Digitization Best Practices in a Financially Challenged University Library:
The BSU Experience
Lauren P. Kipaan
Benguet State University Library& Information Services
La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines

Abstract. The paper describes the strategy for application and implementation of digitization in thefinancially challenged Benguet State University Library. It discusses best practices that enabled theuniversity library to optimize resource utilization, and deliver high quality, value added services to its
users.
Keywords: Digitization, Digital library, Benguet State University Digital Library, Digitization Process,
GSDL, Digital Library Best Practices, Digitization strategies

Introduction
Digital libraries have received wide attention in the recent years allowing access to digital information sourcesin areas of education and other knowledge (Bainbridge, Thompson, & H. Witten 2003 as cited by Ambati,2006). Libraries around the world aim to provide such services but they are sometimes limited by existing
policies, structures, skills, and financial capability.
In 1999-2009, Benguet State University Library and Information Services (BSULIS) was a recipient ofPhilippine Inter-University Cooperation grants, a collaboration between Saint Louis University and Benguet
State University (PIUC-SLU&BSU). The grant was a product of the collaboration of Flemish-Belgian
universities, Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad (VLIR) that supports developing countries worldwide. Areas ofconcerns in the collaboration were the development of Information Communication and Technology (ICT),
Research, Library development, and Faculty development (Tagarino, 2002). The grant enabled BSU Library toincrease its book collections, implement and acquire integrated library systems, send librarians to international
trainings, install electronic equipment such as closed-circuit television and alarm systems, and acquire servers
and computers for library use(Vanhoute, 2010).These undertakings transformed the traditional library work andcompelled BSU librarians to adapt to these technology-driven services.
The role of the library becomes more focused in making the users techno-savvy. Technological developments
have affected not only the formats and sources of the information, but also how and where to provide libraryservices. The library and its resources have partially moved to the virtual world of the Internet. As a result,library users can now access the resources remotely (Witten, 2010). In an effort to enable users in accessing thelibrary resources via their computers, though the digitization was not given attention during PIUC-SLU&BSU
cooperation, BSULIS smoothly expanded its services to include virtual reference and digital library. Technology
now allows users to submit their queries to the library at any time from any place in the world and obtain what
they need. However, in some instances, technological services like digitization projects in the library can‟t be
fully implemented due to managerial and financial constraints that confront most state university libraries in thePhilippines.
BSULIS occupy a place of pride in BSU community and it has been an essential instrument in achieving theuniversity‟s outstanding researches and educational missions. It expedites learning that promotes discovery andadvancement of knowledge. The mission of the library is to create an ICT model library through acquisition,organization, and dissemination of knowledge in all formats and in facilitating information access to all. Such ismade possible by adapting and devising digitization processes and practices that are not only considered to be
the best but are suitable to the existing setup and skills of the librarians.
This paper presents these processes and practices with an end view of guiding the management of otherfinancially-challenged libraries towards improving their services via digitization projects. Its intent is to share tointerested audiences the tips and coping mechanisms or digitization techniques towards providing digital libraryservices to clientele even with a limited budget.

