True Confessions: My Digitization #EpicFail aka how we turned my mistake into a #WinWin!

In our professional careers, we all make mistakes sometimes and last year I made a BIG one…  Here in the ARCHives, we refer to that unfortunate day one year ago today as #426—as disaster—April 26^th, 2017. 

First, I will provide some clarification.  ARCH is an Islandora installation, developed by PALS.  As an administrator of ARCH, I monitor, approve and publish digitized objects that my student workers scan and describe in the Simple Workflow Utility Module.  This gives both my student workers, and myself, the opportunity to edit digitized images before they “go live”.  As you can imagine, some objects need more work than others.  Some images may sit in the Simple Workflow for a while before I get a chance to edit or fix it.  Such was the case that fateful Wednesday in April 2017. 

Now let me set the stage for this blunder.  One year ago today, on Wednesday, April 26^th, 2017, I was working away—answering questions from my student workers, talking with colleagues, etc.  I made the poor decision to review my exploding Simple Workflow queue at that time.  A time when we were very busy.  I quickly selected all of the images that I felt looked suitable.  Surely, I could quickly breeze through my Simple Workflow queue and publish those objects/images that look appropriate, right?  I quickly selected and published what I thought to be only my selections in the queue…

At the bottom of the Simple Workflow queue are the following buttons.

Sample only.  On that fateful day, April 26, 2017, the number was 2,000+.

I quickly confirmed and PUBLISHED the objects/images. 

Yep, I selected Publish All.

Hmmm, 2,000+ objects/images, that seems like A LOT.  After publication, Islandora brings you back into your Simple Workflow queue…EVERYTHING IS GONE…  I HAD PUBLISHED THEM ALL!!!

“No.  No, no, no” (And yes, those were the exact words I uttered.).  I refreshed.  I hard refreshed.  I even tried the control-z.  Crazy I know.  I closed my browser, reopened and checked again.  Still gone.  I even opened another browser and checked again.  Empty, gone, gone, gone…

Anne's reaction

I contacted our vendor PALS.  Nope, apparently in Islandora you cannot pull them back into the Simple Workflow.  I had literally unleashed Pandora’s Box!  Objects/Images with grammatical, spelling and incorrect metadata.  Objects/Images that were sideways, objects that we were waiting on Donor Agreements prior to publication.  In other words, a true HOT MESS!

After a sleepless night, I had to come clean and figure it out.  I confessed to my supervisor who very understanding considering the magnitude of this mistake.  In addition, I started to figure out how to fix the mess that I had created.

I created a review log.  For those of you that know me—you know how I love a log!  My two student workers and I reviewed/browsed each page that contained twelve images per page and noted each image that needed editing.  All misspellings, grammar, sideways and downright wrong images recorded in a large Excel spreadsheet with links to the offending image.  Then we went back and got to work.  Fixing, editing, replacing images and logged that information in our Clean-up Spreadsheet.

How long did it take us?  Surprisingly, the first review only took us about two weeks.  The actual clean-up process took much longer—closer to two months.  Once I developed a plan to fix this hot mess and during the clean-up process, I began to feel better about it.  Some of these images had been problematic.  Many were a part of our digital collections since the beginning and probably migrated from our original CONTENTdm installation to our current Islandora installation.  Islandora allows for many options of editing including download and replacement of the original image, which was super helpful for the sideways images. 

The moral of the story?  Looking back, I now realize that ARCH is in better shape than ever.  Does that mean that we do not have any problems with some of the objects?  No, but I have refined my process for clean-up.  I have now formulated new clean-up processes.  We turned lemons into lemonade.  Even though the debacle seemed like a disaster, I now realize it was not life or death.  I created a calamity but with the help of my two student workers, we resolved it.

Anne Stenzel is an Archives Technician specializing in digitization at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Comment below with suggestions and any questions!

 

Welcome Adam Smith - our new Archives Technician!

In March 2018, the University Archives at Minnesota State University, Mankato welcomed Adam Smith as the newest member of the Archives team! 

Adam supports and assists with the coordination of daily activities of the Archives and Special Collections area, provides assistance to users, supervises and trains student assistants, provides backup for digitization efforts, assists with the University's Record Management program and does so much more!  Adam writes:

Hello! I am so excited to be a member of the Archives and Memorial Library team here at MSU, Mankato. The warm welcome you have given me has been so inspiring and I’m enjoying getting to know all of you. I graduated from Missouri S&T in 2010 with a BA in History and UW-Milwaukee in 2012 with an MA in Public History concentrating in Museum Studies.  I worked at the Stearns History Museum and Carver County Historical Society as a Curator of Collections before coming here.  My primary roles were collecting and preserving 2D and 3D artifacts along with researching and installing exhibits. I’m excited by all the interesting projects going on at the Memorial Library and Archives in particular and looking forward to working with you more in the future. 

Photo of Adam Smith in the University Archives

Welcome Adam!

If you have questions about the University Archives, you can call Adam at 507-389-1029 or send a note to him at adam.smith-3@mnsu.edu. 

Celebrating Minnesota State Mankato Authors - 2018

On April 4, 2018, Library Services hosted the 7th Minnesota State University, Mankato Authors reception for 35 faculty, staff, and emeriti who wrote or edited a book, monograph, video, or other scholarly publication between March 2016 and March 2018. The Minnesota State University, Mankato Authors Collection, along with the reception to honor the newest publications included in the collection, offers insight into just a portion of the scholarship and creative achievement of our University community.  A complete list of the 2018 honorees and addition information about the April 4, 2018 event can be found online at http://lib.mnsu.edu/archives/authors/2018event.html.

A group photo of honorees attending the Minnesota State University, Mankato Authors reception on April 4, 2018.
Photo Credit: Bobby Duehring. 

COMING SOON! The Official Sesquicentennial History

October 7, 2018, marks the anniversary of the founding of the Mankato State Normal School and the start of 150 years of history for Minnesota State University, Mankato.  The forthcoming book, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 1868-2018: A Sesquicentennial History by Professor Emeritus Dr. William E. Lass, follows the development of the university from its first 27 students pursuing two-year diplomas in 1868 to the almost 15,000 students pursing undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees in 2018.

This extensively illustrated and researched book covers in detail the development of academic programs, the physical campus, university leadership and faculty, as well as student life. Readers will learn about the 1922 fire that destroyed the Teachers College building, the development of twin campuses in the 1950s, Vietnam War era campus protests, campus consolidation, the University of 2018, and much more.

In his more than 40 years at the university, Professor Lass taught courses in Minnesota History and US History, served as History Department Chairperson, and on numerous campus committees, and was the founding director of the Southern Minnesota Historical Center and University Archives. He has written 10 books and more than 60 journal articles, book chapters, and dictionary and encyclopedia entrees. His previous books include: Minnesota: A Bicentennial History, Minnesota: A History (2nd Edition); Navigating the Missouri: Steamboating on Nature’s Highway, 1819-1935; Shaping the North Star State: A History of Minnesota’s Boundaries; and A South Dakota Country School Experience.

Details on the release of the book are coming soon. For more information contact the University Archives at 507-389-1029 or archives@mnsu.edu.