with the physical structure to

continue the project. CNDL will be technically supported and hosted at the University of

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

Florida, even as the grant period comes to a close. The UF Libraries support the

technical infrastructure of the project, which mirrors its own, and as improvements are

made to its internal system, CNDL will likewise continue to benefit.

Local capacity building in the Caribbean via training in digitization, metadata and

copyright negotiations will help secure contributions of additional content beyond the

period of the grant. Project trainers will provide eight in-country workshops to address

the unique needs of newspaper digitization and preservation. All Caribbean partners will

receive online training, ongoing support and troubleshooting assistance in the form of

virtual reference systems and electronic mail. U.S. partners are committed to this project

and will contribute collections to the central repository after the four-year grant period.

Perhaps as important as the building of the physical infrastructure is the empowerment

that Caribbean institutions will receive from this collaborative project. CNDL follows a

model of decentralized collection development, thus giving Caribbean institutions the key

role in the decision making and production process. CNDL facilitates local ownership of

cultural/national patrimony while providing broad access to scholars and students alike.

Many of the current proposed partners are committing their institution's time and

resources to the development of this shared archive. These foreign partners will seek

additional local funding to expand the digitization effort if CNDL is developed. In addition,

Caribbean partners will have the opportunity to apply for a targeted, non-competitive

Program for Latin American Libraries and Archives (PLALA) grant award of up to

$20,000 for continued development administered by the Harvard University's David

Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies and other fundraising opportunities.

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

5. Quality of Project Personnel. (Resumes attached in Appendix E)

Principal Investigator: Dr. Cristina Eguizabal, LACC, FlU
Co- Principal Investigator: Dr. Carmen Diana Deere, CLAS, UF
Project Director (s): Gayle Williams, Latin American and Caribbean
Information Services Librarian, FlU
Co-Project Director: Judith Rogers, Campus Librarian, UVI
Technical Director: Dr. Laurie Taylor, Interim Director, UF Digital Library
Metadata Control Director: Laila Miletic-Vejzovic, Special Collections UCF
Programmer: Mark Sullivan, Systems Department, Smathers Libraries, UF
Educational Outreach: Liesl Picard, LACC, FlU
Project Coordinator: To be determined

The Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library is a scholar-driven project, overseen by two

distinguished scholars with over fifty years of combined experience. Dr. Cristina

Eguizabal (5% FTE), Director of the Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) at

FlU and a professor in International Relations, is Principal Investigator of CNDL. LACC is

a leader in Latin American and Caribbean studies and, along with the Center for Latin

American Studies at the University of Florida, enjoys status as a Department of

Education Title VI National Resource Center. Eguizabal served as a program officer at

the Ford Foundation Mexico City and was responsible for programs in Mexico, Central

America and the Caribbean. Her portfolio included grants on regional cooperation and

document preservation in Latin America and the Caribbean. She has served as advisor

for projects at the Confederacy of Central American Universities, Central American

Institute for Public Administration, and United Nations Development Program.

Dr. Carmen Diana Deere, co-Principal Investigator of CNDL, is the Director of the Center

for Latin American Studies at the University of Florida. Deere is a development

economist whose research interests include the Caribbean region and is well known for

work on Cuban agrarian history. She is co-author of In the Shadows of the Sun:

Caribbean Development Prospects and U.S. Policy. She brings to CNDL a deep

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

appreciation for historical and archival research as she has done extensive research in

the Braga Brothers Collection at the University of Florida and in national and municipal

archives in Cuba.

b) Key Project Personnel

Judith Rogers, co-Director of CNDL (10% FTE) is responsible for promotion, general

leadership and continued development. Rogers is the Campus Librarian at the University

of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix. She has provided valuable leadership for planning and

direction as the co-director of the Digital Library of the Caribbean, and has directed a

variety of initiatives for both the St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses, including several

grant-funded projects. As a librarian in a U.S. university located in the Caribbean, Rogers

understands the need for inter-institutional collaboration in the Caribbean.

Gayle Williams, co-Director of CNDL (10% of FTE), is responsible for outreach and

membership, also assisting with the day-to-day management. She is Head of the FlU

Libraries' Latin American and Caribbean Information Center, and has prior experience at

Emory University, the University of Georgia, the University of New Mexico, the University

of the Virgin Islands, and the University of Texas at Austin. Additionally, she worked with

the TICFIA Latin Americanist Research Resources Project, and is an active member and

Past President of the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials.

Dr. Laurie Taylor, Technical Director of CNDL (5% of FTE), is responsible for all

technical processes, standards, automation and website development. Taylor is the

Interim Director of the Digital Library Center at UF. Working with her on CNDL project

with be multiple staff from the DLC (see Management Plan).

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

Laila Miletic-Vejzovic, the Metadata Control Director (10% of FTE), is responsible for

the development of metadata standards and training materials. Miletic-Vejzovic heads

the Special Collections and University Archives at UCF.

Mark Sullivan, CNDL Programmer (10% of FTE), is responsible for the software

development of the digital library management system of UF, and has led the

development of the deployment and customization of an enterprise-level open source

digital library management system. Sullivan authored the dLOC metadata submission

toolkit that enables Caribbean and U.S. partners to send images and metadata to a

centralized processing system. Sullivan will play an integral role in the application of new

technological innovations to improve accessibility of these resources.

LiesI Picard, Educational Outreach (5% of FTE), is the associate director of the Latin

American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University, where she has been

since 2000. Picard has experience developing and evaluating academic programs in

Latin America and the Caribbean, including Haiti, Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina. Picard

manages and administers LACC's U.S. Department of Education Title VI Grant.

In addition to the key personnel, CNDL will solicit advice and support from Caribbean

Studies scholars of the Academic Advisory Board who, in conjunction with our foreign

partners, have the expertise to effectively guide collection development.

6. Quality of Project Services.

a) Describe the extent to which the proposed project for technological innovation
and cooperation reflects up-to-date knowledge from research and effective
practices.

Since the mid-1990s, multi-institutional collaborative initiatives within libraries have been

at the forefront in efforts to deliver materials while faced with dwindling financial

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

resources. The long term technical, social and institutional collaborations that emerge

through CNDL promise to deliver a highly effective leveraging of initial investments.

CNDL bases its model of a digital library on two successful and ongoing collaborative

initiatives: the Florida Digital Newspaper Library, the centralized digital newspaper library

for the state of Florida, and dLOC. Both of these collaborative initiatives rely on the

UFDC for their technological infrastructure, a national leader in multi-institutional

collaboration, using centralized software and technical support, and decentralized

digitization to build unique interfaces for independent yet cross-searchable collections.

A prototype for CNDL was developed in dLOC after UF received a state Library Science

and Technology Act grant award to convert existing newspaper preservation from

microfilm to digital and to host the Florida Digital Newspaper Library (FDNL). UFDC has

to-date developed support mechanisms for Florida partners which include standards for

use by libraries and publishers in contributing digital newspapers and for digitizing

newspapers.

b) Describe the extent to which the proposed project for technological innovation
and cooperation utilizes the most effective and advanced technological methods
and techniques.

The proposed CNDL will be an innovative digital library that relies upon centralized

software, storage and support, OAI harvesting, decentralized digitization and advanced

web delivery of electronic newspapers through multi-lingual interfaces (Appendix C).

Partners will have access to high quality infrastructure and advanced technology,

centralized software and support from the UFDC. Examples include a new CNDL Toolkit

to contribute data and metadata to UFDC; services to load, store, and navigate text and

image collections; bibliographic search software; Z39.50 client and server facilities; and

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

the provision of long-term archival storage and migration facilities. Partners may also

choose to automatically receive updated metadata for their library catalogs through

automatic metadata to MARCXML feeds or chronologically updated RSS feeds,

facilitating development of independent technologies for metadata and enhanced internal

records.

CNDL will employ a variety of technological solutions to enhance the usability of these

newspaper files. CNDL will develop segmentation tools to automatically separate pages

into articles to facilitate article level searching. To increase the quantity of high quality

text for searching, CNDL will create an editor interface to allow users to enter the full text

on-line. In addition, an image server will take the standards-based METS and ALTO files

and allow for highlighting at both the word and article level. There is currently no freely-

available tool for other libraries to use that performs this type of highlighting to assist the

many burgeoning newspaper projects. All source code will be provided to the open

source community for further development and use among newspaper projects.

c) Does the project ensure equal access and treatment for eligible project
participants who are members of groups that have traditionally been
underrepresented.
All Florida partners and UVI are committed to diversity in employment and in services.

The student body at FlU is a microcosm of the diverse South Florida community, with

nearly 70% of student enrollment from minority groups: 51% Hispanic, 14% black, and

3.5% Asian. Over 40% of FlU faculty and administrative personnel also come from

these underrepresented groups. Caribbean scholarship is underrepresented in area

studies and international studies, including within Latin American Studies. CNDL not

only offers access to Caribbean newspapers, but also engenders new research by

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

providing the mechanisms for Pan-Caribbean scholarship and the infrastructure to

disseminate this research. In web delivery, CNDL will conform to the access guidelines

developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium

(W3C). These best practices for web authoring will help ensure that resources available

through CNDL reach a global audience.

7. Adequacy of Resources.
a) Describe the extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the
objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed project.

Many, indeed nearly all, of the resources targeted for digitization by CNDL, are isolated,

difficult to access and in danger of deteriorating to the point that they are unusable. The

majority do not exist in any U.S. library, physical or digital. And, among those that can

be found in U.S. collections, most reside in special collections with on-site use policies

and limited hours of access. Not since the Farmington Plan has active "collecting" from

within the national libraries and archives of the Caribbean been planned on this scale.

It is true that the commercial vendors, with whom CNDL has consulted, might be able to

"collect" these same materials. However, utilizing vendors results in greater cost and

lacunae. The equipment and processing personnel in this plan are based on UF's years

of experience in the Caribbean, both microfilming and digitizing. Fiscal data from test-

bed projects have indicated low costs relative to those assessed in annual license fees

for access to comparable digital content. The commercial vendors have stressed three

points: (1) desire to access CNDL content and willingness to pay royalties that support

continued collection building; (2) their limited success in gaining access to collections -

the project's foreign partners simply do not trust the commercial agencies, many in the

past have had to buy access to their own newspapers and collections on microfilm the

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

vendors have already seen more willingness among the foreign partners to open their

collections to CNDL; and (3) had vendors had more success, decisions to build more

narrow collections would have left the "non-commercial" content beyond the reach of

U.S. scholars and foreign policy experts. A commercial alternative would have been less

complete and more expensive. For a detailed budget breakdown, please see the Budget

Narrative.

b) Describe the extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the number
of persons to be served and to the anticipated results and benefits.
It is difficult to enumerate costs relative to anticipated users, and the resultant benefit of

use. Digital libraries have consistently shown that unanticipated (future) uses far out-

number anticipated (past) uses of content. In a presentation on the preservation and

digitization of Latin American newspapers, 14 James Simon and Linda Ronan confirmed

the University of Florida's exclusive efforts to digitize and distribute Caribbean

newspapers. Based on University of Florida staff experience with prior and continuing

interest in Caribbean newspapers on microfilm and CD, CNDL will satisfy the needs of

teachers, researchers, and the public. CNDL will bring free access to newspaper issues,

at a lower production, distribution, and use cost than microfilm. Further, CNDL will

expand the usability of Caribbean newspapers without ongoing multi-institutional costs of

subscribing to commercial databases. The value of CNDL in saved travel costs alone is

enormous, and, these savings should generate more research.

Because of their ubiquitous nature, newspapers contain a wealth of information and

perspectives that can be utilized for a vast array of needs and research fields. In

comparing newspapers to an archival collection of letters or political papers, their

14
Simon, James and Linda Ronan. (2007) "Preservation and Digitization of Latin American Newspapers
in the United States" IFLA Newspaper Section Business Meeting and Conference: Santiago, Chile.
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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

relevant value to broader audiences is obvious. Political scientists will look toward the

national histories traced in CNDL's gazettes and newspapers to map the genealogy of

revolution, democracy and national laws. Economists and sociologists will look to

CNDL's commercial newspapers to contest theories of economic development and trade

with the U.S. literary scholars will use CNDL to examine the emergence of Caribbean

literature from their early history to their current issues, filled with short stories, poems,

and art. Genealogists and medical researchers will map human migrations, disease

trends, and food crop cycles. Ecologists, investigating food-crop sustainability, will dig

into weather reports that, today, are still locked in narrative. Research springing from the

Caribbean is anticipated to find new windows and doorways opened as they have not

been heretofore.

c) Describe the support, including, but not limited to, matching funds, facilities
equipment, supplies, and other resources from the applicant organization or the
lead applicant organization.
Support is illustrated in the form of matching funds from the partners, particularly FlU,

UF, UCF, and UVI, at a ratio to Federal funds of 33% annually. U.S. institutions will be

providing the expertise of their personnel, including Caribbean scholars who will serve as

advisors. Additionally, both FlU and UVI will provide continuing guidance and leadership

for this project. FlU offers facilities, etc. for the directorate of the program. UF will

provide continuing technical support and systems to enable the digital collection. For

detailed matching information, please see the Budget Narrative.

d) Describe the potential for continued support of the project after Federal
funding ends; including, the demonstrated commitment of appropriate entities to
such support.
The newspapers and newspaper collections to be created by this project represent the

national heritage and cultural patrimony of each country involved. Each, even the

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

poorest, takes seriously the need to sustain their collections. Haiti, for example, has

already successfully demonstrated ability to raise funds through UNESCO, the

Organization of American States and the US Embassy in Haiti. Jamaica has allocated

fiscal and personnel resources to build systems needed to support its collections. UF has

demonstrated its commitment to assist in these efforts through the provision of services

and systems. UF has also committed to providing online access for CNDL in perpetuity,

as is the agreement for the Florida Digital Newspaper Library. As the co-PIs for the

project, the LACC and the CLAS have committed to incorporating CNDL into their

strategic academic plans and will seek additional projects to support the growth and

educational use of CNDL. Partnerships between UF and the Digital Library of the

Caribbean demonstrate that UF has committed resources to help build and maintain

Caribbean collections. The Caribbean partners have access to PLALA grants, a library

development program for Latin America and the Caribbean administered at Harvard.

