Updates from the DLF Assessment Interest Group (AIG)

The DLF Assessment Interest Group (AIG)founded in 2014, seeks to engage the community in developing best practices and guidelines for various kinds of digital library assessment. Research and cultural heritage institutions are, as a matter of course, providing online access to converted and born-digital scholarly and cultural content. As the amount of that content continues to grow, there is an increased need to strategically standardize our assessment efforts.

The only requirement for participation in a DLF AIG working group is a willingness to dig in and devote a small part of your time contributing to the tools, methods, and body of knowledge on digital library assessment. Attendance at the DLF forum is not a requirement for participation in any of the working groups. Additionally, if your institution is not a DLF member, you can still participate! Please feel free to join these group activities, attend meetings, and get in touch with group leaders to learn more.

AIG Content Reuse Working Group

Over the next year, the DLF AIG Content Reuse Working Group is focused on planning and the beginning stages of building the Digital Content Reuse Assessment Framework Toolkit (D-CRAFT). D-CRAFT builds off of the successful Developing a Framework for Measuring Reuse of Digital Objects (Measuring Reuse) project, an IMLS grant initiative (LG-73-17-0002-17), which ran from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.

The team has focused on concluding the work of the Measuring Reuse project and setting the foundation for D-CRAFT. To date, the group has:

How can you participate?

Those interested in knowing more about the project should reach out to any team member (listed below).

The Content Reuse Working Group: Elizabeth KellyAyla Stein KenfieldCaroline MugliaSanti Thompson, and Liz Woolcott

AIG Cost Assessment Working Group

Cost Assessment Working Group in 2018

The Cost Assessment group’s primary task is to collect, aggregate, and share data on the time it takes to perform various tasks involved in the digitization process to help with project planning and benchmarking. When the group formed in 2014, we found few practical resources geared towards helping the community determine the cost of digitization. To help address this gap, we built a Digitization Cost Calculator that allows individuals to enter information about a project and get back an estimate of the staffing costs and time needed to complete it based on real data from the community.

Our work in 2018 was focused on learning more about how the calculator was being used in the community and opportunities for improvement. Over the summer we had 11 volunteers participate in both user interview and user testing. Over the fall we reviewed the sessions, captured all of the feedback in a spreadsheet and started discussing and prioritizing our next steps in GitHub issues.

For more information about the group, see the Cost Assessment Working Group wiki. The source code for the calculator is available via the Calculator’s GitHub repository.

Goals for 2019

Our goal for 2019 will be to start working our way through the identified issues with the calculator with the goal of making the tool better. We plan to have a standing meeting every month to work together and discuss priorities. Some of what we’ve identified are feature requests, while others are more philosophical questions, like what is the purpose of the calculator. There is also the opportunity to work on the more technical side of the tool with Wayne Graham.

How can you participate?  

  • Join our meetings! We welcome participation from anyone with an interest in this area. If you join our Digital Library AIG Cost Assessment google group you will get notifications and invitations each time we meet. You’re also welcome to drop in on any of our standing meetings which are listed on the DLF Community Calendar and in our meeting agendas. Questions? Contact co-facilitator Sarah Severson.

  • The group typically meets once a month, and the time commitment is generally less than an hour per week.

AIG Cultural Assessment Working Group (CAWG)

CAWG in 2019 

CAWG was established in 2016 to discuss ways by which we may assess our digital collections and their cultural impact.

  • Where lacking, CAWG will develop helpful and nuanced rubrics for institutional measurement and analysis of cultural biases and assumptions in the process of digital collection creation.
  • In 2018 CAWG successfully
    • Collaborated as a review board for the User Experience group bibliography project
    • Conducted an environmental scan of relevant “diversity” events across the nation in order to understand the landscape of cultural assessment work
    • Embarked on the Selection Workflow Framework draft #2 which refocused the Selection Workflow Framework into something more approachable to users
    • Established a new Inclusive Metadata Task Force to address metadata creation practices and explicit/implicit bias.
  • For more detail, check out our wiki page, and/or join our Slack channel.

CAWG Goals for 2019

If you’re interested in what the group will do next, there are upcoming meetings which you are more than welcome to join (details below), where we will brainstorm and develop new goals for 2019! Here are some potential directions…

  • Conduct new survey on Selection practices
  • Identify relevant community groups for review of our work
  • Develop a running Speaker Series to engage those working to address bias in the digital realm
  • Collaborate with the Metadata Assessment group on a new project targeting inclusive and equitable metadata creation practices
  • And others. Add your thoughts at our next meeting!

How can you participate?

  • We are looking for diverse perspectives and welcome participation from anyone. We are in particular need of Public Libraries, HBCUs, Tribal Libraries, and Museum perspectives.
  • We are looking for people who are on the front lines of engaging community members, people involved in community archives, historical associations, etc
  • Each task force has various roles that are filled each year including a Team Lead, a Task Force Facilitator, Writers, and Reviewers
  • CAWG meets monthly and Task Forces typically meet every two weeks while there is active work going on. This is flexible and based on availability.
  • Time commitment : Less than an hour per week.

To sign up to CAWG, please contact Hannah Scates Kettler or join the conversation via the CAWG Google Group.

AIG Metadata Working Group

The Metadata Assessment Working Group aims to build guidelines, best practices, tools and workflows around the evaluation and assessment of metadata used by and for digital libraries and repositories. The group hopes to offer deliverables and recommendations that digital library and repository users can implement for metadata assessment and metadata quality control.

Metadata Working Group Goals for 2018

Here’s what we worked on in 2018!

  • Restructure and document the MWG website
  • Review and revise the Metadata Analysis Workshop
  • Work towards creating a metadata analysis tools repository
  • Begin discussion on creating general benchmarks for metadata quality.

Metadata Working Group Goals for 2019

We’re still working on setting our goals for 2019 but here are a few things we’re planning on working on.

  • Finish and distribute a survey on measuring benchmarks for metadata quality.
  • Continue work on a Metadata analysis tools repository
  • Finish restructuring the Metadata Working Group site and documenting the work
  • Ongoing support for existing projects such as the Metadata Application Profile Clearinghouse

How can you participate?

  • Join the Metadata Working Group Google Group to get announcements and agendas for upcoming meetings
  • Comment on the 2019 Work Plan to help us set priorities and directions for work in the upcoming year
  • Join us for our upcoming meeting, Thursday February 14, 2019, 1 pm Eastern / 12 pm Central / 11 am Mountain / 10 am Pacific. Details on how to connect can be found via our wiki page.

AIG User Experience Working Group

User Experience in 2019 

The overall purpose of the group is to build tools and knowledge and develop guidelines and best practices for us abilities studies and user experience in digital libraries.  In 2018 the group finished up work on best practices for Personas, created a draft on Journey Mapping in digital libraries and a document to help navigate accessibility guidelines.

User Experience Goals for 2019

For 2019 the group is going to work on a survey to gauge the DLF community’s needs relating to User Experience, developing success criteria for user experience initiatives, working on resources for where to start with user experience, and connecting the group more with national and international user experience groups.

How can you participate?

The User Experience group meets once a month on the last Friday of the month. Members are expected to spend at least two hours a month on group work.

To sign up please join the Google Group, post something to introduce yourself, and send an email to Joy M. Perrin so that your name and email can be added to the monthly meeting.

Questions?

For questions about the larger DLF Assessment Interest Group, contact the DLF AIG co-leaders, Sara Rubinow and Santi Thompson.

Be sure to join the AIG Google Group and sign up for Slack!

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