Digital library collections are materials that exist in a cohesive group and then made available online to the world, a university community or a smaller group. The materials within a collection can be one of a variety of formats – 3D objects, photographs, slides, video, audio, etc.

Digital library collections are chosen from a number of sources, including UB Special Collections and Archives, the UB Libraries, and faculty and departmental holdings. Anyone who has a collection of resources they think would make a good digital collection are encouraged to submit a proposal (Word document).

Digital Collections:

• Animal Behavior (UB Only)
• Animal Communication (UB Only)
• Comic Books of the 1950s
• The Edgar R. McGuire Historical Medical Instrument Collection
• Evolutionary Biology Digital Dissections Collection
• Irene Haupt Photographs of Musicians in Buffalo
• J. Warren Perry Collection of Photographs
• Jan Williams Photos of Morton Feldman, 1974-1979
• June in Buffalo Photograph Collection
• Leo Smit Photograph Collection
• Log of the Good Yacht Althea on the Summer Cruise of 1914
• Love Canal Collections
• Mail Art
• Morton Feldman Photographs, 1939-1987
• Music Department Photograph Collection
• Music Images from the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo, 1901
• Music Library Works
• National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
• North American New Music Festival Archive Photographs
• Perry Ballet Photographs
• Pulp Fiction Cover Art
• Rudy Bruner Award Digital Archive
• Slee Family Collection
• Store-Front Churches in Buffalo
• Universal Design Product Collection
• Visual Resources Collection (UB Only)
• Yvar Mikhashoff Photograph Collection

Collections Under Development

Following are the major roles in the digital collection creation process. They represent the main areas of work required in the creation of a digital collection. Questions about these roles should be directed to Stacy Person at ssperson@buffalo.edu or 645-0774.

• Library Manager - Controls upload to the digital library. May perform overall project management.
• Library Partner - Creates digital surrogates and uploads to development server. Creates metadata for the collection.
• Content Contributor - Proposes content and may create high-resolution digital surrogates.
• Metadata Expert - Creates and edits metadata.
• Digitizing technician - Creates high- and low-resolution digital surrogates of media.

• Digital Library Collection Proposal Form (Word document)
• Digital Library Conditions of Use
• Digital Library Collection Development Policy
• Digital Library Records Management Policies and Standards

• Digitization Standards (revised standards, including standards for audio and video, are currently under development)
  • Standards with descriptions: Opaque Materials (PDF)
  • Standards with descriptions: Transparent Materials (PDF)
  • Digitization Decision Tree (PDF)
• Data Dictionary (PDF) (developed for UBdigit, but can be used as a guideline for all UB Digital Library collections)
• Metadata Schema & Crosswalk (PDF)
• Sample Collection Level MARC Record (PDF)
• Example of cataloging record for items in UBdigit (PDF)
• Copyright Resources for Contributors

UBdigit collections support the research and instructional needs of the UB community. It provides centralized access to UB's diverse inventory of legacy and teaching collections for purposes of instruction, scholarship, and archival preservation.

UBdigit includes primarily collections of still images, but anticipates future inclusion of a variety of digital media formats, including audio, video, kinetic images, animation, virtual reality, interactive sequences and multi-media constructs. Most collections are open to the world, but some are available only to the UB community.