Sustainability is also contingent upon the nature of newspaper collections made

available both within and across national boundaries. Commercial publishers and

vendors have expressed interest in acquiring non-exclusive marketing rights to portions

of the newspaper titles and collections planned. Interest is high, for example, in content

having to do with literature, migration, slavery, and economics and tourism. An

agreement between the UF Libraries and Center for Research Libraries' World News

Archive demonstrates an example of such collaborations that should generate a portion

of funds necessary to maintain continued production.

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

8. Quality of the Management Plan.

Task Responsiility Fall Spring Summer Fall Spring Summer
2009 2010 2010 2010 2011 2011

Advisory Board Principal Director, Teleconf. Teleconf. CSA, Teleconf. Teleconf. CSA, $4,520
co-PI $4,520
CNDL Meetings All, Teleconf. ACURIL Teleconf. ACURIL
Project Coord. $4,520 $4,520

Promotion/Membership Co-Directors J&E CSA J&E CSA
SALALM ACURIL ALA ACURIL
Evaluation / PI, co-PI, co- Technical Annual Formative Annual
Annual Report Directors Assessment Report Assessment Report
Project Coord. $2,500
Search for Foreign PI, co-Directors
Partners Project Coord.
Develop submission Technical Director $2,000 $1000
protocols/training Metadata Director >
program
Technical Innovation Technical Director Develop CNDL Toolkit Begin Blocking Text
Programmer Serials / Manual Zoning Metadata/Permissions Manuals
Equipment and central Tech. Director, co- $18,500
storage purchase Director
Training (8 workshops) Technical Director Training Training
Project Director $4,300 $4,300
Coordination Meetings Project Coord. Coordination Coordination
(12 meetings) $3,540 $3,540
Digitization /Automation Int'l Partners, Foreign Partners $13,500 Foreign Partners $16,500
Tech. Dir., Outsource $8,000 Outsource $12,000
Project Coord. Processing $10,258 Processing $12,520
Educational Outreach Ed. Director Lecture Series Teacher Training
Project Coord. $2,000 $2,000

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

Task Responsibility Fall Spring Summer Fall Spring Summer
2011 2012 2012 2012 2013 2013
Advisory Board Principal Director, Teleconf. Teleconf. CSA, $4,520 Teleconf. Teleconf. CSA, $4,520
co-PI
CNDL Meeting All, Teleconf. ACURIL Teleconf. ACURIL
Project Coord. $4,520 -_ $4,520
Promotion/Membership Co-Directors J&E CSA ACURIL J&E CSA
IFLA HSA ACURIL
Revise Training Program Technical Director $750
Metadata Director >
Technical Innovation Technical Director Implement Article Level Refine Article Level Searching
Programmer Searching
Internal Usability Test
Training (8 workshops) Technical Director Training Training
Project Directors $4,300 -N $4,300
Coordination Meetings FPPC Coordination Coordination
(12 meetings) $3,540 $3,540
Training/Troubleshooting Technical Director
consults, email, phone Project
Coordinator
Digitization /Automation Int'l Partners, Foreign Partners $15,000 Foreign Partners $14,500
Tech. Dir., Project Outsourced $13,000 Outsourced $13,000
Coordinator Processing $12,006 Processing $11,755
Educational Outreach Lecture Series Lesson Plan Lecture Series Teacher Training
$2,000 Competition $2,000 $2,000

Evaluation / PI, co-PI, co- Technical Annual Summative Final
Annual Report Directors Assessment Report Assessment Report
____ ______$3,500

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

8. Quality of the Management Plan.

a) Describe the extent to which the management plan is adequate to achieve the
objectives of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly
defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing project
tasks.

As shown in the outline above, the management plan of CNDL follows a linear and

iterative process. During the first term, the majority of time, effort and expenses will build

the necessary infrastructure to ensure success, including: 1. Convening partners and

advisors; 2. Identifying Project Coordinator 3. Developing the centralized CNDL web

portal; 4. Building local infrastructure, and; 5. Developing and providing training for

metadata creation. Realistic, concrete deliverables with clear lines of responsibility will

ensure that the project meets its ambitious goals. (See chart above and Appendix D)

Digitization and metadata creation guidelines will be established and compliance

supervised by the Metadata Control Director. Annual digitization targets of content for

CNDL, resulting from training and development of institutional capacity provided by the

project, will exceed 55,000 pages during each of the project's four years. U.S. partners,

using institutional, non-federal funding, will also contribute content from extant microfilm

of Caribbean newspapers to the CNDL centralized repository.

The success of CNDL will be measured not only by the quantity and quality of newly

accessible foreign newspapers, but also by the advancement in Caribbean Studies and

increased investigations regarding the region. To this end, CNDL will implement an

outreach plan and evaluation plan throughout the four-year period. Outreach activities

include presentations at library and discipline specific conferences, two teacher training

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

workshops, three presentations by Caribbean scholars, and a lesson plan competition

(see Project Design).

b) Describe the extent to which the time commitments of the project director and
principal investigator and other key project personnel are appropriate and
adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed project.
The management structure of CNDL is both decentralized and streamlined. It is

decentralized to maximize the expertise of key personnel through the sharing of skills.

Responsibilities are streamlined by function to ensure responsibility for each aspect of

this multifaceted project. Co-Principal Investigators will dedicate 5% administrative time

during the academic years of the grant period to provide intellectual guidance to shape

the direction of CNDL, to chair the Academic Advisory Board, and to ensure that the

project aligns with current trends in Caribbean Studies.

The Directorship of CNDL includes the two co-Principal Investigators, two co-Directors

with distinct yet complementary roles, a Metadata Control Director and a Technical

Director. FlU will serve as the clearinghouse for administration (Project Coordinator) and

outreach initiatives (Education Outreach Director), while UF will oversee all technical

operations. The co-Director for promotion, development and general leadership is

responsible for conference presentations, additional funding opportunities, and

evaluation. The co-Director for outreach and membership will oversee the outreach plan

and recruit additional partners. The Technical Director is responsible for web

development, digitization, standards, training and programming. The Metadata Control

Director will provide expertise and leadership in the development of clear standards for

our project partners.

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

A Project Coordinator is imperative to facilitate communication among partners, organize

projects, and guarantee success. The person will coordinate contacts with foreign

partners; oversee production schedules and work to build strong collections that

complement CNDL; build partner relations; document administrative procedures;

collaborate with the Pis and co-Directors to make policy and with the Technical Director

and to ensure creation of on-line technical documentation and training manuals. A recent

report of the Council on Library of Information Resources15 states that since

collaborations are not the central activity of the members, they "must be constantly

nurtured and managed." It is through the CNDL Coordinator, with experience in digital

libraries, project management, and Caribbean studies, that the success of CNDL will be

ensured.

c) Describe the extent to which the mechanisms for ensuring high quality
products and services from the proposed project are adequate.

CNDL relies, in large part, upon the UFDC infrastructure and imaging specifications

which include the newspaper digitization specifications from the National Digital

Newspaper Program and UF's provision of technical systems and client applications to

the partners (Appendix C). With regard to the latter, CNDL inherits and becomes the

beneficiary of UF's automation services, thereby reducing unit costs and labor.

Infrastructure, specifications and applications have been well tested in UFDC for the

Florida Digital Newspaper Library and in test-bed projects with UVI and the University of

the West Indies' Eric Williams Memorial Collection. Specifications are compliant with

NISO and other U.S. national standards and ISO/international standards.

15 Zorich, Diane M. (2008) A Survey of Digital Humanities Centers in the United States. Council on Library and
Information Resources. Washington, D.C.

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

Equipment and software choices are designed to ensure quality while keeping costs low.

Each equipment item selected has been tested in production environments by UF

(Appendix C). Equipment training will ensure proper calibration to achieve optimal

output. CNDL will train partners, both libraries and publishers, to ensure consistent

image and metadata quality from internally digitized files, publisher-submitted digital files,

or vended digitization. When the best copy of a selected resource is on microfilm, CNDL

will work to ensure the highest quality images. CNDL will employ an aggressive training

program for partners working with publishers who will provide digital files to ensure

archival quality. Several international partners already have access to the necessary

equipment and software to ensure quality while keeping costs low.

Due to the file size for digitized newspapers, CNDL has elected to both mail external

hard drives and accept FTP for online file transfer methods. FTP will be encouraged for

the submission of born-digital newspaper files and for the submission of current

newspapers which will likely be scanned one at a time, resulting in lower overall file

sizes. In some cases, the number of files being transferred will require the mailing of

portable hard drives. UF is prepared to provide disk-swaps or raw gold based (MAM-

A/archival) CD or DVD disks for data-transfer.

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Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

9. Quality of the Project Evaluation.

See the following chart. Evaluation chart is based on Outcomes Based Measurement. Each OUTCOME is defined by

INPUT(S) necessary for the achievement of the Outcome and by OUTPUT(S) anticipated as product satisfying the

Outcome. Each Outcome is associated with specific MEASURMENT(S), that will be addressed in grant reporting and that

will be used by the independent assessor to determine if the Digital Library of the Caribbean has met its goals.

OUT-COME IN-PUT(S) OUT-PUT(S) MEASURES)
Increase (1) Digitization services: (1) New digital resources, including (1) New digital resources of at least
access to (a) Hardware & software inputs; content from: 55,000 images per year as specified by
Caribbean (b) Training & troubleshooting assistance (a) National Libraries and Archives the Management Plan
research (2) Centralized repository services (b) Private Libraries(2) Nine national collections specific to
(c) Publishers (2) Nine national collections specific to
resources (3) Digital Library technology: and demonstrated capacity to increase titles included in the project.
(a) Text and image search; beyond these partners (3) Newspaper Biographies for each of the
(b) Basic, Boolean and filtered advanced
search methods; (2) Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library 32 targeted titles
(c) Support for image, text and archival; and individuated linked collection (multi- (4) User satisfaction as indicated during
and lingual) web pages; the interaction with collection managers
(d) Multi-lingual interfaces (English, (3) Collection management plans, & and during the formal Usability Testing.
French and Spanish at minimum) infrastructure to maintain and grow them; (5) Increased CNDL use not less than
(4) Content from partner institutions (4) Dual-phased multi-lingual survey 50% increase from year 1 to 2, 35% from
mechanism for (a) assessing user year 2 to 3, and 20% from year 3 to 4
(5) Web statistics expectations and (b) user satisfaction in
response to expectations.
(5) Defined reports for web statistics

Page |37

Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

OUT-COME IN-PUT(S) OUT-PUT(S) MEASURES)

Advance (1) Audience definition (basic research (1) Outreach program that is both (1) Presentations at conferences (at least
Caribbean was conducted to prepare this proposal; it aggressive and engaging of scholars, 2 per year; the sum of presentations
Studies will be refined and matched to specific classroom teachers and their students, reaching at least 100 persons)
objectives and lower level outcomes & and the general public (2) At least two Teacher (K-12) training
outcomes based measurement) (2) Teacher training workshops or workshop for schools
(2) Academic Advisory Board Meetings integration of CNDL use within curricula (Schools in Miami-Dade Co., for example,
(3) Video conferencing software (3) Speaker Series, archived in dLOC are mandated to build and teach multi-
(4) Conference speakers (with Internet cultural curriculum focused on the circum-
distribution rights for their presentations) Caribbean; they will be a fertile test-bed)
(3) At least three K-12 curricula that
assign CNDL readings or research
(4) At least three post-secondary curricula
that assign CNDL readings or research
(5) At least five CNDL citations in U.S.
theses and dissertations per year (initial
available data will be derived from FlU,
UF, UCF and UVI)
(6) Three video lectures reach an
audience of not less than 50 persons (live)
and 100 Internet users subsequently

Cultivate (1) CNDL web pages & server (1) Articles on topical interests with links (1) Increases in article use at a rate of not
and develop technologies to CNDL content less than 10% per year.
new research (2) Collaborative learning software similar (2) On-line collaborative learning modules (2) At least 2 working groups established.
initiatives that offered freely by the Open University with learning spaces for individuated (3) Collaboration records not less than 10,
among (UK) [http://kmi.open.ac.uk/projects/] national & topical collections active users
Caribbean (3) Collections specialist, working with (3) Search system for collaborative (4) User satisfaction as indicated during
scholars Project Coordinator spaces the interaction with collection managers
(4) UF Digital Library Center (4) Dual-phased multi-lingual survey and during the formal Usability Testing.
Programmers mechanism for (a) assessing user
expectations and (b) user satisfaction in
See also, Advance Caribbean Studies ponse to expectations.
response to expectations.

