Digital Collections Site Guide



Using this Site | Glossary of Terms | Frequently Asked Questions


Using this Site

Digital Collections gathers digital objects from across the library and archival holdings of Joyner Library. Digital objects are simply scans or other digital versions of our materials as well as materials that were created in a digital form (like a photo from a digital camera). We have collected scans of books, photographs, and manuscripts, photographs of physical objects, as well as digital audio and soon we hope to add digital video. Each object is stored in our searchable database which you can explore through this site. Identifying information like title, subjects, and the creator of the work are also stored for every object making them easier to find. When appropriate, we gather together resources into collections based on a similar theme such as objects by the same creator on about the same subject. Some objects may belong to more than one collection, some may belong to no collection at all.



Home


Searching
You can search the database from any page on the site using the search box in the header:



When you do a search in the text box, there are some simple tips to keep in mind:

  • • Check the spelling of your search terms
  • • Try using a wildcard by replacing characters with an *
  • Example: "whal*" instead of "whaling"
  • • If your first search is unsuccessful, try searching for a similar word.
  • • Do a broader search by using fewer words. For example instead of searching for "Palomino Horses" you could just search for "Horses"
  • • Use quotation marks to search for specific phrases, such as "To boldly go where no one has gone before"
  • • Use combination words in ALL CAPS to combine terms
  • Use "AND" when both terms must be present such as "birds AND nests"
  • Use "OR" when either term will do, as in "birds OR owls"
  • Use "NOT" to exclude a word, as in "birds NOT penguins" – in this case the search will bring back items that have the word bird but not the word penguin or the words bird and penguin


If you click on the words "advanced search" below the text box, you will enter the advanced search page, which has options to search for specific types of objects.



Subject Cloud

Another way you can find out about interesting items in the database is to explore the various subject clouds. The subject cloud is a group of the common subjects describing items in the database. If a subject appears bigger, that means there are more objects related to that term. If it is smaller there are less. There is a small cloud on the home page:



And a bigger one under the "Explore" menu in the header:



Collections

The collections are groups of materials that the library has grouped together because they are somehow related. In some cases, like the Robert C. Caldwell collection, they were all created by the same person. In others, they are items from across the library that are about a particular subject such as Agriculture. A few of these collections have associated web sites with lots of contextual information, other collections are merely a group of items brought together for you to browse through. In either case, you can gain much perspective by looking at these items as a group. Many of the collections are added to all the time, so check back periodically for new additions.



When you click on a collection, an introductory screen will pop up:



Viewing Digitized Objects



Clicking one of the subcategories in the left-hand column will narrow your retrieved set of digital objects to just the ones in that subcategory:





Scrolling down, you will see information about the image.



Glossary of Terms

Collection: A collection of digital objects is any group of objects that have been coordinated together by Joyner Library staff because of some similarity, such as objects created by the same person or on the same subject. In some cases, these digital collections mirror physical collections of materials that are held throughout the library. Physical collections can be explored through the Special Collections department's finding aids.

Database: An ordered set of data that can be systematically searched. Digital Collections is driven by an underlying database with information about each digital object. When you perform a search, you are looking through the information in the database to find an object that matches what you searched for.

Digital object: any digital version of a physical item. Digital versions may be created through scanning, photography, or tape to digital conversion. Digital objects may be composed of many individual scans or recordings, or some combination of these, such as in the case of a book where each page has been scanned and a digital audio recording is made of someone reading the text for playback at the same time.

Digital Collections: is the online home of Joyner Library's database of digital objects. Anyone can come here to browse through or search for digital objects from Joyner's many collections.

Digital Collections Unit: The Digital Collections unit is a group of people at the library responsible for creating and maintaining Digital Collections. In addition, they provide services for a few other databases of digital objects related to the library. Find out more about the unit on our About page.

Finding Aid: A written guide to a physical collection containing a description of the materials in the collection. In some cases, finding aids also contain an inventory of items, a biographical description of the creator or subject of the materials, donor information, and copyright information. Many items in digital collections are also described in a finding aid for the physical collection they reside with. In many of these cases, the finding aid contains links to the digital object.

Record: All of the information about a particular digital object. The record contains descriptive, administrative, and technical information about the digital object and the physical item it was created form.

Subjects: Subjects are simply terms assigned to digital objects (in the object's record) that described the subject matter contained. For example, an image of a college dance might contain the subject "Dance and Dancing". These subjects help you find records and digital objects that do not contain text that you can search.

Subject Cloud: A visual representation of all of the subjects in every record in the database. When a subject appears in more than one record it has a heavier weight and will appear bigger in the cloud. There are three types of subject clouds in Digital Collections: one containing the most frequently appearing subjects, one containing some of the most unique subjects, and one that is randomly generated. Clicking on any term in any cloud will retrieve each digital object and record that contains that subject.

Thumbnail: A small version of an image used when a large number of images are being viewed at once. In nearly every case, clicking on a thumbnail will lead to a larger version of the image along with all of the information about it in the database.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did you build this site/ what software did you use?
Joyner Library Digital Collections was developed in-house using existing staff. The repository is a native XML storage/retrieval database populated with METS XML records built using the Ixiasoft’s TEXTML server software. Each object (text, image, audio, video, or some combination of these) is digitized and described in a METS record to the standards found in our Technical Guidelines. These METS records, along with links to the digitized content, are stored, indexed, and searched in TEXTML. A web based asset management system, developed using the .NET platform, then provides users with access to the repository's content and the digitized objects themselves.

I have found an object on your site related to a subject I am interested in. Can you tell me more about it or how I can find even more objects?
Digital Collections staff are not experts in all of the content represented on the site, but there are several ways you can continue your search for other materials of interest:

  • Use "additional Resources" links.
    As often as possible, we have tried to create links to additional resources that may be of interest to you if searching on our site is not enough. When you do a search, you should see one set of additional resources at the top of the results page:


    These are links to other resources at the library. The first is the East Carolina Manuscript Collection Guides, which are inventories of the materials that can be found in the library's special collections department. Next is the Eastern North Carolina Digital Library, a digital collection of books, artifacts, audio, and video related to the history of the region. Finally, there is a link to Joyner Library's online catalog, an index to the physical holdings of the library.

    When you are looking at an image you are interested in, there are some additional resources linked in the image information on the right hand side:


  • Look in finding aids
    Another resource you can try is the finding aids, or the East Carolina Manuscript Collection Guides. These are inventories of the materials that can be found in the library's special collections department. When material from the collections has been scanned, it is linked from the finding aid in the "Container List" or "Preliminary Inventory".

  • Contact a librarian
    If you have tried the above resources and would still like to find out more, contact one of Joyner Library's reference staff using the Ask Us page. Staff are available by phone, email, or chat and can help you expand your search to even more resources.

How can I use this image/text/audio file?
Every object in the collection contains a statement about its legal reuse:


The images on this site are available for research, teaching, and private study. Permission for any other use must be permitted by the copyright holder. It is your responsibility to contact the copyright holder for any use other than research, teaching or private study. In some cases the librarians at Joyner may be able to assist you in finding the proper copyright holder, but we cannot guarantee this.

I have a similar item at home. Can you give me information/the estimated value of it?
We do not have records of the current market value of items. We do not do appraisals. If you are interested in finding out the price of an item, we suggest you work with an appraiser in your area, or online. This article from about.com may give you some insight into the process.