How it Began
One of the library staff, Mr. Lauren P. Kipaan, attended a series of seminar-workshops related to digitization. In
2004, his first skills training sponsored by Knowledge Spaceway, a commercial company, exposed him toadvance equipment used in digitizing documents acquired through a huge budget. To further advance his skills
and knowledge, he again attended a relevant seminar-workshop hosted by BSU in 2005which led him to realizethat the best solution to provide a perfect Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is through manually encoding or
getting the born-digital documents. In January 2009, he was given the opportunity to participate in theinternational training program on Scientific and Technological Information Management in Universities andLibraries- International University Cooperation (STIMIUC) in Belgium with funding from the Vlaamse
Inteuniversitaire Raad-University Development Cooperation (VLIROUS). One of the training courses includes
the Greenstone Digital Library (GSDL). His basic knowledge in metadata and manipulation motivated andenabled him to apply the concept to BSULIS where he works. In the early part of 2010, Mr. Paul Garcia, an ICTDivision Chief of the same university, expressed interest in GSDL and helped Mr. Kipaan formulate a one-day
training on GSDL which they implemented in June 2010 using the ICT Division funding.
The first digitization-related training was in BSU and was attended by different research units and colleges. This
training was a jump start for the BSULIS. The ICT division, using an existing server, established the digital
library site (digilib.bsu.edu.ph) after a month from the training. It is online with more than 100 titles uploaded in
PDF and HTML formats. In December 13-17, 2010, Mr. Garcia attended the international forum on GSDL in
Indian Institute of Management at Kozhikode, Kerala, India using the ICT Division funding. Mr. Garcia‟sattendance to the forum enabled him in customizing the GSDL.
Basically, the ICT division was fully in-charge of the technical aspects while the BSULIS is in-charge of thecontents, including the processing into PDF/A or HTML format. As of August 2012, the Digital Library has atotal collection of 713 titles in different sub-databases. Further, the Cariana, a sub-database on indigenous
knowledge of the customized GSDL, was updated in contents through the collaboration of the Ifugao State
University, University of the Cordilleras, University of Baguio, Benguet State University, ResearchMate Inc.,and Tebtebba Foundation.

Objective and Purpose
According to Fabunmi (2006), digitization is an essential task in modern day libraries. If a library is to live up to
the current challenges, it has to go digital, that is, to provide online services. A print collection isn‟t only
threatened by human „outsiders‟, sometimes, the problem is within: molds, moist, dust, insects, etc. (Vanhoute,2010). Digitization preserves and provides easy access to information, and improves the efficiency for searchmechanisms. BSULIS engages in digitization to make and give opportunities to born-digital and archival print
documents of the university to be preserved and at the same time to provide online access.