Page |38

Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

OUT-COME IN-PUT(S) OUT-PUT(S) MEASURES)
Build capacity (1) Scanning staff (together with line of (1) Functional equipment (1) Reliable equipment as demonstrated
and command) (2) Knowledgeable staff (local through ability to maintain equipment and
ground-level (2) Multi-layered (e.g., selection, administrators, local supervisors, and line to produce quality images
sustainability equipment use & maintenance, quality production/scanning technician staff) (2) Competent staff as demonstrated by
imaging, etc.), multi-lingual, and (3) Training program and multi-layered, ability to troubleshoot appropriately,
comprehensive training programs) for multi-lingual tool sets construction of an effective and
scanning institutions (4) Dual-phased multi-lingual survey responsive chain of command, etc.
(3) Recommended workflows mechanism for (a) assessing user (3) Trainee satisfaction as indicated in
expectations and (b) user satisfaction in responses to surveys of the training
(4) Training in negotiating permission response to expectations. programs) followed by demonstrated
meaningful response by collection and
(5) Recommended workflows (revised library managers.
(5) Training in digitization toolkit and with variations for localized
zoning software circumstances)

Sustainable (1) Imaging and metadata specifications (1) Release of the Open Source image (1) Release of operational Open Source
Digitization (2) Zoning software zoning tool digitization and image zoning tool
Resources for (2) Release of other related software (2) Release of other related software
Newspaper (3) UF digitization toolkit application and components as Open Source components necessary to make above
Projects training (3) Release of above tools as a model for tools operational as Open Source
Projects other newspaper digitization projects

Reliable (1) Description and Text specifications Mark-up meets all specifications: 100% compliance with specifications
document (translated into the home institution's (1) METS/MODS for bibliographic, basic
search primary language) administrative, technical and structural
(2) [For texts] processing by trained staff metadata; and
using PrimeRecognition with subsequent
editing of Table of Contents information (2) Properly formatted MARCXML for all
contributed items, available as feed for
(3) [For text] UF DLC Zoning application ingest into all partner catalogs

Page |39

Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life

Page | 40

OUT-COME IN-PUT(S) OUT-PUT(S) MEASURES)
Reliable data (1) Digital objects and packages (1) Verifiable digital objects and packages 100% verifiable data transfer from
(digital object) (2) Secure FTP (connections at scanning (2) Checksum for every digital object scanning institution to the processing
transfer institution & drop directories at processing (3) METS/MODS metadata, containing institution (UF)sed on checksum values.
instituition) a(3)M /M S metadata, containing Verification based on checksum values.
institution) checksums, for every digital package.
(3) UF DLC Metadata application
Ensure (1) Partnership meetings (1) Formalized vetted membership for (1) Draft membership structure by grant
sustainability (scheduled formal annual meetings and CNDL participation year 2 & Final structure by the end of grant
of the ancillary meetings during the Association (2) Topical collections or national (2) At least one new collection funded by
Caribbean of Caribbean University, Research and collections with over arching topical external foundation, donation or other
Newspaper Institutional Libraries [ACURIL] meetings) strengths private giving
Imaging (2) Partnered planned collection (3) Fundraising plan (for future projects) (3) At least one new collection funded
Project development outside the scope of granting through granting
(3) Assistance with targeted granting and (3) Granting plan (for future projects) (4) At least one signed non-exclusive
fundraising (this will be secured through distribution agreement with a vendor
the grants and foundation offices of the (4) Vendor relationships plan (for licensing distribution agreement with a vendor
various U.S. partners) content, without limiting free access) (5) At least 3 models of government
(4) Assistance with permission (5) Marketing plan (for use in the Vendor support for CNDL component collections
acquisition and developing partnerships relationships plan, but) targeted at local or continued collection development
with publishers and national governments.
(6) Collection development plans) that
identify stakeholders as well as traditional
library collections policies.

FIUFLORIDA
INTERNATIONAL
UNIVERSITY

April 2, 2009

Ms. Susanna Easton
Office of Postsecondary Education
International Education Programs Service
1990 K Street N.W. 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20006

Dear Ms. Easton,

I write to you in support of this proposal seeking TICFIA funding for the Caribbean Newspaper
Digital Library (CNDL). Florida International University (FIU) is an ideal environment for
partnership projects with Caribbean libraries and cultural organizations. Many of our students and
faculty have come to FIU from the Caribbean, and many others on the faculty are Caribbean and
Latin American specialists, across a wide array of disciplines. In this environment, with our existing
relationships in Caribbean countries and organizations, we are well positioned to advance the
objectives of the CNDL and to promote its use across the broader education community.

Further, the CNDL ties in closely with the University's strategic priority to expand programs and
initiatives in international studies. Among those initiatives, the University will be adding courses in
global learning to its core curriculum requirements for undergraduates. The CNDL, the Digital
Library of the Caribbean (dLOC), and other holdings in the FIU Libraries will provide important
resource materials for courses in this global learning curriculum.

Sincerely,

eo rgT. Walker, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President for Research Development
and Graduate Education
Dean of the University Graduate School

OFFICE OF THE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND GRADUATE EDUCATION
AND DEAN OF THE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL
Unimimty Park MARC 430 Miami, FL 33199 Tel 305-348-2494 Fax 305-348-6389 w w.fiu.edu
Flooda Internuonal Umerity t an Eu* Oppomruny/Accss Employer and Insmtton TDD va FILS I 800-95S-8771

J f ,UNIVERSITY of
U IFLORIDA

Center for Latin American Studies 319 Grinter Hall
PO Box 115530
Gainesville, FL 32611-5530
352-392-0375
352-392-7682 Fax
www.latam.ufl.edu

March 30, 2009

Ms. Susanna Easton
Office of Postsecondary Education
International Education Programs Service
1990 K Street, N.W., 6t Floor
Washington, DC 20006

Dear Ms. Easton,

It is with great pleasure that I offer my support for the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library:
Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life presented by the Florida Consortium for Latin American
Studies to the Technological Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign Information Access Program.

As the Director for the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Florida, I recognize the pressing
need for better access to newspapers as a primary source for researchers and students. UF has long recognized
the need for access to Caribbean newspapers and consequently we have been actively involved in collecting
these resources since the 1950s. We welcome the opportunity to direct the development of this project in
collaboration with the Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University.

As a collaborative international digital newspaper library project, CNDL will provide both digital preservation
and valuable open access to the highly endangered and difficult to reach newspapers that are stored in
precarious conditions across the Caribbean. The harsh climate in the Caribbean, the limited resources for
storage and preservation, and the inferior paper and ink used to print these records require that this project to
create the technical infrastructure and expertise for digitization in the region begin now. Working in
partnership with Caribbean institutions will allow all members of this project to benefit from the shared access
to collections.

As co-Principle Investigator I accept the responsibility to see this project through to completion.

Sincerely,

Carmen Diana Deere
Director, Center for Latin American Studies
Professor, Food and Resources Economics

The Foundation for The Gator Nation

' University of University Libraries
Central
Florida

December 3, 2008

Dr. Cristina Eguizabal
Director, Latin American and Caribbean Center
Florida International University
11200 SW 8th Street
Miami, Florida 33199

Dear Dr. Eguizabal:

I am pleased to write in support of The Florida Consortium for Latin American
Studies' proposal for the Technological Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign
Information Access Program (TICFIA) U.S. Department of Education grant for a
Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library. This important project will facilitate
access to important and irreplaceable materials held in newspaper publisher
archives and library archive collections throughout the Caribbean. It will
facilitate the sharing of these collections by making them available electronically
in full-text to scholars and researchers as well as business and government
officials internationally.

The successful collaborative digital Library of the Caribbean has served as an
important oversight organization for digital projects and collections at individual
institutions throughout the Caribbean and has greatly improved access to these
significant materials. The Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library will build on that
success.

The Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library will have a significant impact on
several programs at the University of Central Florida (UCF) such as the Latin
American, Caribbean and Latino Studies Program, the International Services
Center, and the Florida Solar Energy Center as well as programs in the History
and English departments, and would greatly benefit students and faculty.

Because Central Florida has large communities of immigrants from the
Caribbean, improved dissemination of newspaper resources from publishers,
libraries, and archives in the Caribbean would have an important impact on
business, commerce, tourism, culture, and art enterprises in the area as well.

The UCF Libraries is pleased to be a part of this project and will contribute to the
development of metadata standards and training materials as well as on-site

Orlando. FL 32816-2666 (407) 823-2564

Eguizabal, Cristina

training for grant partners necessary to provide access to the digital newspaper
collection.

Laila Miletic-Vejzovic, project Metadata Control Director, will be responsible for
the development of metadata standards and training materials. Ms. Miletic-
Vejzovic leads the Special Collections & University Archives department at the
University of Central Florida (UCF) Libraries, and brings a wealth of knowledge
and experience with technological applications and digital library development as
they relate to special collections, archival management, and access. She played
an integral role in the development of Digital Initiatives at the Washington State
University (WSU) Libraries. Since the 1990s, Ms. Miletic-Vejzovic has focused
her research and outreach, both domestically and internationally, on the
creation of metadata for digital projects in the Dublin Core Elements/Standards
format.

The UCF Libraries will contribute cost share in the amount of $42,948 for Ms.
Miletic-Vejzovic's time on the project.

As an institutional partner, the UCF Libraries are committed to the success of
this project and will continue to contribute the time and expertise of its staff.
That staff has extensive experience in cooperative digitization projects through
efforts funded by the State of Florida and the Institute of Library and Museum
Services.

Given the recent devastation suffered by many countries in the Caribbean due to
an unrelenting hurricane season, it is extremely important to begin this project
before these important resources are destroyed or damaged. As a past member
of the Executive Council of the Association of Caribbean University, Research
and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL), I have visited libraries and archives in
several countries in the Caribbean region and have talked with librarians and
archivists concerning the great need to preserve these important materials. This
project will enable those resources to be preserved and more widely
disseminated.

Sincerely,

Barry B. Baker
Director of Libraries

December 3, 2008

TJiver YVirginIslands
Historically American. Uniquely Caribbean. Globally Interactive.

Office of Information and Technology Services

01 December 2008

Brooke Wooldridge
Latin American and Caribbean Information Center
Florida International University Libraries
GL 225B, University Park
Miami, FL 33199

Re: Proposal for TICFIA funding to support a digital library of the Caribbean (dLOC)

Dear Ms. Wooldridge:

I am pleased to endorse your second application to the program for Technological Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign
Information Access (TICFIA). The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) has strongly supported the last TICFIA project,
recognizing the significance of the dLOC project not only for U.S. institutions, but also for research and study within the
Caribbean region. The content realized through the dLOC website attest to the considerable promise that the project holds.

The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) through its mission is committed to enhancing the lives of people of the U.S.
Virgin and the wider Caribbean. The dLOC is a vital link is supporting scholarship that would aid in achieving this
objective. UVI Libraries are providing leadership for archiving and organizing resources at our institution. We see the
dLOC project as an important model for digitization standards and as a partnership for increasing our capacity to expand
the impact in this area.

I fully support Judith Rogers in her continuing role as project co-Director for the next grant cycle from October 2009
through September 2013 with the following contribution:

Time commitment = 10%
Salary & fringe equivalent = $5,000

I wish you every success in this new grant proposal and the subsequent project.

RR 01 Box 10.000. Kingshill St. Croix U.S. Virgin Islands 00850-9781 Phone: 340-692-4130- FAX: 340-692-4135

The Abaconian
A monthly publication devoted to Abaco news
www.abaconian.com
PO Box AB 20551 David Ralph. Publisher Phone 242-367-2677
Marsh Harbour Fax 242-367-3677
Abaco, Bahamas E-mail davralph@batelnet.bs
14 November 2008
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
The Abaconian newspaper is very much interested in supporting and participating in the Caribbean
Newspaper Digitization Project. We welcome the opportunity to share the digital images of our
publications in this ambitious project to ensure archiving and providing access to our newspaper. We
have often wondered how to preserve our newspaper in a format allowing access for research or by
individuals for years to come. We welcome the opportunity to make the information in our publication
freely available to anyone interested.
This project offers an effective solution to the longstanding issues of preservation and access of both
current and historical newspapers in the Caribbean. Individuals like ourselves can archive our material
but this does not place it in a greater pool of information. A centralized archive held and maintained by
an institution such as the University of Florida adds a level of permanence and stability to the material.
We are further intrigued with the prospect of our material being searchable which appears to be a goal of
the digital Library of the Caribbean.
Our newspaper is published twice a month for an island population of approximately 16,000. Abaco is
one of the larger Bahamian islands and is in the northwestern part of The Bahamas. It is 180 miles due
east of West Palm Beach, Florida. It was settled in 1776 by Loyalists fleeing the American revolution
and is rich in history.
The Abaconian newspaper began in 1993 in an attempt to unite the various communities of this 120-
mile-long island. The paper is distributed free to all settlements on Abaco.
We look forward to receiving information on converting our material to the required archival format.
We will work with the team of the CNDP to identify a workflow that will facilitate the submission of the
high resolution digital mark-up files to be transferred to the technical center at the University of Florida
Digital Library Center for archiving in the Florida Digital Archive. We understand that this service
includes the online distribution of the full searchable text and images in the Digital Library of the
Caribbean (dLOC). In addition, we grant non-exclusive permission to dLOC to archive and distribute the
historical issues of the paper for educational, non-commercial use. The material we contribute will
become part of a larger pool of information.
We, at The Abaconian newspaper, are hopeful that this project will move forward with proper funding
and become established as outlined. We are now working to determining the requirements so our material
can be archived and made available to historians and the general public.
We look forward to working with you on this important and awesome project

Sincerely,

David Ralph
Editor, Publisher, Owner
The Abaconian

www.abaconian.com

Advocate Publishers (2000) Inc.
P.O. Box 230, Fontabelle, Bridgetown BB 11000, Barbados, W.I.
Tel: (246)467-2000 Fax: (246)434-2020

Ms. Brooke Wooldridge
Digital Library of the Caribbean
Green Library 225A
Florida International University
University Park
Miami, FL 33199

February 26,2009

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

With this letter, the Barbados Advocate affirms its commitment to
participating in the creation and development of the Caribbean Newspaper
Digital Library (CNDL). We welcome the opportunity to share the digital
images of our publications in this unique collaborative project to ensure
electronic archiving and access to our newspaper for research purposes.
This project offers an effective solution to the longstanding issues of
preservation and access of both current and historical newspapers in the
Caribbean.

