Backlog’s Back, Alright!

Jenni Salamon, Manager, Digital Services, Ohio History Connection

Everybody, let’s do a quick survey: How many projects/tasks are on your to-do list right now? Less than five (what’s your secret)? Five to ten? More than ten (how are you surviving)? For projects considered “backlog”, “carryover”, or “legacy”, are you actively working on them, or do they consistently get pushed to the bottom of your to-do list to languish for what seems like all eternity? If the latter, it’s normal and expected in our field—we’ve all been there, are currently there, or will get there. But if it’s finally time to make a case for elevating this work to the top of your to-do list, read on to learn how the Ohio Memory team at the Ohio History Connection (OHC) prioritized addressing our backlog alongside that of our ongoing and new digital collection projects.

Defining and Defending Backlog

Backlog, carryover, legacy, and similar terms can have fluid definitions, depending on who you ask and what the context is. For the purposes of this discussion, I am defining them as:

•Scans created upon request but not uploaded to your digital collection

•Short- or long-term projects that were stalled due to staff changes

•Digital collections/exhibits completed years ago in need of updating or migration

While it is challenging to justify spending resources on projects that are considered completed or outside the scope of your organization’s current strategic initiatives, it’s not impossible—in fact, this work may be more relevant to those priorities than it originally seems. At OHC, one of our core values is stewardship (protecting the evidence of Ohio’s history and upholding 21st century best practices for public history and historic preservation), and one of our strategic priorities is sustainability (all the ways that we support the ongoing impact of the organization at our sites and the communities in which we work). There are a few ways I’ve used these concepts to advocate for tackling our backlog.

Space

Server and web-hosting space are expensive to purchase and maintain, and responsibly stewarding that storage means ensuring that it isn’t wasted on data that doesn’t ultimately serve an organization’s goals. We have scanned hundreds of images upon request, and even though the originals are held in our physical collection, some may not meet the selection criteria for Ohio Memory. When time is at a premium, it’s better to spend it digitizing new collections that are relevant for our target audiences, rather than uploading and describing items just because we already have the scans. Regularly reviewing this material allows for making informed, intentional decisions about what should be online, and what items can be archived or deleted. (In addition, your information technology team will thank you for every file you delete as it will free up image server space without you always having to ask for more to be added or purchased!)

Website Vulnerabilities

Before vendor-supported and robust open-source options for hosting digital content were more commonplace, institutions used a variety of scripting and programming tools to stand up digital collections and exhibits. Some of these tools still have their uses today, of course, but in some cases, they may leave your technological infrastructure vulnerable to security risks. Creative hackers can use older web properties as pathways to reach your more updated and secure web properties, and even your internal network. Updating legacy websites and data is a safety concern, and investing time in it now can prevent (expensive) headaches later on. (Again, your information technology team will thank you—and so will your financial team!)

Our other core values—authenticity, inclusivity, relevance and working together—and strategic priorities—equity and relationship-building—also relate back to each of these types of projects in their own ways, adding further justification for devoting at least some staff resources toward this work. Consider your own mission and priorities, and use them as a lens through which to view your backlog projects. If you can show how this work helps the organization achieve its goals, it’s easier to help administrators understand why all and/or only new projects should not be taken on at the expense of old projects.

Processing in Practice

New projects are important too, of course! If you have an upcoming anniversary, event or exhibit, digitization priorities can and should support that work. When determining which projects to work on, Ohio Memory staff will balance new digitization projects and ongoing work supporting our partners with backlog projects. At my team’s annual planning meetings, we create a list of projects we’d like to tackle, then consider the time involved in them and how they connect to our strategic priorities. In this way, we’re able to both digitize new collections—like Warren G. Harding’s campaign correspondence to help commemorate the 100th anniversary of his presidential victory—and clean up old ones— like migrating the African American Experience in Ohio (created in the late 1990s as a ColdFusion and SQL server) to a new Ohio Memory collection, with improved images and metadata. If a project doesn’t make the cut that year, we reconsider it in a future year, or we evaluate whether it is one that should be addressed at all. One of the most powerful tools in our arsenal when it comes to project planning and prioritization is saying “no” or “not right now”—because if you say “yes” to one project, that usually means another project is deferred.

(continued on page 15)

The Requests Folder: A Case Study Problem

Since the early 2000s, OHC digitization efforts stemming from on-demand requests have resulted in 20,000+ files and occupy over 1 TB of server space. These have been sourced from all collection types and subject areas to support various internal and external projects, such as exhibits, research, publications, etc. Some scans have very little context or are incomplete, such as a single page from a book or multi-page letter.