BSU Experience and Challenge
According to Liu (2004), most of the academic libraries in the United States that implemented digitization are
financially capable. A digitization initiative basically requires skills, planning, and budget among other needs. In
the case of BSU, the key is the basic skills in digitization, existence of low-end computer units, good inter-unit
relationship, and the commitment to put up a digital library. Before the implementation of Digital Library, Mr.
Kipaan created andexperimented on Wikis(carian.wikispaces.com) andgoogle sites(site.google.com/site/bsulisarchive/home) as a way to provide users‟ access to thesis and dissertations
bibliographic and abstract information.
The team. The Digital Library (DL) or Digitization team is composed of four (4) staff: the ICT Chief, a web
developer from the ICT division, the library director and a computer technician assigned in the library.
Occasionally, library science graduates volunteer to help in the scanning, encoding, and conversion of
documents. Every second semester or summer break, BSU Information Technology students conducted their onthe-job training in the library to help in the digitization process. In most instances, library student assistants weretapped to encode archival documents. The quality of the finish product is ensured by close-monitoring,
cautioning the encoders to go slow but sure and finally reviewing the output by the DL team.
The problem and solution. The primary problem of the DL team was on how to create and digitize content in an
inexpensive process with minimal people involved. Digitization projects normally involve huge budget andsignificant number of human resources as the key factors in accomplishing them. However, in the BSU library,its library director overcame those factors. Financial and other logistics are coordinated with the different
departments. The ICT division sponsored the training and offered their extra server for digital library use, andthe launching of Cariana, a sub-database produced through inter-university efforts, was sponsored by the
University of Baguio Library.
DL team also optimized the use of the library‟s existing desktop computers and ordinary flatbed scanner for theprocessing of graphical images while texts are manually encoded for the print archival documents. The people
involved do digitization works in addition to their main job assignments.
The BSU DL team did not undergo formal meetings. Constant casual conversations facilitated conceptualizationand implementation of strategies and the installation of the server. Several trials were also done that indicatedthe next step and corrective measures to undertake until the system was made fully operational.
Submission policy. To save money and minimize personnel requirement in digitization, the submission of “borndigital” for theses, dissertations, and faculty manuals was proposed by the library unit in the Office of Vice
Presidents for Academic Affairs (OVPAA) monthly meeting. The colleges approved the proposal and thesubmission practice is now institutionalized through advisory. The issuance of the advisory produced asignificant impact in the collection and digitization process.
Copyright. The library supports the open access movement and the utilization of the open source software. It
also aims to protect and uphold the rights of the authors or creators over their work. Hence, a copyright waiver
through which the author categorically authorized the BSULIS to archive and provide public access to the
document and information contributed was conceptualized and implemented. It has two options: first, the Close
Community which allows the title, abstract, introduction, recommendation, conclusion and references only, andsecond, the Open Community which allows the whole contributed document or information for digitization anduploading online.
Lay out. Born-digital documents are arranged according to the approved sequencing of text as agreed verballyby the DL team. Before the document goes to the process of digitization, DL team will identify Close or Open
Community waivers. For documents submitted for Open Community, all contents are processed following thesequence starting from Bibliography, Abstract, and Introduction down to the References. Using the MS Word as
text editor, the footnoting, page numbering, and creating the table of contents are first part of laid-out. Then
Acrobat software will be used to insert watermarks and to create bookmarks. The last process will be thereduction or compression of the files before saving as PDF/A. PDF/A is the archival version of PDF file format,
an open source tool managed by International Standards Organization (ISO) that enables long-term digitalpreservation of electronic documents (Noonan, 2010).
The documents for Close Community mode are processed in the same manner as that of Open Community. In
practice, any document exceeding 100 pages with numerous images are partitioned to make it easier for the
researcher to download and open it. A suffix in the title indicating the part 1, part 2 and even part 3 of the
document is provided.
Ownership and packaging details. The Submitted “born-digital document” is arranged first in MS Word format,
checked and prepared based on the prescribed layout, then processed further in Adobe Acrobat. The final
standard output will be that of a PDF or PDF/A. Metadata encoding and uploading to the GSDL server follows.
The university library logo was used as the image water mark. This will remind the users that the work is ownedor processed by BSU and that proper citation should be attributed correspondingly to BSU. In the case ofscanned documents, it is processed immediately using the Adobe Acrobat software. The arrangement, opticalcharacter recognition, compression, and saving as PDF or PDF/A are done also in the Adobe Acrobat. Most of
the scanned documents, particularly those predominantly of graphical images are not subjected for OCR.
Unwanted marks and flaws in the scanned documents will serve as an authenticity indicator and remain due tothe unavailability of software and equipment to delete them. Audio-Visual multimedia are encoded directly anduploaded in the GSDL server.
Workflow process. Figure 1 shows that in the BSULIS, submission of born-digital and printed archival
documents are the top priorities for the digitization packaging. The copyright waiver is the pre-requisite before
undergoing with the next process of digitization. The present Library Director, who is the initiator of the project,
is in-charge of the selection and prioritization while the scanning, packaging, conversion, and compression aredone by the Library Assistants, Volunteers and OJT‟s. The in-charge is assisted by the computer technician
assigned in the Virtual Library section. Cautioning the people involved to “go slow but sure” and the quality

review are parts of the process to ensure accuracy; the latter is done before a backup is created. Dublin core setsof metadata were used to describe the digitized document and clustered according to courses and type of
document. Before uploading to the server, a test is done to check the functionality. An additional back-up iscreated in an optical disc, together with the GSDL software so that it can run as stand-alone in all computer
units. Uploading of data to the server is done manually with ease.

Figure 1. Digitization process in BSULIS
Platform. BSU uses the Greenstone. It is a suite of software for building and distributing digital librarycollections. It provides a new way of organizing information and publishing it on the Internet or on CD-ROM.
Greenstone is produced by the New Zealand Digital Library Project at the University of Waikato, and developed
and distributed in cooperation with UNESCO and the Human Info NGO. It is an open-source and multilingual
software issued under the terms of the GNU General Public License. The aim of the Greenstone software is toempower users, particularly in universities, libraries, and other public service institutions, to build their own
digital libraries. The complete Greenstone interface, and all documentation, is available in English, French,
Spanish, Russian and Kazakh. Greenstone also has interfaces in many other languages (Greenstone Digital
Library Software).
Greenstone runs on all versions of Windows, and Unix, and Mac OSX. It is very easy to install. For the default
Windows installation, absolutely no configuration is necessary, and end-users can routinely install Greenstone intheir personal laptops or workstations. Institutional users run it on their main web server where it inter-operates
with standard web server software (e.g. Apache).