First published in 1895, the Barbados Advocate is the nation's oldest
continually published newspaper and is an excellent source for general
coverage. The Advocate covers a wide array of topics including: business,
sports, entertainment news, politics, editorials, historical events and
special features.

We will work with the team of the CNDL to identify a workflow that will
facilitate the submission of the high resolution digital mark-up files to be
transferred to the technical center at the University of Florida Digital
Library Center for archiving in the Florida Digital Archive as well as
online distribution of the full text searchable images in the Digital Library
of the Caribbean (dLOC). In addition, we grant non-exclusive permission

to dLOC to archive and distribute the historical issues of the paper for
educational, non-commercial use. In addition to building the infrastructure
for this project, funding from this project will allow us to target the
digitization of 3,000 pages of historical content which will ensure
preservation and increase access to this important record of history. We
recommend for inclusion the years 1895 to 2001. The preservation of
many significant events which occurred during this period of Barbadian
society is of pivotal importance to us.

The Barbados Advocate is hopeful that this project will be funded so that
we can establish the technical and administrative framework by which
both the current and historical record of our newspaper can be preserved
and made more accessible to current and future generations.

We look forward to working with you on this important project.

ANTHONY BRYAN
CHAIRMAN
ADVOCATE PUBLISHERS (2000) Inc.

Publiste of:
Bartados Advocate
Sunday Advocate

Rl t' w B W eat, Taert, i-' m -U- =t ah v ti a ri

Linnell M Abbott, Editor

November 13, 2008

Ms. Brooke Wooldridge
Digital Library of the Caribbean
Green Library 225A
Florida International University
University Park
Miami, FL 33199

To Wom Rft Mny CM.eem:

The BVI Beacon newspaper affirms its commitment to participating in the creation and
development of the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Project. We welcome the opportunity to
share digital images of the Beacon in order to facilitate archiving and access for research
purposes. This project, we believe, offers an effective solution to the long standing challenge of
preserving Caribbean newspapers and making them widely accessible.

The BY] Beacon, a weekly founded in 1984, has a paper archive of almost 25 years of
newspapers. They cover a period of Virgin Islands history in which the population and the
economy have grown at a rapid rate, thanks in large part to the advent of the financial services
industry and the expanding tourism sector here. As such, they document a society in the midst of
rapid and significant change. However, the older issues in the archive already are starting to
deteriorate. Even before the CNDP contacted us, we had been discussing methods of digital
preservation. Most, however, are prohibitively expensive, considering the limited budget of a
newspaper of the Beacon's size.

We are willing to work with the CNDP team to devise a method of submitting high-resolution
digital mark-up files of our current issues. These files would be transferred to the technical center
at the University of Florida Digital Library Center for archiving in the Florida Digital Archive,
where full text searchable images will be distributed online via the Digital Library of the
Caribbean (dLOC), four to six months after our publication date.

In addition, we grant non-exclusive permission to the dLOC to archive and distribute historical
issues of the paper for educational, non-commercial use. We are told that funding for the project,
in addition to setting up the requisite infrastructure, would allow us to digitize about 3,000 pages
of historical content This will ensure preservation and increase access to this important record of
history. We recommend for inclusion the first five years of this newspaper 1984-1989 so
as to begin building the archive from the earliest date.

The Beacon is hopeful that this project will be funded so that our newspaper can be preserved and
made accessible to current and future generations. Without such help, we fear it may not.

We look forward to working with you on this important project.

Sincerely,

Stichting Openbare Bibliotheek Curacao
tlU i I T n TCuragao Public Library Foundation
Fundashon Biblioteka Pdbliko K6rsou Fundaci6n Biblioteca P0blica Curazao
S A.M.Chumaceiro Blv #17, Curagao, Netherlands Antilles (Caribbean)
(599 9) 434 5200 fax. (599 9) 465 6247 e-mail: publiclibrary(vonenet.an
Website: http://www.curacaopubliclibrary.an

Ms. Brooke Wooldridge
Digital Library of the Caribbean
Green Library 225A
Florida International University
University park
Miami, FL 33199

Willemstad, 10-30-2008

Our ref.:

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

The Curacao Public Library Foundation of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, is pleased to write this letter
of support for the proposal by the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) to facilitate the digitization
and preservation of Caribbean newspapers held at the institutions in the Caribbean.

There are several historical newspapers collections stored in the Curagao Public Library Foundation of
Curagao, private homes and other cultural heritage institutions. Some of these collections are in very
delicate state and are rapidly deteriorating. Written materials on matters regarding Curagao and/or the
Netherlands Antilles are very rare, so it's logical that the newspapers collections are a very valuable
source information for researchers and students who are in need of historical facts about the islands.
The newspapers collections of Curagao need to be preserved for future generations.

Due to the historical importance of these collections and their dire need for preservation, we welcome
the opportunity to include these resources to the project of the Florida Digit brary Center via our
partnership with the dLOC for jigitization. As a part of this commitment, we will provide to dLOC non-
exclusive rights to distribute the resources electronically via the dLOC for educational use and we will
receive digital copies of the images.

The newspapers collections of Curacao Public Library Foundation of Curagao, to be send for
digitization, wiI be mostly a combination of the collection of the Curao Pubic Library, which will be
complemented with newspapers of other cultural heritage institutions such as the Mongui Maduro
Library and the library of the University of the Netherlands Antilles. They also support the importance
of this project. Attached is a list of newspapers, which are in dire need of digitization. We hope that if
not all, most of the newspapers are eligible for digitization.

History
Our Library was established in 1922 as part of the Government Service of Culture and Education. The
library is a public library, but functions also as National Library safeguarding local material for
posterity. The mission of Curagao Public Library Foundation (FBPK) is to inform individuals and
organizations, in the broadest sense. In order to achieve this, FBPK actively promotes accessibility to
local and general information. Our aim is to offer this information in accordance with necessities and
possibilities of our target groups. In addition, our library definitely fulfills a highly importan cultural,
educative, recreational and social purpose in our community. '-

Stichting Openbare Bibliotheek Cura ao
Curacao Public'Library Foundation
Fundashon Biblioteka PObliko K6rsou Fundaci6n Biblioteca P0blica Curazao
a A.M.Chumaceiro Blv #17, Curagao, Netherlands Antilles (Caribbean)
(599 9) 434 5200 fax. (599 9) 465 6247 e.mail: publiclibrary@onenet.an
Website: http://www.curacaoDubliclibrarv.an

Our aim is to be a central and advanced institute in collecting, processing and preserving information,
making information accessible and available to the Curagao community of all ages using a wide range
of information sources and channels of communication, emphasizing tailor-made customer service
and efficiency.

We try to reach this goal by:

Promoting and stimulating the use of information

Making information available and accessible

Making a contribution to social and cultural education

Preserving our national collection

In addition to the above mentioned, we try to do this by making our library accessible, in the broadest
sense, to everyone, because we are of the opinion that an information center most be public.

Therefore we find it important to support the objectives of the dLOC as the project will make Curapao's
eligible collections more accessible and available to the public in Curagao and abroad.

ours faithfully,

Mr. P. Steenbakkers
Director
Curagao Public ULibrary Foundation
A.M. Chumaceiro BIv. # 17
Willemstad,
Curagao,
Dutch West Indies

Email: publiclibrarvyonenet.an
Website: www.curacaoDubliclibrarv.an

FUNGLODE

Ms. Brooke Wooldridge
Digital Library of the Caribbean
Green Library 225A
Florida International University
University Park
Miami, FL 33199

March 25, 2009

Dear Ms. Wooldridge,

With this letter, the Fundaci6n Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) affirms
its commitment to participating in the creation and development of the Caribbean
Newspaper Digital Library: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life. We
welcome the opportunity to share the digital images of the selected periodicals from our
collection in this unique collaborative project to ensure digital preservation and access to
these important newspapers. This project offers an effective solution to the longstanding
issues of preservation and access to periodicals in the Caribbean.
FUNGLODE has demonstrated its ability to successfully partner with the Digital Library
of the Caribbean, and we welcome the opportunity to continue to work with the group on
this new project. We commit to digitizing at least 5,000 images per year (at a rate of US
$0.40 per image) for a total of 20,000 images from our extensive collection of historical
materials related to the history of the Dominican Republic.
We will work with technical team to identify a workflow that will facilitate the
submission of both the preservation copies as well as the images for internet distribution.
FUNGLODE grant non-exclusive permission to dLOC to archive and distribute the
historical issues of these collections for educational, non-commercial use.
FUNGLODE is hopeful that this project will be funded so that we can establish the
technical and administrative framework by which both the current and historical
materials can be preserved and made more accessible via online access to current and
future generations.
We look forward to working with you on this important project.
Sincerely,

M1Rirs. Aida Montero -'.
Director
Documentation Center, FUNGLODE .,

Calle Capitan Eugenio de Marchena #26,
La Esperilla, Sto. Dgo., Rep. Dominicana
T: 809-685-9966 F: 809-685-9926
www.funglode.org

4, Dargan Court, Meath Road,
Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Ireland.

Ms. Brooke Wooldridge
Digital Library of the Caribbean
Green Library 225A
Florida International University
University Park
Miami; FL 33199

November 4, 2008

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

With this letter, I affirm my commitment to participating in the creation and
development of the CaribbeanNewspaper Digitization Project. I welcome the
opportunity to share the digital images of the Grenada Newsletter in this unique
collaborative project to ensure archiving and access to our newspaper for research
purposes. This project offers an effective solution to the longstanding issues of
preservation and access of both current and historical newspapers in the Caribbean.
The Grenada Newsletter was written, produced, published and distributed by
Alister and Cynthia Hughes from 1972 to 1994. It was by subscription only. It had no
advertisements or opinions. It faithfully recorded the happenings in Grenada during
those years. Prime Minister Gairy and Prime Minister Maurice Bishop viewed the
paper with disdain. Alister Hughes life was at risk during the Gairy years and two
attempts were made on his life. While the journalists were imprisoned under Bishop,
Alister was allowed free. He was too well known in the Caribbean and world wide to
be looked up.. Bishop boasted that his was a democratic rule because Alister Hughes
was allowed to publish his paper.When Bishop was executed, Alister was taken by
gun point and imprisoned. He was released on the intervention of the USA October
1983. .

The entire run of the newspaper is either in safe keeping at St. George's
University in Grenada or held within the Allister family. I will assist in the
coordination of providing the project with physical access to the papers, and I will
grant non-exclusive permission to the Digital Library of the Caribbean to archive and
distribute the historical issues of the paper for educational, non-commercial use. The
funding for this project from the Department of Education is vital because it will
allow for the CNDP to create the technical infrastructure to preserve and share these
images online while also funding the digitization of 3,000 pages of historical content
which will ensure preservation and increase access to this important record of world
history.

I recommend that the project target the years 1972 to 1994

As the principle representative of the Grenada Newsletter, I am hopeful that
this project will be funded so that we can establish the technical and administrative
framework by which this important history can be preserved and made more
accessible to current and future generations.

I look forward to working with you on this important project.

Sincerely,

ID

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Ms. Brooke Wooldridge
Digital Library of the Caribbean
Green Library 225A
Florida Intenationl University
Univasity Park
Miami, FL 33199

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

With this letter, the Jamaica Journal affirms its commitmit to picipating in the
creating and development of the Caribbean Newspaper Digitizamion Project We
welcome opportunity to share the digital images of our publication mi this unique
collaborative project to esure archiving and access to our newspaper for research
purposes. This project offers an effective solution to the longstanding issues of
preservation and access of both cuamt and historical newspapers in the Caribbean.

The Jamaica Journal, the flagship publication of the Institute of Jamaica and the
Caribbean's leading publication on Jamaica's heritage was first published in 1967 as a
quarterly authoritative source on our heritage, contemporary culture and natural
environment. Jamaica Journal's coverage of a wide range of topics-history, literature,
science and the arts commands the interest of the general reader.

The IOJ currently publishes three issues (one double) per yea under the editorship of Dr.
Kim Robinson. Articles for the Jamaica Journal are peer-reviewed by an academic
multidisciplinary editorial team, a criterion for academic publications. As a consequence,
it is a useful resource for students and researchers and t characteristic explains its
presence in academic institutions and libraries ierai lly.