Goals

1. Reorganize files by call number (rather than project/requestor name) to correspond with standard file organization schema

2. Document file workflow and develop procedure for file review

3. Upload, archive or delete files regularly so that backlog does not grow as fast

Outcomes

File organization

•Defined types of digitization projects and created corresponding subfolders for each

◦Complete: Scanned and added to Ohio Memory for public access

◦Requests: Scanned on behalf of individuals or institutions for internal and external projects, such as exhibits, research, publications, etc.

◦Working: Scans being added to Ohio Memory (Active); requiring evaluation (Backlog); or awaiting deletion

•Moved files older than six months from Requests to Backlog folder

◦Organized folders/files by call number/collection type

◦Created tracking spreadsheet to record folder/file name/ description, number of files, decision, rationale, date completed, file location, and responsible staff

Workflow and procedure

•Created Image Storage Procedure document

◦Defined project types and related workflow, including tracking spreadsheets

◦Established schedule for file review and final actions

−Requests: Reviewed every six months by Manager* (with group input)

−Backlog: Reviewed every quarter by Coordinators* (with group input)

−Deletions: Deleted after six months by Manager*

◦Defined image evaluation criteria (final actions)

−Upload: Relates to strategic initiative or collecting priority

−Archive: Does not fit within scope of Ohio Memory; Research or preservation copy and re-scanning should be avoided

−Delete: Does not belong to OHC; Incomplete work; Copyright, privacy, or permission concerns

Implementation

•Made assignments

◦Each Coordinator* assigned a collection type to make recommendations for final actions and upload designated files to Ohio Memory

◦Manager* updates Backlog spreadsheet

◦Manager* moves designated files to Archive and records on Archive spreadsheet

◦Manager* deletes designated files and records on Delete Log spreadsheet

◦Minimum 20 hours per quarter spent on backlog work – there is no minimum number of records to process because the time spent on each type of record/collection can vary widely

•Regularly upload, archive, or delete files leading to improved maintenance of storage space and better intellectual control of digital files

*Note: The Ohio Memory team consists of a Department Manager, with four Coordinators that report to that position.

The Takeaway

Whether or not you’ve been convinced that there’s no time like the present to tackle your backlog, here are a few key lessons learned and guiding principles:

Set limits: It’s impossible to digitize all the collections—consider time, monetary, legal, ethical, and other restrictions to set priorities and stay accountable to them.

Be logical, but passionate: Share your work plans and rationale with your administration to get buy-in on balancing new and old projects. Show them how this type of work benefits everyone, from your staff to your users.

Remember that some progress is better than no progress: Try not to get caught up in the “But we’ll never get it all done” mentality. With backlog/legacy projects, demonstrating progress of any kind can be its own reward.

And now, as I close my final article for this column, I thank you for indulging my discussions on all things digital over the past five years and declare that it’s time for: everybody (yeah), rock your backlog (yeah), everybody (yeah), rock your backlog right—backlog’s back, alright!*

*The Backstreet Boys have in no way endorsed this article.

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Archiving vs. Deleting Files

As an archivist, deaccessioning collections and deleting files is scary but necessary. Here are some reasons why you might choose NOT to share files via your publicly-accessible digital collection:

Completed project

Incomplete scan

One-time request

Lacks connection to mission/purpose

Duplicate files

Source unclear

Lacks call numbers

Does not belong to your institution

Copyright

Restricted

Items were scanned for a very specific purpose and are not relevant to your digital collecting priorities

Copies already exist in this location and/or via this storage type

Not enough information is known about the provenance of this item to create metadata or determine if it’s okay to share online based on institution’s selection criteria

Cannot provide online access without express written permission from owner of original material

But should you archive or delete those files? Our practice has been to maintain files that fall within certain collecting areas based on recommendations/requests by internal staff, as well was those that were costly/complicated to digitize in the first place (items with conservation concerns or required vendor support like audio or video files). We delete almost everything else—it’s unlikely that something that we wouldn’t want on Ohio Memory would be frequently requested, and it’s often easier to re-scan an item for a one-time or on-demand request than it is to remember if you scanned the item in the first place and where that file is.

Jenni Salamon is Manager, Digital Services at the Ohio History Connection, where she oversees Ohio Memory and related services, such as digitization and original microfilming; Rights & Reproductions; and management of the organization’s online collections catalogs. She also coordinates and provides outreach and training on digitization and related topics and serves as a Community Engagement Center Representative for the Ohio Digital Network (DPLA). Jenni has been with OHC since 2009, and has a BA in English from Ohio University, an MLIS from Kent State University, and a Digital Archives Specialist Certificate from the Society of American Archivists. Jenni loves reading, dachshunds, crime TV, and crafting.