BSU used the 2.85 version of GSDL and experimenting on the Ubuntu 10.10 version as an operating system for
the GSDL server. The server specifications are; HP Proliant ML150, Processor (Intel Xeon (R) CPU E5410
2.33Ghz, Memory (2.00 GB ), Storage (80GB), and Graphics ( Matrox G200e (Server Engines). It has only
6mbps bandwidth for the whole university though its internet connection is through leased line.
Database structure. BSU digital library follows the basic or common database design for GSDL in which one
collection creates one database file. It has seven databases interconnected with the “cross-collection search”
feature of GSDL. From the main page of the site, logos of each collection are displayed and linked to its
contents. Digital library also served as a Document Management System (DMS) for some of the university
issuances, though it is not visible from the main page but accessible from the university portal site. Table 1
shows the structure of visible databases classified either on subject field or type of document.
Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Total

Name of databases
Undergraduate Theses
Master Theses
Dissertations
Cariana
Faculty publications or manuals
BSU Research Journals
Records Archives

No. of titles
579
69
7
14
2
3
39
713

Table 1. Structure of Databases
Keywords and metadata. The keywords assigned are supplied by the author or are taken from the content of the
documents provided. Some are supplied from the subject headings available. The library encourages freelanguage especially for the grassroots researches and works in which indigenous or native dialects are used.
Dublin core set of metadata is automatically used since it is the most common standard for archiving platforms.
Promotion and feedback. Though technologies proliferated tremendously, it was noted that some promotional
activities are still traditional due to digital divide and ease of reach.
The promotional initiatives or activities are done both in traditional and web-based by BSULIS. It is through theuniversity newsletter and the social media like Facebook page, (groups.yahoo.com/group/bsulibrary), twitter(bengsulibrary), and the blog site (bsulis.wordpress.com) of the library. Desktop screens of all computer units in
the internet laboratory or virtual library are customized providing noticeable icons for easy access or link to thedigital library site. Colleges were informed of the ongoing digitization activity and all students, faculty and staff
are invited to submit their research results for archiving and uploading online through a series of advisories. The
library‟s Light-Emitting Diodes (LED) signage and outdoor banners were also utilized for announcing library
activities including the promotion of BSULIS digitization initiatives.
Feedbacks are encouraged and BSULIS received them through social media, landline telephone, shortmessaging services (SMS), drop box, and as direct personal comments. Feedback through SMS is hosted by
GLOBE, one of the country‟s leading mobile phone companies, and another dedicated two personal numbersthat serve as real-time reference services of the BSULIS.

Current Status
Digitization initiative in the BSULIS is managed and continually updated for users free of charge. The task isheaded by the library director assisted by a computer technician assigned in the printing and Virtual library orinternet section, in addition to his frontline duties. Due to the in-availability of full-time staff to do the task,
selection of archival materials for digitization depends solely from the decision of the library director andsuggestions of the library staffs.
Figure 2 shows the statistical usage by country of BSU Digital Library based on Google Analytics report (March
1, 2012 to August 31, 2012). BSU Digital Library had a total of 6693 visits, 620 unique visitors ( based on IP
address), 2.94 pages/visit ( Percentage of average pages visited), 00:01:05 average visit duration, 48.17%
bounce rate, and 20.20 % new visits (Percentage of new visits based on IP address within the span of report
generation). The top nine visiting countries are Philippines, USA, China, France, Canada, Hong Kong, Ukraine,
India, and Japan. The Not set are the visits of other countries not specified.

Figure 2.Statistical usage of BSU Digital Library.