Subscription cards are available at the Institute of Jamaica and as inserts in each issue of
the JonmaL The annual three-issue subscription fee is S1800 locally, inclusive of
delivery, USS32 far North American subscribers and 15 for the Ulnited Kingdom and
EuMrope

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IDUW Uo

09/19/2015 02:31 PAX

Ms. Brooke Wooldridge
Digital Linary of the Caribben
November 17,2008

Page 2_

We will work with the team of the CNDP to provide copies of the Jamaica Journal.
When possible, w will provide isaue. that can be taken apart for faster digitization. In
addition, we grant non-exclusive pennisuion to dLOC to archive and distribute the
historical issues of the journal for educational, non-comecial use. In addition to
building the infrastructure for this project, funding from thi project will allow us 10to
target the digitization of the years 1967-2008 which will ensure preservation and increase
access to this important record of history.

The Institute of Jamaica is hopeful that this project will be ftnded so that we can digitally
preserve and make more accessible this important record of Jamaican scholarship to
current and future generations.

We look forward to working with you on this important project.

Yours truly,
INSTrIUTE OF JAMAICA

-A-?
Vivisa Craw
Executive Di

CONTRACT DE DISTRIBUTION NUMERIQUE

Je soussigne Femand PAPAYA, Directeur de Publication, suis autorise a
representer et a lier le journal << JUSTICE >>, Magazine Hebdomadaire
d'Information Communiste de la MARTINIQUE aux clauses suivantes :
Le journal << JUSTICE par la present accord l'Universite de Floride (ci-
apres UF) les droits non-exclusifs de fournir des copies numeriques du journal
<< JUSTICE >> par Internet a des institutions d'enseignement, des bibliotheques et
des chercheurs prives apres qu'ils aient soumis une requete ecrite a UF.UF a le
droit d'employer la suivante a partir du 13 octobre 2008.

UF se reserve le droit de pouvoir designer une tierce personnel qui agisse en son
nom en accord avec les dispositions du contract.
Le journal << JUSTICE >> peut annuler ce contract a tout moment et sans avoir a
fournir de raison pourvu que le journal << JUSTICE >> informed UF par courier
recommand6 plus de trente (30) jours avant la dissolution a l'adresse suivante :

Digital Library Center
Randall Renner
University of Florida
P.O.Box 117007
Gainesville, FL32611-7007
Etats-Unis

Le 13 0 008

Journal Mr
StO des EDITIONS JUSTICE Fe APAYA
Angie rues A. Aliker et E. Zola Irecteur de Publication
BP 4031 97202 FdeF CeIex
T61. 0596 71 86 83 RC 92 1 131
Siret 384 449 641 00016
E-mail : edjustice@wanadoo.fr

SOCIETY DES EDITIONS JUSTICE
Angle des rues A.Aliker et E.Zola
B.P. 4031
97202 FORT DE FRANCE CEDEX- MARTINIQUE
Tel .0596 71 86 83
Mail: ed.justice@wanadoo.fr

PR^puhique bbfa'fii

Archives Nationales d'Haifi

Ms. Brooke Wooldridge
Digital Library of the Caribbean
Green Library 225A
Florida International University
University Park
Miami, FL 33199

November 4, 2008

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

With this letter, I affirm my commitment to participating in the creation and
development of the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Project. I welcome the
opportunity to share the digital images of the unique collaborative project to ensure
archiving and access to our newspaper for research purposes. This project offers an
effective solution to the longstanding issues of preservation and access of both current
and historical newspapers in the Caribbean.

I will assist in the coordination of providing the project with physical a, .ess to
and digitization of the papers, and I will grant non-exclusive permission to the Digital
Library of the Caribbean to archive and distribute the historical issues of the paper for
educational, non-commercial use. The funding for this project from the Department of
Education is vital because it will allow for the CNDP to create the technical infrastructure
to preserve and share these images online while also funding the digitization of historical
content which will ensure preservation and increase access to this important record of
world history.

I am hopeful that this project will be funded so that we can establish the technical
and administrative framework by which this important history can be preserved and made
more accessible to current and future generations.

I look forward to working with you on this important project.

Angle Rues Borgella et Geffrard, Port-au-Prince, Haiti Tl : 2223-6122 /2224-5486 /2514-3735 Fax: (509)2221-2125 /2224-7633 B.P. : 1299

11/28/2008 FRI 08:16 FAX 297 825493

Biblioteca
Nocional Aruba

Digital Library of the Caribbean
Florida International University
Attention miss Wooldridge
Green Library 225A
Miami, Fl. 33199
U.S.A.

Fax: 001-305-348-6579

Oranjestad, November 289 2008

Subject: Support letter from the National Library of Aruba

Dear miss Wooldridge,

In response to your letter regarding a project for digitalization of a number of newspapers
from several countries in the Caribbean region, in which Amba is included, we inform
you that the National Library of Aruba is very pleased with this project and is willing to
cooperate and support it.

This initiative is filly in line with our policy of a progressive digitalization of old
documents, among which old newspapers.

The National library of Aruba will revise the newspapers that qualify best for
digitalization and will let you know soon.

We understand that the smaller items can be digitalized here, for which you will be
sending the equipment and provide support per image for the project. In that regard, we
are looking forward for more information on the implementation of this project and to a
fruitful cooperation in this field.

Astrd J.T Britten
Director

G.Madurosuar Ii
O4mIaA Ardo
Tm52-\5GISMDW
hiF 582.543
eniMt haslanuw
welrwww.Aibiauaomlaw

Biblioteca Nacional

oo001

L MI Bibliothbque Nationale d'HaIti

Direction Administrative

N o .............................................. Port-au-Prince, le .........................................................
Ms. Brooke Wooldridge
Digital Library of the Caribbean
Green Library 225A
Florida International University
Miami, FL 33199

November 4, 2008

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

With this letter, I affirm my commitment to participating in the creation and
development of the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Project. I welcome the
opportunity to share the digital images of the unique collaborative project to ensure
archiving and access to our newspaper for research purposes. This project offers an
effective solution to the longstanding issues of preservation and access of both current
and historical newspapers in the Caribbean.

I will assist in the coordination of providing the project with physical access to the
papers, and I will grant non-exclusive permission to the Digital Library of the Caribbean
to archive and distribute the historical issues of the paper for educational, non-
commercial use. The funding for this project from the Department of Education is vital
because it will allow for the CNDP to create the technical infrastructure to preserve and
share these images online while also funding the digitization of historical content which
will ensure preservation and increase access to this important record of world history.

I am hopeful that this project will be funded so that we can establish the technical
and administrative framework by which this important history can be preserved and made
more accessible to current and future generations.

I look forward to working with you on this important project

193, RUE DU CENTRE PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITl *TL: 222-0236 /221-4202 / 221-4201 / FAX: (509) 221-2086

N NATIONAL UBAY' Or JAMAICA (876) 967-2516
(876) 967-2494
12 East Street, P.O. Box 823, Kingston, Jamaica W.I. (876)967-2496
Fax: (876)922-5567
November 25, 2008 Emnal nMainhan.m
Webste: httpV/www.njoig.)n
Our ref
Ms. Brooke Wooldridge Your
Digital Library of the Caribbean
Green Library 225A
Florida International University
University Park
Miami, FL 33199

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

With this letter, the National Library of Jamaica confirms its commitment to participating in the creation
and development of the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Project: Disseminating and Preserving Records of
Daily Life. We welcome the opportunity to share the digital images of the selected newspapers from our
collection in this unique collaborative project to ensure digital preservation and access to these important
newspapers for research purposes. This project offers an effective solution to the longstanding issues of
preservation and access of both current and historical newspapers in the Caribbean. This project will also
enable the NLJ to strengthen its capacity in (a) creating digital collections and (b) becoming a resource to
other libraries as they develop digital collections. The newspapers we are contributing to this round are:

1) Galls Newsletter a daily of the, 1800's which is often consulted for shipping news, news coming out of
the "mother country', local community news and advertisements.

2) The newspaper sources listed in our first digital collection Jamaica Unshackled. Jamaica Unshackled
is a collection of documents related to three landmark events in the country's history: the 1831 Sam
Sharpe Rebellion which did much to hasten the abolition of Slavery; the 1865 Morant Bay Rebellion
which ushered in major changes to the governance of the colony and the 1938 Frome Riots
considered to be a major influence toward nationalism and Independence eventually. These sources
are in microfilm, except for the sources post 1930's.

3) The Daily News (1973 -1983) was a government owned newspaper which went into bankruptcy. The
Daily News will be a good source of information about a controversial period of modem Jamaica when
Democratic Socialism was the adopted modus operandi of the government. We have hardcopies of
this paper.

We will work with the team of the CNDP to identify a workflow that will facilitate the submission of both the
preservation copies as well as the images for internet distribution. We grant non-exclusive permission to dLOC
to archive and distribute the historical issues of these collections for educational, non-commercial use.

All correspondence should be addressed to the Executive Director

Jamaica's premier library for fostering and promoting the nation's knowledge of its history, heritage and information sources

Miss Brooke Woolridge
Digital Library of the Caribbean

November 25, 2008

The National Library of Jamaica is hopeful that this project will be funded so that we can establish the technical
and administrative framework by which the historical record of our newspapers can be preserved and made
more accessible to scholars both at home and abroad.

We look forward to working with you on this important project.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Winsome Hudson
Executive Director
National Library of Jamaica

U

-st. mddrten
neth. antilles
phone: [599] 5422910
cr.. rrnnl n iv rpnr

Ms. Brooke Wooldridge
Digital Library of the Caribbean
Green Library 225A
Florida International University
University Park
Miami, FL 33199

St Maarten, September 29, 2008

Our ref: 08-583/02

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

The Philipsburg Jubilee Library of St Maarten, Dutch West Indies, is pleased to write
this letter of support for the proposal by the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC)
to facilitate the digitization and preservation of Caribbean newspapers held at
institutions in the Caribbean.

There are several historical newspaper collections stored in the PJ Library and in
private homes which are in a very delicate state and are rapidly deteriorating. As
there are very few written materials about St Maarten these newspapers are often the
only source of information for researchers and students who are in need of historical
facts about our island. As an indispensable part of the written cultural heritage of St
Maarten these newspaper collections need to be preserved for future generations.

Due to the historical importance of these collections and their dire need for
preservation, we welcome the opportunity to send these resources to the University
of Florida Digital Library Center via our partnership with the Digital Library of the
Caribbean for digitization. As a part of this commitment, we will provide to dLOC
non-exclusive rights to distribute the resources electronically via dLOC for
educational use and we will receive digital copies of the images.

One of the newspapers that are in need of digitization is the newspaper 'The
Chronicle' that was published on the island on a daily basis between 1986 and 2000.
The archives of this newspaper were destroyed in a hurricane and as a result the only
remaining issues of 'the chronicle' are stored in the PJ Library on microfiche.
Another important newspaper that should be digitized is the 'Windwards Island
Opinion' which was the first newspaper ever to be published on St Maarten. An
other unique publication is the weekly newspaper 'New age'.

The Philipsburg Jubilee Library was established in 1923 and it is the only library on
Dutch St Maarten. The library is a public library, but also functions as National
Library and safeguards local material for posterity. The mission of the library is to be
the gateway for information in the St Maarten society and to provide basic conditions
for lifelong learning, independent decision-making and cultural development of
individuals and social groups in St Maarten.

-The PJL fully supports the objectives of dLOC as the project will make available our
eligible collections online to interested constituents while at the same time providing
to our patrons resources not in the library's holdings.

Yours faithfully,

Mrs Ans Koolen
Director
Philipsburg Jubilee Library
Ch.E.W. Vogesstreet 12
Philipsburg,
St Maarten,
=CD Dutch West Indies

Email: director@stmaartenlibrary. org
Website: www. stmaartenlibrary.org

ch. e.m. voges street 12
p.o. box 2
philipsburg .
st. maarten
neth. antilles

phone: [599] 5q2 2910
c... frnnl rin one

04 1 .2as 16,43 TW IEPIN

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Universidad de
Puerto Rico

February 25, 2009

Ms. Brooke Wooldridge
Digital Library of the Caribbean
Green Library 225 A
Florida International University
University Park
Miami, FL 33199

Dear Ms. Wooldridge:

With this letter the Library System of the University of Puerto Rico,
Rio Piedras Campus affirms its commitment to participating in the
creation and development of the Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library:
Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life. We welcome the
Ro Pientode opportunity to share the digital images of El Mundo, the selected
newspaper from our collection in this unique collaborative project to
ensure digital preservation and access to important newspapers for
research purposes. This project offers and effective solution to the
longstanding issues of preservation and access of both current and
historical newspapers in the Caribbean.

El Mundo is one of the most important newspapers published in
Puerto Rico during the twentieth century (1919 thru 1990). Due to its
research value this newspaper is in constant demand by the Puerto
Rican Collection users. The years selected for digitalization are 1936,
1937, and 1938. These are approximately 8,500 pages per year for a
total of 25,500 pages. The period covered by those years represent a
moment of tensions and transformations in the Puerto Rican society.
Oficina del Of grant importance were the political tension that culminated in the
Director political activities taken by the Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico and

Sistemade the birth of the Popular Democratic Party. In addition, this period was
Bibliotecas still under the impact of the depression reflecting labor unrest among
workers. Finally, during this period is taking shape the
SBoxu23302 transformation of Puerto Rico from an agricultural to and industrial
Puerto Rico society.
00931-3302
We will work with the team of the CNDL to identify a workflow that
Telefono: will facilitate the submission of both the preservation copies as well as
787-764-0000 the images for internet distribution. We grant non-exclusive
Ext.3296 permission to dLOC to archive and distribute the historical issues of
Fax:
787-772-1479

Patrono con Igualdad de Oportunidades en el Empleo M/M/V/I

Ms. Brooke Wooldridge
February 25, 2009
Page 2

these collections for educational, non-commercial use. In addition to
building the infrastructure for this project, funding from this project
(.40/image) will allow us to target the digitization of approximately
5,000 pages per year for a total of at least 20,000 images.