Dan Noonan from The Ohio State University began the column “DiGITal: Digital Guidance, Information, Tips, and Lingo” before Jenni Salamon rebranded to “Digital Discussions.” Jenni is now retiring from Digital Discussions, and we would like to wish her a heartfelt farewell in this role and sincere thank you for all her wonderful work and dedication to this publication.

Thank You, Jenni!

Individual Member News

Kayla Harris, CA, DAS, Associate Professor for the University of Dayton, has been promoted to Assistant Director of the Marian Library. Congratulations, Kayla!

Sasha Kim (formerly Sasha Griffin), the University Archivist & Special Collections Librarian at Denison University in Granville, has changed her name. Her work email address has also changed to kimsh@denison.edu. Thanks in advance for updating your contacts list!

The State Library of Ohio is pleased to announce Penelope Shumaker has been promoted to Library Consultant in our Library Programs and Development (LPD) Division. As Library

Institutional Member News

The Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology was awarded a $10,000 Preservation Assistance Grant in August 2022 from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant supported a 3-day onsite assessment of the facility’s mechanical systems and a subsequent report of the findings. This is the first step in enabling the Cummings Center to match the mechanical capabilities in the building with the environmental needs of its historical collections for improved longterm care.

Jeremy Linden of Linden Preservation Services was onsite January 9-11, 2023, to assess the building’s environmental systems, structural integrity, and collections storage conditions. Linden also spent time with Cummings Center and University of Akron staff to help establish enhanced communication pathways for building and mechanical systems maintenance. A report of the findings will follow in March 2023 with suggestions for short-term collections care and long-term building improvements.

The Cummings Center, established in 1965 as the Archives of the History of American Psychology, is part of the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, and has been a Smithsonian Affiliate since 2002. Kent State University Libraries and their department of Special Collections & Archives honored Black History Month with an exhibition and special event featuring the Lafayette Tolliver archive. As a Kent State photojournalism student and Black Student Movement activist, Tolliver, (KSU ’71), served as a photographer and columnist for the Chestnut Burr and Daily Kent Stater student publications, in addition to contributing to Black Watch, a publication of Kent State Black United Students (BUS). He documented students of color through his stunning photography. As a member of BUS and the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, he was often involved in programming which gave him a unique vantage point to capture candid photos of activities and gatherings that engaged students of color. The resulting collection boasts more than 1,000 remarkable photographs, many of which were never before published or made accessible to the public. The exhibition, Lafayette Tolliver: Visual Footprints in Time highlights selections from this expansive collection and is on display in the University Library Marovitz Gallery through summer 2023. The exhibit is also available online. To learn more about this important archive, visit the Lafayette Tolliver featured collection page

Consultant, Penelope will coordinate NASA@ My Library and Solar Eclipse for Libraries (SEAL) programs as well as the Reimagining School Readiness workshop. In addition to these programs, she will continue her work with Ohio Digital Network (ODN) and Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). Penelope guides ODN member institutions in preparing their metadata for ingest into DPLA. She also coordinates the LSTA Metadata MiniGrant and assists on other LSTA grant initiatives.

Lisa Smilnak, Digital Content & Special Collections Librarian at the Cleveland State University College of Law Library, was recently elected to a two-year term as Chair of the Cleveland Archival Roundtable, an organization of archivists, historians, and other individuals interested in the preservation and use of the rich historical resources of greater Cleveland and the Western Reserve region.

The MidPointe Library System

(Butler County, Ohio) is proud to share that it has digitized and posted to YouTube over 70 clips of film footage from the SebaldKinder Film Collection, from the late 1920s and early 1930s. Nearing two hours of footage, the clips cover a wide variety of events, places, and activities –all filmed by the historic Sebald family of Middletown, Ohio. Of note are recordings of Middletown’s 1919 Towpath Jubilee / Miami and Erie Canal closing parade with footage of the canal; an Easter egg hunt at Armco Park; Niagara Falls from both the Canadian and U.S. sides in 1929, and so much more. Digitization was done by Scene Savers out of Covington, KY. The original 18 reels of film, spanning 3822 feet of film, were respooled and rehoused and produced 1.7 TB of data.

Ohio History Connection has had a couple staff changes in the past few months. Lauren Kennedy joined the Digital Services Department as a Digital Projects Coordinator and provides training and support for Ohio Memory partners in addition to coordinating newspaper digitization and microfilming projects.

Elizabeth Woods was promoted to Director, Cultural Resources & Libraries, where she oversees the Archives Services, Collections Management, Curatorial, Digital Services, Library Services, and State Archives departments and related projects, including the new Collections Care Center.