Creating Access for Historic Texas Soil Surveys: A Digitization Case-Study

Fall 2006/Spring 2007

reserve stipulations

back to Reviews & Professional Writing

About the Project

• some obtained via ILL

collection development policy

• slightly arbitrary
  • (year- and state-based)
    • about 99 in that category
  • also supports these subjects/fields:
    • soil history
    • science (especially the history of science)
    • geography
    • government documents
• not many early up
• maybe a few for North Carolina, as well

not for scientific value; value is:

• cultural
• historical
• understanding the science of the time

Soil Survey History & Background

earliest:

• US Agricultural Field of Operations, Bureau of Soils
• books = reprints = (stoll pag.?)
• adv. sheets - bureau operations soils
• not certain what order they were issued in
• detail level varies

audience:

• unsure of original audience
  • SS's started before the 1930's soil erosion problems
• now used for farmers, gardeners, builders, man-made lakes
• some land-grant boundaries

maps & printing:

• soil types
• other feature = as valid landmarks?
• how were they done?
  • dissertation on old soil survey process; currently being digitized
• varies per map: schools, etc.
• key on each map for types of soil
• later maps tell what each type of soil is good for
• also include topo-map-like symbols
• some tell base map (?)
• privately printed: 6-8 printers (in NY and WS); don't know publishers' precise role
• most are the same scale: 1" = 1 mile
• size of maps vary widely

books:

• newer books often have photo plates
• some have other figures/tables, etc.

Digitization Process

1. Sorting
2. QC (Quality Control)
3. Deskew
4. ReSize
5. OCR
6. Metadata
7. ToUpload
1. automated process: scripts
8. Uploaded
9. (Display Interface)

while the object is in the lab:

• quality control of image is checked
• metadata is created
• ideal (particularly for descriptive metadata)

Scanning

book scanning

• books were scanned on the Zeutschel; a few on the Betterlight (QC bitonal)

map scanning

• Betterlight scanback camera for maps (Mary O'Connor did the scanning)
• map up against vacuum easel (for photo)
• supported by magnets and the vacuum
  • kept map smooth to decrease fold lines
• each scanned with color target and magnet ruler (crosstick)
• probably not yet color profiled

Display

• will use Zoomify for magnification and navigation in Portal to TX History
• need more maps to justify a better portal viewing application

Metadata

book & map:

• metadata for each (created at different times)
• different dates for each; maps issued separately from book?
• maps = publication date of book (iffy)
• coverage date = date on map

Each SS record contains many creators and contributors.

Parent agency changed: US Agricultural Soil Survey Department, US Agricultural Experimental Station, corporate authors (also sometimes US AES)

Eventually, the relation field will have a permalink (once all uploaded) to the linking book or map. Using the relation field to connect the soil survey map with its appropriate book volume.

• Relation field (for map): title and volume number of the book.
  • MAP TITLE has part: BOOK TITLE, VOLUME #.
• Physical Description field: volume # of #.

collection issues:

• all metadata records contain "soil survey" somewhere so that they can be easily pulled together as a collection
• not yet labeled as a collection
  • their collection is under the broad "Texas History Collection" label assigned to the Portal to Texas History

maps:

• sometimes lonen L. (???) listed participants
• sometimes different date (coverage date in metadata)
  • put them in the notes field
  • are searchable as keywords
• credited corporate authors only
• base map credit - contributor (as "cartographer")
• full records advocate notes (flexible system)
• can add keywords that aren't controlled vocabulary
  • try to use LCSH for Portal browse
• more description on maps than on books
  • list type of features

books:

• description taken from TOC
  • list counties (helps discovery)
• will be OCR'd (helps discovery)
  • not sure if will OCR maps (did OCR newsmaps)
  • ask Mark about QC and cost/benefit for page highlighter/keyword

list of published soil surveys - print copy in A&I (online now)

• National Res. Conserv. Serv.
  • didn't always scan each year for each area
  • need to contact them about "online," Y/N
• monthly catalog to identify call #'s

M (???) - ss maps for TX Dept. Transportation (subcontractor) - lab

UNT = scanned at higher resolution

TX Albany - wanted photos (???)