Forthcoming Ideas
Review and strengthening of the DL team set-up for enhancing the processes and sourcing for funding are themain challenges for BSULIS. A university policy setting standard format and requiring the submission to the
BSULIS the results of theses, dissertation, and other research works in the university, and giving acorresponding credit in the National Budget Circular (NBC 461- scheme for promotion), for faculty who submit
his research results for uploading in the Digital library is proposed.
Migrating to a more superior and interactive platform is another consideration to ensure quality service andexcellent user satisfaction. In order to comply with correct syntax, the existing web address is being revised inorder to gain and generate more statistics or hits. The setting up of the realistic book, another presentation ofbook type submitted by faculty, is being considered to add as enticing feature in the interface. The idea as to themain feature of this presentation type is the opening and closing of book page by just clicking the mouse.
Tracking number of the document is also conceptualized to easily locate and track documents. In such case, if
clients will demand for the original document, particularly those of the printed archival materials, this tracking
number system will be used. A dedicated task force will be formed to formulate a procedural manual, fix lapses,
improve and maintain the BSULIS digital library.
BSU DL Team is presently working for its registration to different directories such as the Directory of Open
Access Repositories (DOAR), and to make it accessible through Google scholar search engine including its
Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata harvesting (OAI-PMH) compliance. BSULIS is currently
working for the creation, through the ICT Division, of a dedicated bandwidth for all BSULIS online services toprovide a faster retrieval access.
According to Alayon (2012), there are only three registered digital or repository site in the DOAR for
Philippines. There are other digital libraries or repositories operating like BSU, Rizal Library Digital
Repository, and University of the Philippines (UP)-University Archives and Records Depository, but are notregistered. Table 2 shows the status of digital libraries or Institutional Repositories (IR) in the Philippines. It
appears that BSULIS will be the first user of GSDL software in the Philippines if registered in the DOAR
(University of Nottingham, n.d.).

Repository nameCountry
DSpace at IRRI
Philippines
Southeast Asian Fisheries Development
Center, Aquaculture Department Institutional Philippines
Repository
DSpace at Saint Louis University
Philippines

Num.
Base
Recs. Pubs Confs Theses Unpub Other URL Software
1345++
DSpace
970

+

+

341

Table 2. Number of Open Access IR and Software Used in the Philippines.

+++

OAI DSpace+DSpaceConclusion
Collaboration and good public relation are essential in implementing digitization initiatives. Simplifying theapplication in creating processes to save time and financial resources, and resourceful staff committed for better
service are the key elements. These elements play a dynamic part in the process of digitization and thedevelopment of digital libraries especially in a financially challenged library. Riding with the provision of freecloud applications and open source technologies enabled BSU Library to cope with the emerging trends inlibrary services at a low and affordable cost.
Technology-based library services will become more common and sophisticated as the web becomes a public
place throughout the world. As we actively enhance the library services, our main goal remains the same, toserve and teach users to find, evaluate, and use information effectively. The librarians should go on the road toprepare themselves go with the new communication models, a change from face to face interaction to humanmachine connection, from paper to digital delivery, from text-centered mode to multimedia and from physicalpresence to virtual presence.

Recommendation and Challenge
Libraries can still digitize by manually encoding print resources and utilizing free cloud applications on the web
for access. For libraries without internet connection, standalone software can be installed with an ordinary
scanner for digitizing rare images for its clients. As the time of librarians are consumed in the frontline services,
digitization can be achieved by setting up support groups like library club, inviting volunteers, and/or on-the-job
trainees, and by requiring researchers to submit born-digital and formatted documents.

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Acknowledgements
The author would like to give credits to the following: VLIR-OUS, Baguio-Benguet Librarians Association Inc.
(BBLAI), Philippine Librarians Association- CAR Council ( PLAI-CARLC), and BSU ICT Division; to myimmediate supervisor Dr. Percyveranda A. Lubrica, Prof. Thelma S. Kim and BSULIS staff for their moral
support. The author is grateful to Stephen B. Alayon, Jesserylle G. delaPeṅa, JonalynS. Calixto, Ebert E.
Marcelo, JumarYago-an and Paul G. Garcia Jr. for their constructive reviews and suggestions. Acknowledgment
is due also to Dr. John J. Tacloy Sr. for his unconditional support by editing this paper.