The Library System is hopeful that this project will be funded so that
we can establish the technical and administrative framework by which
both the current and historical record of our newspapers can be
preservev made more accessible vianline access to current and -
future generations.

We look forward to working with you on this important project.

Sincerely,

Snejanka Penkova, Ph. D.
Director

alf

c Dra. Sonia Balet
Prof. Maria Ordofiez
Prof. Myra Torres

BROWN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
Providence, Rhode Island 02912

The John Hay Library

December 10, 2008

Ms. Susanna Easton
Office of Postsecondary Education
International Education Programs Service
1990 K Street, N.W., 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20006

Dear Ms. Easton,

It is with great pleasure that I offer the support of CIFNAL, a francophone initiative
under the umbrella of the Global Resources Network of the Center for Research Libraries
(CRL), for the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library: Disseminating and
Preserving Records of Daily Life (CNDL) presented by the Florida Consortium for Latin
American Studies to the Technological Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign
Information Access Program.

As a collaborative international digital newspaper library project, CNDL will provide a
means to digitally preserve and enhance access to newspapers that contain priceless
information about the historical and cultural heritage of the Caribbean region. In this
letter, I am outlining four major points that make a strong case for this application.

(1) Preserving vulnerable materials
Libraries in the Caribbean region have limited facilities or staff resources that can address
the challenges of preservation and conservation of library materials. The acidic quality of
the paper and the ink used in the printing process are two factors that put these documents
at risk. The tropical climate and the lack of suitable storage facilities also contribute to
the high danger of rapid physical deterioration of these newspapers. The digital
reformatting project proposed by the CNDL project will help rescue some of these
primary source materials and enable users in communities worldwide to have access to
these in spite of their poor physical condition.

(2) Using a highly collaborative model
CNDL's plan calls for a collaborative model with multiple facets in a region with many
economic, environmental and cultural challenges. Geographically, it focuses on the large
number of islands in the Caribbean Basin; linguistically, it includes all languages -
including some lesser-taught languages- represented in the publication of the newspapers;

technically, it relies on, and promotes, a close partnership between contributors of
documents, technical experts, stewards of archival materials, and creators of metadata.
The role of CNDL will undoubtedly be an engaging and coalescing force in realizing the
potential of this highly collaborative model.

(3) Providing access to a wide community of users, researchers and scholars
As Chair of CIFNAL, I cannot emphasize enough the need to engage in projects that
build cooperation among partners in the community and that sustain innovative
scholarship. My own experience as a librarian has proven how challenging it is to
identify, locate, and provide access to the cultural heritage of the Caribbean region. The
lengthy and costly research process for consulting these critical resources usually
involves the identification of the repositories of these newspapers, communication with
archivists or librarians, and on site visits. Making these newspapers accessible
electronically to all citizens of the world will ensure the democratic deployment of the
information and satisfy the information needs regardless of geographic location, ethnic
background, social status or practical purpose.

(4) Developing technological innovations
dLOC, the Digital Library of the Caribbeanm has built a successful model with the
development of a kit that offers a suite of free multi-lingual, standards-based metadata
tools. In this new phase, CNDL will include important new features such as additional
languages and newspaper-specific digitization capabilities. The ability to graphically
zone individual articles on the newspaper page and add minimal metadata for each article
will be excellent enhancements. CNDL's plan to further develop the open-source
software to automatically zone each newspaper page into articles and collect minimum
metadata attests to a strong commitment and conscious decision to sharing knowledge
and technical advances.

Sincerely,

Dominique Coulombe

Dominique Coulombe

Chair, CIFNAL
Senior Scholarly Resources Librarian
Brown University Library
Box A
Providence RI 02912

Tel. (401) 863 9666
Email: dominiquecoulombe@brown.edu

"tIl Center GLOBAL
/'"Research RESOURCES
Libraries NETWORK

December 10, 2008

Ms. Susanna Easton
Office of Postsecondary Education
International Education Programs Service
1990 K Street, N.W., 6"' Floor
Washington, DC 20006

Re: Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Project proposal

Dear Ms. Easton:

The Center for Research Libraries is pleased to endorse the proposed Caribbean Newspaper Digitization
Project: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life presented by the Florida Consortium for
Latin American Studies to the Technological Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign Information Access
Program.

As a collaborative international digital newspaper library project, CNDP will provide both digital
preservation and valuable open access to the highly endangered and difficult to reach newspapers that are
stored in precarious conditions across the Caribbean. In addition, this project will provide an opportunity
to address the needs of newspaper publishers to electronically archive preservation quality images of their
newspapers while providing access to the issues in a fully text searchable digital library. The harsh climate
in the Caribbean, the limited resources for storage and preservation and the inferior paper and ink used to
print these records require that this project to create the technical infrastructure and expertise for
digitization in the region begins now.

The Center for Research Libraries has long supported collaborative efforts to preserve and make accessible
newspapers from around the globe. In 2008 that effort has extended to digital conversion of historical news
resources from Latin America and other world regions. We view the efforts proposed by the Florida
Consortium as complementary to our efforts and one that will extend the availability of resources to both
U.S. scholars as well as to the source communities.

The Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library would make accessible resources that are underutilized because
of their inaccessibility. Making them available in a combined repository will open up new avenues of
comparative research for scholars. Therefore, we encourage the TICFIA program to support this bold effort
on behalf of US and Caribbean researchers.

Sincerely,

James Simon
Director of International Resources
Center for Research Libraries

.,k!I,:: i. I A I(]

DUKE UNIVERSITY
Deborah Jakubs
L I R A R IE Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University Librarian
Vice Provost for Library Affairs

December 5, 2008

Ms. Susanna Easton
Office of Postsecondary Education
International Education Programs Service
1990 K Street, N.W., 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20006

Dear Susanna,

I am pleased to express my strong support for the Caribbean Newspaper Digital Library
(CNDL): Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life, presented by the Florida
Consortium for Latin American Studies to the Technological Innovation and Cooperation
for Foreign Information Access Program (TICFIA).

Over the years, through my work with Latin American collections and with the ARL
Global Resources Program, I have come to appreciate the importance of developing
strategies to identify, locate, and preserve the very rich scholarly resources represented by
international newspapers. I have also learned the value of collaborative approaches, such
as that proposed by the CNDL. The project will both preserve these endangered
newspapers in digital format and ensure essential open access to them. It is important to
act quickly, since many of these newspapers are stored across the Caribbean under
conditions that threaten their continued existence. This project will also address the
needs of newspaper publishers to archive via electronic means preservation quality
images of their newspapers while providing access to the issues in a full-text-searchable
digital library. The particular climate of the Caribbean, the limited resources for storage
and preservation and the inferior paper and ink used to print these newspapers combine to
make this project deserving of urgent attention.

I fully endorse this project and recommend it for funding under the TICFIA program.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like additional information.

Sincerely,

Deborah Jakubs

Box 90193 Duke University Durham, NC 27708-0193 Tel 919-660-5800 Fax: 919-660-5923 library.duke.edu

WIDENER LIBRARY
of the Harvard College Library

December 10, 2009

Susanna Easton
Office of Postsecondary Education
International Education Programs Service
1990 K Street, N.W. 6th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20006

Dear Susanna;

I'm pleased to send this letter in support of the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization
Project: Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life, which is being
presented by the Florida Consortium for Latin American Studies to the Technological
Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign Information Access Program.

COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
CAMBRIDGE
MASSACH USETTS
02138
USA
T 617.495.2425
F 617.496.8704

This project would build a distributed, state-of-the-art technological infrastructure for
the digital capture and preservation of endangered newspaper content from several
Caribbean countries. Fully searchable text, in addition to high quality images, will
ensure enduring access to materials that are inherently unstable in their original
newsprint versions. Even microfilm copies of these newspapers provide problematic
substitutes due to the intrinsic limitations of a high-contrast black and white medium
in capturing color and half-tone illustrations; the typical lack of appropriate storage
vaults within the Caribbean to ensure that a reel's theoretical life expectancy is in fact
realistic; and the inevitable, imminent disappearance of microfilm technology from
the marketplace. Creating up-to-date technological capacities, and reformatting some
critical newspapers, is essential in both the immediate and longer terms.

Digitized newspapers, with full-text searchability, allow sophisticated user inquiries
and invite research projects that are essentially impossible with manual technologies
that require scholars to read every page of every issue to be sure they've seen
everything that may be relevant to their research. Newspapers provide unique
windows into local daily life, through direct news reporting but also through matters
of features and layout, and even their advertisements. Editorials, and even coverage
of international events, likewise reveal a great deal about local societies and
conditions. A great many research projects will be enabled by this initiative.

Finally, the technological, project management, and rights negotiation capacities that
will be built during the course of this project will stand each and all of the
participating institutions in good stead as new possibilities for digital projects
continue to emerge.

I strongly endorse this TICFIA proposal, and very much hope that this important
effort can be supported-particularly in this instance that centers on unique and
endangered resources that require urgent attention during a time of severe financial
constraints.

Many thanks for your consideration.

With s wis es,

Dan Hazen, Ph.D. X
Associate Librarian of Harvard College for Collection Development
140 Widener
Tel.: 617.495.2425
E-mail: dchazen(@fas.harvard.edu

0o THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
"i Z 101 INDEPENDENCE AVENUE, S.E.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20540-4850

HISPANIC DIVISION
Tel: (202) 707-5400
Fax: (202) 707-2005

December 5, 2008

Ms. Susanna Easton
Office of Postsecondary Education
International Education Programs Service
1990 K Street, N.W., 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20006

Dear Ms. Easton,

I am very pleased to offer my support for the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Project:
Disseminating and Preserving Records of Daily Life (CNDP) presented by the Florida
Consortium for Latin American Studies to the Technological Innovation and Cooperation
for Foreign Information Access Program.

CNDP, a collaborative international digital newspaper library project, will benefit
researchers, publishers, and librarians in the Caribbean, the United States, and worldwide,
and will provide the general public with a landmark site of Caribbean cultural heritage.
Newspapers provide a wealth of primary source information on regional and national
events, while also affording a glimpse of the pleasures, pastimes, and challenges of
everyday life. However, the very properties that make newspapers widely accessible to a
large population-fragile paper, lower quality, and therefore inexpensive, ink, daily
issues-also make newspapers expensive and unwieldy to preserve in their original
format. The sun and humidity of the Caribbean climate coupled with frequently
damaging storms in the region results in a highly precarious environment for newspaper
storage. The project will address the needs of publishers and libraries with limited
resources to electronically archive preservation-quality images of their newspapers and
provide full public access to past issues. Significantly, the project aims not only to create
a functioning research tool, but also to build local capacity for project development by
heightening digitization skills, including digital rights permission assessment and
metadata application training.

The creation of a freely accessible, fully searchable digital newspaper database will
enable researchers to pin down previously elusive evidence of social, cultural, political,
and economic trends in the region. Rapid access to personal and place name indexes and
the ability to search across time and across regions in several newspapers at once will
free researchers from the time, labor, and cost of traveling great distances and reading
through page after page or reel after reel of microfilm to find relevant information. The
ability to trace the flow of ideas and the movement of individuals throughout the

Caribbean will enrich studies and deepen understanding of social, cultural, and political
trends.

It is difficult to overestimate the profound impact on research of access to multilingual,
primary source material from a region as culturally rich as the Caribbean. From studies of
music, linguistics, and art to works on global trade, migration, and the environment, there
is scarcely a topic that may not be researched in the pages of newspapers. Students and
researchers at all levels will benefit from the CNDP. Please support this very worthwhile
project.

Sincerely,

Dr. Georgette Dorn
Chief, Hispanic Division
Library of Congress

Appendix C: Technical Specifications

1. Web Specifications

The Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library is a multi-national partnership, operating

in multiple languages with both centralized and remote technologies. The CNDL web site

will be designed under specifications intended to encourage consistency among its

collections in visual layout and navigation, while allowing each collection to express its

own individuality. There are at least three advantages to these design guidelines: they

help patrons use the collections, by ensuring consistent and predictable design features;

they help to "brand" projects as part of a larger whole by giving them a common look and

feel; and they help designers follow commonly accepted principles.

1.1. General Guidelines

* Compliance with applicable web standards, including: XHTML 1.0, XML 1.0, CSS

2.0 (with styles defined for multiple viewing platforms), and Web Content

Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

* Compliance with industry practice for web design meeting those standards,

including allowing only vertical scrolling and prohibiting the use of frames or

animation.

* Features requiring plug-ins should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

* Collections websitess) shall be established for the Library as a whole and for

individual countries (e.g., Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago), for ancient or pan-

national cultures (e.g., the Aztec, the Maya), and for pan-national organizations

(e.g., international publishers).

Websites shall be multi-lingual as necessary. English shall be common to all

collections/websites. And the predominant languages) of the collection's content

shall also be a language of the collection. For example, a collection of historic

Haitian newspapers should be presented in English and French and/or Haitian

Creole.

