Transcript Document

Charette Digital Project:
An Historic Pittsburgh Architectural Journal Goes Online
Martin Aurand, Carnegie Mellon University
AASL / March 2003
“The Future of Libraries Is Digital.”
--Carnegie Mellon University Libraries Strategic Plan
http://diva.library.cmu.edu/HELIOS/
http://delta.ulib.org/html/
Digital Collections
Library of Congress
http://memory.loc.gov/
University of Pittsburgh
Historical Society of Western Pa.
http://digital.library.pitt.edu/pittsburgh/
Why Digital Projects?
• Improve access
• Support teaching, research, and publishing
• Contribute to growing network of digital resources
• Address growing expectations
Presenting Digital Content
• Resources (raw materials)
Collection Descriptions and Finding Aids
Informational Databases
• Interpretation (packaged)
Exhibitions
Electronic Publications
• Hybrids
Digital Projects in Architecture
Canadian Architecture Collection
http://cac.mcgill.ca/safdie/
Athenaeum of Philadelphia
University of Pennsylvania Architectural Archives
http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/
Digital Texts
Society of Architectural Historians: Net Resources
http://www.sah.org/netresources.html
Architectural Club Exhibition Catalogs
Locally-produced Trade Catalogs
Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University
http://www.lib.cmich.edu/clarke/aladdin/catdir.htm
Regional Architecture Journals
Blackader Lauterman Library of Architecture and Art, McGill University
http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/cab/
What Is a Charette?
The term “charette” evolved from a pre-1900 exercise at the Ecole des Beaux
Arts in France. Architectural students were given a design problem to solve
within an allotted time. When that time was up, the students would rush their
drawings from the studio to the Ecole in a cart called a charrette. Students often
jumped in the cart to finish drawings on the way. The term evolved to refer to
the intense design exercise itself. Today it refers to a creative process akin to
visual brainstorming that is used by design professionals to develop solutions to
a design problem within a limited timeframe.
What Is
?
• Charette magazine was the journal of the Pittsburgh
Architectural Club; and was at times co-sponsored by the
Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Institute of Architects
and the Pennsylvania Society of Architects.
• Over the years, its coverage of architecture extended
beyond Pittsburgh to the whole of Pennsylvania, and the
Tri-State area.
• Charette comprises a rich fifty-year survey of regional
architecture and the architectural scene.
Why Digitize
?
• Charette is an essential source for architectural research
in Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania.
• Charette’s contents were virtually inaccessible for lack of
indexing or other access. There is only spotty indexing of
Charette in the Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals.
• Most library collections of Charette consist of incomplete
runs and some issues of the journal are quite rare.
• The run size (vols. 1-54, 1920-1974) is manageable.
By Decade
1920s
1940s
1930s
1950s
1960s
What is the Charette Digital Project?
• The Charette Digital Project will create an online digital
archive encompassing virtually the entire run of Charette.
• The archives will consist of electronic images of each
page of Charette complete with all covers, text,
photographs, graphics, advertisements, etc.
• The user interface will permit browsing by issue and fulltext searching of the contents of Charette through the web.
Planning a Digital Project
• Define Project
• Consider technical framework (e.g. functionality
requirements, metadata and image standards, etc.)
• Consider operational framework (e.g. expertise,
personnel, and equipment requirements, etc.)
• Find models and/or partners
• Identify funding
• Obtain internal approvals
Stages of the Charette Digital Project
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Research
Copyright Investigation
Identification and Acquisition
Scanning, Post-Processing, OCR, and Storage
DIVA delivery and navigation functionality
Web Interface
1. Research
Charette was created and originally published in-house by the Pittsburgh Architectural
Club, but had additional sponsors and publishers during various periods:
Sponsors
Pittsburgh Architectural Club: February 1920 to Sept./Oct. 1971
Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Institute of Architects: various years
Pennsylvania Society of Architects: May 1951 to December 1960 and October 1962 to
December 1967
Publishers
Pittsburgh Architectural Club [Inc.]: February 1920 to December 1947
John J. McKee: January 1948 to December 1959
R. W. Bingham: January 1960 to January 1961
Chatham Associates, Inc. / Thomas E. Morgan: September 1961 to October 1964
Van Trump, Ziegler & Shane, Inc.: January 1965 to Sept./Oct. 1971
Archimedia: Nov./Dec. 1971 to March/April 1974
2. Copyright Investigation
Copyright information was obtained from U.S. Copyright Office Circulars 15 & 22.
A search for active copyrights was requested and was performed by the U. S.
Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. No active copyrights for Charette for
1920-1963 were found, and no renewals were found.
•
•
•
•
•
1920-1961: 28 years if not renewed [no record of renewal)]
1961-1963: 28 years if not renewed [no record of renewal]
1964: 28 years plus automatic renewal of 47 years [cannot locate copyright holder]
1965-1971: 95 years [permissions obtained from Arthur P. Ziegler]
1971-1974: 95 years [cannot locate copyright holder]
3. Identification and Acquisition
The entire run of Charette was analyzed in detail to identify all issues that were
published. Carnegie Mellon University Libraries owns most issues of Charette.
Additional issues were borrowed for the project from the Art and Music Department
of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the James D. Van Trump Library and
Achives of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. Three issues could not
be located and are not currently part of the project.
4. Scanning, Post-Processing,
OCR, and Storage
The Carnegie Mellon University Libraries' department of Archives and Digital
Library Initiatives completed scanning, post-processing, and OCR of 546 issues of
Charette with >15,000 pages. Storage (27 gigabytes) is provided by the Libraries’
department of Library Information Technology.
5. DIVA delivery and navigation functionality
Journal delivery and navigation functionality is provided
through the DIVA system, a project of the Libraries' department
of Library Information Technology.
6. Web Interface
The web interface was provided by the Carnegie Mellon
University Architecture Archives.
Problems Encountered
• Lack of internal procedures to launch project
• Inadequate criteria for pre-evaluation
• Unstable digital working environment
http://www.library.cmu.edu/Research/ArchArch/Charette