1.2. Supported Browsers

Collection websites/interfaces should work with the following browsers: Internet Explorer

5.0 and above, Firefox 2.0 and above, and Opera Mini 4.0 and above for mobile

browsers. Developers should not use features that are unsupported in these browser

versions or should ensure graceful degradation where only minor styling or non-usable

information and content is altered. Developers should test new sites with multiple

browsers and in supported older browsers well as current browser versions.

2. Equipment Specifications: Hardware and Software

2.1. Hardware

No hardware will be provided with this grant. Recommended hardware specifications for

digitization can be found in the affiliated Digital Library of the Caribbean Manual

(http://www.dloc. com/?m=hitmanual).

2.2 Software

CDNL Digitization Toolkit

CDNL will create a new digization toolkit based on the dLOC Toolkit which was

developed for the Digital Library of the Caribbean. The current software:

provides a work queue and product record database, managing all aspects of

production

stores data in freely-distributable SQL Server Express 2005

is written in C# for the .NET framework, v3.5

generates JPEG thumbnails and JPEG2000 derivatives and presents them in

sequential order for inspection

allows users to attach or confirm structural metadata (both physical e.g., page

and section numbering and intellectual e.g., chapter headings, article titles,

etc.), to accept or decline images, and to perform basic image manipulation or

correction (e.g., rotation, etc.)

assists users with submitting directly to the centralized CDNL digital library

servers at the University of Florida.

allows partners to edit the metadata associated with their items on CDNL

encapsulates much of the software used in-house by the University of Florida for

their digitization efforts.

The new CDNL Toolkit will be specifically adapted for inputting multiple issues of a single

serialized title, unlike the current dLOC Toolkit which was optimized for single volume

items. The CDNL Toolkit will be enhanced enter multiple volumes of the same item. The

software will also be modified to include functionality currently present in the UF DLC

Zoning Application, which improves accuracy of text conversion by manually identifying

columns and complex layout structures in advance of OCR. The Zoning Application is

similar to PrimeZone, a plug-in application for PrimeRecognition optical character

recognition (OCR) software, and to the Open Source OCRopus which builds on the

Open Source Tesseract OCR. The application is different from PrimeZone in that, like

the dLOC Toolkit's QC application, it allows the attachment of structural metadata to

zones and can be used in concert with PrimeRecognition or OCRopus to produce

intelligent mark-up and thereby reduce production costs.

In addition, the following software packages are employed by the University of Florida

within the dLOC Toolkit and will be utilized in the CDNL Toolkit for post-processing of

CDNL images:

ImageMagick and Kakadu (both freely available) are used in conjunction with the

dLOC QC Application to perform basic manipulation and correction, as well as to

generate JPEG2000 and JPEG derivative versions, and PDFs when selected.

PrimeRecognition (http://www.primerecognition.com) optical character recognition

(OCR) software is run by the UF Digital Library Center on a dedicated server. The

application is configured with PrimeOCR, PrimeView, and PrimeVerify, using six

(6) voting OCR engines. The UF Digital Library Center is testing accuracy of

OCRopus for use alongside of PrimeRecognition.

Digital Library Technologies

All necessary digital library technologies will be purchased, licensed, and

maintained by the UF Digital Library Center as the technical partner. The core

technological infrastructure supports all partners, while also allowing for

separation and customization at the partner institution level.

This project supports, on its centralized servers, the Greenstone digital library

technology (http://www.greenstone.org) that is the heart of UF Digital Collections

(http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ufdc). Greenstone is Open Source software, maintained

by the New Zealand Digital Library project in collaboration with UNESCO. The UF

Digital Library Center's Greenstone digital library technology is further augmented

by the Open Source Apache Lucene search engine software

(http://lucene.apache.org/) which supports accurate text searching even with

multiple millions of pages in multiple languages.

3. Imaging and Digitization Specifications

Specifications for IMAGING (i.e., scanning, text, and metadata) in the Caribbean

Newspaper Digitization Library are based on digitization specifications for UFDC

Collections (http://palmm.fcla.edu/strucmeta/standres.html#guidedig) that, in turn, are

based on the principles and recommendations of Moving Theory into Practice: Digital

Imaging for Libraries and Archives (Anne R. Kenney and Oya Y. Rieger [Mountain View,

CA : Research Libraries Group, 2000] cf, http://www.rlg.org/preserv/mtip2000.html)

and Cornell University's web based Digital Imaging Tutorial

(http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/tutorial/l contents.html).

These specifications are optimized for digital archiving practices as outlined the FCLA

Digital Archive (http://www.fcla.edu/digitalArchive/) and also optimized for data exchange

with or harvesting by other digital libraries such as the U.S. National Science

Foundation's Nationals Science Digital Library (http://www.nsdl.org/), the U.S. Institute

for Museum and Library Services' National Leadership Grant collection

(http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/), OAlster (http://www.oaister.org/), based at the

University of Michigan; and Web Robots (http://www.robotstxt.orql/) with the University of

Florida's technical infrastructure optimized for indexing by commercial search engines

(http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/digital/digitalservices/search.htm). Specifications have been

constructs, as well, to support the "Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe" (LOCKSS) program

(http://lockss.stanford.edu/) and content delivery to institutions such as the Internet

Archive (http://www.archive.org/) and the Center for Research Libraries' World

Newspaper Archive (http://www.crl.edu/content.asp?l1=3&12=70&co=114) both of which

have existing relationships with the University of Florida, the main (technical) processing

authority for the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library's centralized collections.

The following specifications have been outlined:

3.1. Description:....... Catalog Records: Minimum Information Set
3.2. Description:.......Geographic Metadata
3.3. Description:.......Topical Metadata
3.4. Scanning:...........Digital Masters: Image Creation Specifications
3.5. Scanning:...........Derivatives: JPEG Specifications
3.6. Scanning:...........Derivatives: JPEG2000 Specifications
3.7. Text: ..... ....... Optical Character Recognition Specifications
3.8. Text: ..... ....... Markup for Searching
3.9. Deployment:...... Metadata Encoding and Transmission
3.10. Deployment:...... Metadata for Zoning
3.11. Deployment:...... Data Sharing (OAI) Protocol

Additional training documentation will be based on Cornell University's web-based Digital

Imaging Tutorial (http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/tutorial/contents.html). The

Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library also supports digital audio and video, based

on the UF Digital Library Center's documentation for audio and video

(http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/digital/technologies/).

3.1. Description: Catalog Records: Minimum Information Set

Descriptive information is requisite to finding digitized content in a digital library. The

Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library imposes a minimal barrier to encourage

contribution. Minimal cataloging/bibliographic record information will be Dublin Core

element set (http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/). This set is integral to digital object

record harvesting (i.e., Open Archives Initiative [OAI]) that allows the Caribbean

Newspaper Digitization Library to share its content with other digital libraries.

These core elements will be mapped, via automation, to MARC21

(http://www.loc.gov/marc/) standards for information exchange with U.S. and other

libraries. Resulting records will be augmented with additional descriptive and technical

information by catalogers working with the UF's Digital Library Center and with the

digitization programs of the other U.S. institutions contributing digital document

processing. For these more detailed specifications and mappings, see:

http://www.lib. usf.edu/techservices/CAGER/CAGERGuidelines-Ptl 1rev. html and

http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ufdc2/technical/Metadata/metadata.htm. Such records will be

contributed to national databases (e.g., OCLC and RLG, and as requested with the

Library of Congress).

The Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library's internal programming supports

collection of this data in and performs mappings to MARC21 and Metadata Encoding

and Transmission Standard (e.g., METS [http://www.loc.gov/standards/mets/]). Records

for each item will be available from the item view within the Caribbean Newspaper

Digitization Library and the collected records will also be openly available in a single

compiled file for ease of use (http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/digital/development/marcxml/).

Core elements include:

* Title

* Creator (i.e., author)

* Subject and Keywords

* Description (i.e., free text notes about the resource)

* Publisher

* Contributor (i.e., name of the foreign partner or contributing agency)

* Date (i.e., date of publication)

* Type (i.e., type of document/resource)

* Format (i.e., physical characteristics of the source document and/or digital

resource)

* Source

* Language (i.e., language of the content)

* Relation (i.e., relation to other digital resources)

* Coverage (i.e., the temporal and/or geographic area described by the content)

* Rights (i.e., rights management/ownership information)

The Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library will accept qualified (i.e., extended)

Dublin Core data. Data inherits the standards implicit in the Dublin Core specification.

The Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library will also accept MARC21 record data.

Data inherits the standards implicit in the MARC21 specification. For more information,

see the UF Digital Library Center's metadata documentation

(http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ufdc2/technical/Metadata/metadata. htm).

3.2. Description: Geographic Metadata

Information about geographic region-including place of publication, area described by

content and time span for context-is very important to the Caribbean Newspaper

Digitization Library. History and culture can vary by as little as a governmental boundary

as is the case on the island of St. Martin/Sint Maartin and changes across different eras.

And, these in turn, hold clues to understanding customs and norms, beliefs and attitudes,

and family origins. Geographic encoding gives the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization

Library utility not commonly found in digital libraries. It allows the Library to provide map

interfaces for textual and graphical information as well as for mapped data that reflect the

relationship of the geographic displays to the historical time periods, making regional and

geographic analyses of this information possible.

Thesauri

The Dublin Core element set upon which cataloging will be based recommends the use

of the Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN), based at the Getty. UNESCO's El

Dorado requires the use of the Global Information Locator Service (GILS). The Library of

Congress requires country code designators roughly based on the International

Standards Organization's ISO 3166.

It augments local names in its Name and Subject Authority files. The Alexandria Digital

Library, which specializes in maps and mapped data, requires the use of a gazetteer

based on the U.S. Geological Survey's GNIS database (for U.S. place names) and the

National Imagery and Mapping Agency's GNS database (for other place names). Each of

these datasets is valuable in its own right, but none captures the richness of the

Caribbean and Caribbean Basin and few of the records in any system account for

historical or language variance in place names.

The Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library will adopt the standards and requirement

of the Alexandria Digital Library, but will augment these over time to refine their

references for the Caribbean and Caribbean Basin. The University of Florida, in its

Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funded Ephemeral Cities project, has

already begun to define the structure of and to program systems for this Caribbean

Gazetteer. The University is exploring reporting relationships to both GNIS and GNS.

And, it has proposed methods to enrich the Library of Congress authority files with this

information.

Encoding

The Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library systems will map this combined and

augmented GNIS/GNS/LC-Authority information as appropriate to the metadata sets

created: Dublin Core and MARC21. Additionally, where possible, the Caribbean

Newspaper Digitization Library will be compliant with the Open Geospatial Consortium's

Geography Markup Language [GML], (http://opengis.net/gml/).

3.3. Description: Topical Metadata

Topical description of the resources provided in the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization

Library provides a kind of umbrella categorization to the Library's digital resources.

Categorization brings together similar materials, quickly, from across various collections.

But, language challenges the use of a shared thesaurus for topical description in the

Caribbean. No single thesaurus is readily available or usable by all of the partners.

The Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library recommends the use of the prevailing

local/national topical thesaurus. In the United States of American and in many English-

speaking Caribbean countries, that thesaurus will be the Library of Congress Subject

Authority files (http://authorities.loc.gov/).

Language Issues

Further study of this issue has been identified as requiring additional study by the

technical experts working with the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library.

Approaches toward equitable, multilingual solutions have been identified as an area of

potential future granting or fund-raising. And, machine assisted translation of queries is

an area of interest among several of the partners' colleges of Computer Science,

Information and Decision Sciences, Engineering departments.

3.4. Scanning: Digital Masters: Image Creation Specifications

Digital image masters can serve many purposes. They can serve as a method of

preservation or distribution. Preservation dictates a loss-less, quality rich format(s)

capable of capturing source documents as found at the time of imaging. Distribution

implies several functions and constraints. One of these is printing and anticipated high-

end reproduction of selected objects.

Optimally, a digital master must serve as many purposes as possible. The Caribbean

Newspaper Digitization Library adopts the defacto U.S. digital library standard:

uncompressed TIFF, and in particular the expression of that standard as promulgated by

PALMM (http://palmm.fcla.edu/strucmeta/tiff.html). However, like UNESCO's El Dorado,

the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library makes specific fitness-for-purpose

recommendations, specifically:

Retention shall be permanent

Digital masters shall be archived under the best methods possible. Partners in the

Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library have access to the FCLA Digital

Archive (http://www.fcla.edu/digitalArchive/) through the participating Florida

partners. The FCLA Digital Archive, with the support of the Institute for Museum

and Library Services (IMLS), has been recognized internationally as a leader in

digital archiving.

Format shall be ITU TIFF (T.6)

Compression shall be uncompressed

Color space ([B&W], [gray-scale], or color) shall be appropriate to the resource

(e.g., colored materials should be imaged in color). For most materials,

designated for on-line delivery, the color-space shall be sRGB (standardized

Red/Green/Blue).

Bit-depth (1-bit/B&W, 8-bit/gray-scale, or 24-bit/color or higher) shall be

appropriate to the resource and its anticipated uses. The greater the bit-depth, the

greater the file size but, also, the better the image quality.

Scale to Source shall 100% (i.e., there shall be no image size reduction in

creation of the digital master).

* Digital Resolution (DPI/DPC) shall be appropriate to the resource and its

anticipated uses. (DPI, dots per inch; DPC, dots per centimeter.) DPI = 2.54

(DPC). DPC = DPI 2.54

* Minimum resolution shall be the defacto publication standard: 300 dpi or 118 dpc.

* Optical Character Recognition (OCR) engines are optimized for 300 dpi.

OCR is used to convert page images to searchable text.

* Recommended resolution for photographs, engravings, etc. is 600 dpi or 236 dpc.

* Image-zoom applications support closer image inspection at 600 dpi/236 dpc

rather than 300 dpi/118 dpc.

The Digital Library Center shall prefer to speak in terms of DPC to DPI. DPC is the norm

among foreign partners and is the requisite measure of the JPEG2000 standard.

Quality Control:

Quality control should play a prominent role in scanning operations. Visual inspection

together with a query of the file header should be completed by spot check. Spot check

requires inspection of every image in thumbnail view and of no less than 10% of the

images in full-image view. Quality control will be assisted by the dLOC Digitization

Toolkit. A variety of factors effecting on-screen and print legibility should be examined.

For additional guidance, we recommend reading Cornell University's Digital Imaging

Tutorial: Quality Control (http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/workshop/).

Format Futures:

Some individuals in the U.S. digital library community (http://j2karclib.info/) have begun

to talk about allowing uncompressed TIFF to be replaced by uncompressed JPEG2000

(base-line JP2 expression, rather than the full-featured, extended JPX expression). This

issue will be referred to the technical experts working with the Caribbean Newspaper

Digitization Library.

Resources Born Digital:

Increasingly, new information is being born digital and saved in proprietary formats. The

Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library will eventually accept digital masters in

formats not-based on open standards. However, their acceptance is based on

development of ingest migration strategies designed to convert non-standard formats to

standard formats without functional loss. The UF Digital Library Center has already

successfully tested ingest for born digital PDF print master files; however, other born

digital formats have not been tested. This issue will be referred to the technical experts

working with the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library.

3.5. Scanning: Derivatives: JPEG2000 Specifications

The purpose of a derivative is to provide the Internet user with a version that can be

accessed online. Different derivative formats function differently and meet different

needs. JPEG2000 (JP2) is an increasingly more popular format particularly for images

optimized by image-zoom applications. At present however, web browsers offer

JPEG2000 support only via plug-in applications or via server-base software. JPEG2000

is supported by the centralized technology of the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization

Library which relies on a central installation of the Aware JPEG2000 Server that

interprets requests for JPEG2000 imagery, parses JPEG2000 images, and serves the

requested size and zoom level as a JPEG, removing the need for plug-in applications

while allowing users all the benefits of the JPEG2000 format.

The Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library adopts the practices of NDNP

(http://www.loc.gov/ndnp/). In particular, it recommends:

* Format shall be JP2

* Compression shall be at minimum (highest image quality), not greater than 15%

OR image quality not less than 85% of digital master.

* Color space shall be the same as the digital master.

* Bit-depth shall be the same as the digital master.

* Digital Resolution (DPI/DPC) shall be the same as the digital master.

* Metadata shall be retain any metadata embedded in the file header of the digital

master.

* Wavelet Filter shall be float or floating-point.

* Tile Size shall not be greater than 1024 x 1024.

Extended JPEG2000 (JPX)

JPEG2000 allows inclusion of metadata, region of interest designation, and even

alternate file formats and thumbnails in an extended JPX expression. At present, the

Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library does not prohibit JPX use but neither is it

recommended. Any metadata, etc. included in a JPX file should also be saved outside

the JPX file. Bit-rot or other file decay/damage could result in the loss of both images and

metadata, etc. if information is not also retained separately. Further review of this issue

will be referred to the technical experts working with the Caribbean Newspaper

Digitization Library.

3.6. Scanning: Derivatives: JPEG Specifications

The purpose of a derivative is to provide the Internet user with a version that can be

accessed online. Different derivative formats function differently and meet different

needs. JPEG is the most ubiquitous format available on the Internet today. All web

browsers support JPEG. But, JPEG is an individuated image format; there is one JPEG

for one page image. It requires page-turning software. JPEG with page-turning is

supported by the centralized Greenstone digital library technology of the Caribbean

Newspaper Digitization Library.

The Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library adopts the practices of PALMM

(http://palmm.fcla.edu/strucmeta/jpeg.html). In particular, it recommends:

* Format shall be JPG

* Compression shall be at minimum (highest image quality), not greater than 15%

OR image quality not less than 85% of digital master.

* Color space shall be the same as the digital master.

* Bit-depth shall be the same as the digital master.

* Scale to Source be scaled to the prevailing common screen/monitor resolution

width (i.e., not less than 630 pixels wide) to mitigate horizontal scrolling.

* Interpolation during Scaling should interpolate.

* Thumbnails may be scaled to dimensions as appropriate for display.

* Digital Resolution (DPI/DPC) shall be the same as the digital master.

3.7. Text: Optical Character Recognition Specifications

The true power of any digital library is its ability to bring information together by

searching within the text of documents, metadata, etc. The Caribbean Newspaper

Digitization Library facilitates searching by both exposing metadata and its hidden tags

AND document text to textual searches:

basic, Boolean, and advanced with filters for specific media, date ranges and geographic

locations.

The Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library will use the facilities of the University of

Florida's Digital Library Center to achieve this end. Utilizing advanced optical character

recognition (OCR) software, PrimeRecognition, page images will be converted to

searchable text. The Center currently runs one and this project will add a second license

for PrimeRecognition. Its OCR engines are configured to run six (6) different processes

simultaneously and to select the most accurate conversion. Though accuracy falls

slightly with older and heavily worn materials, accuracy of conversion test-sets was

99.9% in each of the following Caribbean languages: English, Dutch, French, and

Spanish. The only languages for which accuracy fell were Haitian Creole and

Papiamento, both creoles for which PrimeRecognition, as yet, has not word dictionary

against which to compare results and make automatic corrections.

The Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library will employ a hidden text method.

Searchable, tagged text will lay behind page images. This method allows the reader to

see the page as imaged, to view layout and the printer's intent. This method hides the

few inaccuracies, as well as, tagging that might otherwise hinder reading. Currently,

systems are optimized for text within PDF and behind JPEG images; work is underway

to embed text in JPEG2000 as well.

OCRed text will be corrected (i.e., made 100% accurate) for all titles, headings, and

captions associated with images or in tables, e.g., the information that forms an

extended Table of Contents. Other text may remain uncorrected but available for future

correction. This method optimizes production without greatly compromising searching or

document navigation.

Text conversion will be automatic for any printed documents directed through the

University of Florida's Digital Library Center for processing. The Center has committed to

process the bulk of texts made available through the Caribbean Newspaper Digitization

Library. The Center will also supply applications (cf, Equipment and Software

documentation) that facilitate text conversion. The University of Florida has devised

procedures which make the digitization more effective and less costly with text

conversion than without it.

3.8. Text: Mark-up for Searching

Mark-up serves three purposes.

First, mark-up provides information about the creation of a digital resource. It provides

administrative metadata, including ownership attribution, rights management information,

and persistent identifiers, as well as, technical metadata required to validate files for

archiving and other uses.

Second, mark-up facilitates organization in the digital library. Known as "structural

metadata" it outfits a digital resource's with an electronic Table of Contents that

associates pages with its various headers, captions and sections for facilitated document

navigation. The University of Florida's Digital Library Center will provide partner

institutions with applications (cf, Equipment and Software documentation) enabling the

compilation of this markup/metadata.

Third, mark-up enhances the (searchable) text. Name authority references distinguish

between individuals of the same name. Geographic references associate text with known

places and allows text to be associated with maps for geographic searching. Temporal

references allow searches to bring together documents relative to a particular date or

era. More importantly, they facilitate intelligent searching, differentiating one type of word

from another. For example, they make it possible for search systems to distinguish the

Hamilton whose letters from St. Croix can be found in the National Archives of Jamaica

from the city of Hamilton on Bermuda, or, in a more challenging search for most readers,

distinguishing the U.S.S. Maine that was sunk in Havana Harbor in 1898 from the U.S.S.

Maine that served as a naval hospital during World Wars I and II and which was

harbored in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas in 1907.

The Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library requires, at minimum:

Basic administrative metadata (cf, Specifications for Description: Catalog

Records);

Basic technical metadata (i.e., metadata automatically generate during the

process of imaging/scanning) The issue of applying advanced technical

metadata will be referred to technical experts working with the Caribbean

Newspaper Digitization Library. One of those experts, Erich Kesse, serves on the

NISO Committee responsible for the standard, "Technical Metadata for Digital Still

Images" (Z39.87).

Basic structural metadata elaborated to the level of top-level divisions (e.g.,

Chapter headings) with the recommendation that Table of Contents information

be as deep as possible.

The Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library highly recommends geographic tagging at

all levels of document mark-up, particularly in the form of in-text tagging. Mark-up shall

comply with the Text Encoding Initiative (TEl) document type definition (http://www.tei-

c.org ). Born-digital newspapers may, when possible, shall be made available with mark-

up that shall comply with International Press Telecommunications Council news

exchange (G2) formats (http://www.iptc.org/cms/site/single.html?channel=CH0087

document=CMS1206527645546). The G2 formats incorporate the News Industry Text

Format (NITF; http://www.iptc.org/cms/site/index.html?channel=CH0107), which

originated among U.S. publishers.

3.9. Deployment: Metadata Encoding and Transmission

Metadata encoding and transmission standards ensure that data created by one partner

can be read and utilized by another partner either within the Caribbean Newspaper

Digitization Library or among digital libraries broadly. These standards act as a wrapper

for metadata just as an envelope is a wrapper for a letter. The defacto U.S. and

international standard for metadata encoding and transmission is the Metadata Encoding

and Transmission Standard [METS] (http://www.loc.gov/standards/mets/), promulgated

by the Library of Congress.

The Caribbean Newspaper Digitization Library will adopt the UFDC METS

(http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ufdc2/technical/Metadata/UFDC_METS.pdf) implementation

together with its expression in the Metadata Object Descriptive Schema [MODS]

(http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/ufdc2/technical/Metadata/UFDC_MODS.pdf). MODS provides a

mapping between Dublin Core and MARC21 (cf, Specifications for Description: Catalog

Records).

The University of Florida's Digital Library Center will provide Caribbean Newspaper

Digitization Library partners with that METS/MODS application, known as the dLOC

Digitization Toolkit.

3.10. Metadata for Zoning

Interest in automatic segmentation of an image of a page of text began as early as

1995. In 2001, the First International Newspaper Segmentation Contest put to test

many of the early algorithms in segmentation.1 By 2004, new algorithms were

achieving nearly twice the accuracy of the best methods employed just three years

B. Gatos, S.L. Mantzaris, A. Antonacopoulos, "First International Newspaper Segmentation Contest," icdar,pp.1190, Sixth
International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition (ICDAR'01), 2001.

earlier.2 The field of newspaper segmentation continues to see advances in theoretical

research with a number of algorithms becoming established.3

The CNDL hopes to create an Open Source tool utilizing the latest research and

algorithms in signal processing and pattern recognition to automatically segment

newspaper image pages and produce standard metadata in several forms, including the

widely library-adopted standards of METS (Metadata Encoding and Transmission

Scheme) and ALTO (Analyzed Layout and Text Object).

To perform this work, the technical experts working with the Caribbean Newspaper

Digitization Library will examine emerging algorithms and employ the already

established algorithms. These algorithms are likely to include:

X-Y cut

Smearing

Whitespace Analysis

Constrained Textline Detection

Voronio Diagram-Based Algorithm

Docstrum Algorithm

The algorithms will be utilized for each of the titles and print types to determine the best

algorithm to employ in each case.

2
Phillip E. Mitchell and Hong Yan, "Connected Pattern Segmentation and Title Grouping in Newspaper Images," ICPR, pp. 1263-
1267, Proceeding of the 17th International Conference on Pattern Recognition (ICPR 2004).
Phillip E. Mitchell and Hong Yan, "Newspaper Layout Analysis Incorporating Connected Component Separation," pp. 307-317,
Image and Vision Computing, Vol 22, Issue, 1: April 2004.

R. Furmaniak, "Unsupervised Newspaper Segmentation Using Language Context," ICDAR, pp.1263-1267, Ninth International
Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition (ICDAR 2007) Vol 2, 2007.

	Table of Contents
	Abstract
	Meeting the purpose of the authorizing...
	Extent of need for the project
	Significance
	Quality of the project design
	Quality of project personnel
	Quality of project services
	Adequacy of resources
	Quality of the management plan
	Quality of the project evaluat...
	Appendices

MILLISECOND	CLASS.METHOD	MESSAGE
0	sobekcm_page_globals.constructor
0	sobekcm_page_globals.constructor	Application State validated or built
0	sobekcm_database.verify_item_lookup_object
0	sobekcm_page_globals.constructor	Navigation Object created from URI query string
0	sobekcm_database.verify_item_lookup_object
0	sobekcm_page_globals.display_item	Retrieving item or group information
0	sobekcm_page_globals.get_entire_collection_hierarchy	Retrieving hierarchy information
0	sobekcm_assistant.get_entire_collection_hierarchy
0	cached_data_manager.retrieve_item_aggregation
0	cached_data_manager.retrieve_item_aggregation	Found item aggregation on local cache
0	item_aggregation_builder.get_item_aggregation	Found 'all' item aggregation in cache
0	system.web.ui.page.page_load (ufdc.page_load)
0	sobekcm_page_globals.constructor.on_page_load
0	html_echo_mainwriter.add_style_references	Adding style references to HTML
0	html_echo_mainwriter.add_text_to_page	Reading the text from the file and echoing back to the output stream
2	html_echo_mainwriter.add_text_to_page	Finished reading and writing the file