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Born Digital Monographs, Serials, & Series Reports - Projects in Figgy

Born Digital Monographs, Serials, & Series Reports - Projects in Figgy

This document will walk you through Princeton University Library’s Born Digital Monographs & Reports workflow for Figgy and best practices used to prepare metadata (and its corresponding digital surrogates) for ingest into PUL’s digital repository. If you have questions or concerns, do not hesitate contacting us or your knowledgeable Figgy team coordinator! 

Table of Contents

Where to Start?

The best place to start is at the beginning! Let’s first make sure we know what type of digital item we want to ingest (or upload) to Figgy. There are 2 types of submissions, and two types of visibilities as options:

1. Monographic Reports and Papers (Publicly Accessible & Access Limited to Princeton)

Video Demo

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17EcizFnHp69gIPLDu4LyHkDbiONSS_XY/view?usp=sharing

Overview

Monographic Reports are Papers are born digital PDFs that are ingested individually as simple resources and described directly in Figgy Forms as part of the distinct Born Digital Monographic Reports & Papers Ephemera Project. These forms are part of what we call our Figgy Ephemera workflow, which is shared in detail below. We strongly encourage selectors and staff to contact CaMS before submitting any questionable items to Figgy, to see if it is better that the materials appear as a serial or a series. 

Top-level Ephemera Boxes in Figgy

2. Serials and Series Reports (Publicly Accessible & Access Limited to Princeton)

Video Demo

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wmmWbhSIJJ69Ize-semmB6w5khyZgu17/view?usp=sharing

Overview

Serials and Series Reports are scanned resources in Figgy that are ingested as Figgy multi-volume works (MVWs) with a main (or Host) Record and multiple attached scanned resources (or Constituents). Some of these are multiple standard title-only (not attached to an MMS id) periodicals under one catalog record entry with a unique MMS ID, while others are monographic series with unique MMS IDs under the umbrella of a title-only Host.  We strongly encourage selectors and staff to contact CaMS before submitting any items to Figgy, to see if it is better that the materials appear as a serial or a series.  Sometimes, CaMS may contact the librarian, subject specialist, or submitter after a request is submitted, if CaMS believes the item(s) belong in their own MVW, i.e. each issue of a periodical submitted as a monographic title.  Once the new host is created, CaMS will cancel the requests and ask that they be submitted in the new MVW for future work.

Top-level Collection Tags in Figgy

Standard Workflow Summary

  1. Subject Specialist identifies Serials/Series Reports to add to figgy

  2. Submitter requests review of item by Subject Librarians to determine visibility (Open or Princeton Only)

  3. Submitter contacts CaMS colleague, Ron Flewellen, via email

  4. CaMS colleague reviews request and creates Host record(s)

    • For Host records requiring MMS IDs

      • MARC record for host created by CaMS colleague

      • Figgy Host record created via “Add New” button in Scanned Resource option on Figgy Main page, and adds MMS

      • Visibility set to “Open” or “On Campus”

      • Appropriate Collection tag added (see above)

    • For Host records that are Title Only (no MMS IDs)

      • Figgy Host record created via “Add New” button in Scanned Resource option on Figgy Main page and adds title of series/serial.

      • Visibility set to “Open” or “On Campus”

  5. CaMS colleague contacts submitter with link to Figgy resource

    • Figgy submitter adds constituent records, with uploaded PDFs, via the “attach scanned resource” button in host record.

      • For Host records with MMS IDs

        • Submitter adds constituent records as Title Only, and adds title/issue number to record manually.

      • For Host records that are Title Only (no MMS IDs)

        • Submitter adds constituent records with their accompanying MMS ids, and adds MMS id to record manually.

      • For additional constituent title only records added to host records with already existing MMS ids, Submitters do not need to request review or completion of these records. They do the entire process themselves. 

  6. Submitter puts records in “Metadata Review” state.

    • This triggers emails every monday to CaMS reviewers for the two collections.

  7. CaMS reviews and completes Scanned Resource(s).

    • The item(s) are now available directly in the online catalog! 

Access and Visibility Settings

Working with Librarians or Subject Specialists, submitters need to decide whether the material can be publicly accessible or whether access to item(s) should be limited to Princeton. Visibility settings define who (and how) our users can access content in our multiple front-ends, including the online catalog, Finding Aids, DPUL and our Maps Portal. Visibility is set or requested by our stakeholders at the record level, in the "edit scanned resource" form. Visibility is not set at the Figgy Collection Level. Once decided, the material will be assigned to one of two Figgy top-level collections, and the visibility will be set accordingly to “Open” for Publicly Accessible or “On Campus” for Access Limited to Princeton.

image-20250611-150309.png
Figgy Visibility Setting

Figgy Collections vs. Ephemera Projects

Figgy Collections and Figgy Ephemera Projects are similar in the fact that both are used as a way to add multiple items to a thematic grouping within Figgy and, if desired, DPUL. However, their functionality and what types of resources you can add to each differ significantly. 

  • Figgy Collections: Collections are created and used in Figgy to assign items to specific Sets that enhance search options within Figgy (via faceting to refine searches) and have Digital PUL (DPUL) exhibitions options with custom URLs.  Collection tags can be added to repository resources (like scanned resources and scanned maps) and to ephemera items (called folders) within Ephemera Projects.

  • Figgy Ephemera Projects: Ephemera Projects are distinct projects that can only house ephemera items (called folders) that are described directly within that project in Figgy.  Collection tags may be added to folders within Ephemera Projects, but Ephemera Projects cannot be added to ephemera folders or non-ephemera items. Ephemera Folders also cannot be assigned to other Ephemera Projects outside of the Project they are within.

  • Bulk edit options: are available for Collections, but not for Ephemera Projects that are not tagged with collections. Luckily, all items added to projects for this workflow will be tagged with Figgy Collections, to ensure bulk edit options are available to Figgy users.

We know what our material is and what the visibility should be! Now what?

We are going to start by accessing the Staff User Interface in Figgy!

Steps to access Figgy

Access to and Training in Figgy and any ingested metadata and corresponding image files will be provided by PUL IT to library staff. For those interested, please contact Kim Leaman (kleaman@princeton.edu) or initiate your request in the #digital_library PUL slack channel. Once you are added to Figgy…

Adding new submissions

Born Digital Monographic Reports & Papers

  • Select Born Digital Monographs, Serials, & Series Reports , found under “Ephemera” near the bottom on the home page of Figgy.

    • home_screen_figgy.png

  • Click “View Boxes” under to the Project Title.

  • Click the appropriate box for your submission type:

    • Monographic reports and papers (Publicly Accessible)

      • Use this box and coordinated template if your submission is open.

      • “Publicly Accessible” or “Open” Visibility means your submission is open to the world and anyone can view and download.

    • Monographic reports and papers (Princeton Only)

      • Use this box and coordinated template if your submission has visibility restrictions.

      • “Princeton Only” or “On Campus” Visibility means your submission has restricted access and users can only view by logging in with their Princeton credentials on campus or VPN.

  • Click “Attach Ephemera Folder” at the bottom of your screen, to the left of the blue “Attach Hard Drive” button and select the prepared template for your box (the selection under “No template”) OR click “Edit” to modify and/or add metadata for each folder.

    • templates.png

  • Once you have filled out or edited and reviewed all the pertinent fields (see below), click on the Save button. The View screen comes up and your item is now in the “Needs QA” stage, ready for file ingest. The “Needs QA” stage also gives you (or your reviewer) the opportunity to proofread the data you entered (and, if necessary, go back to the Edit mode to correct or modify the metadata) before final Completion. You can also leave comments by adding free text to the comments box and clicking the blue Submit button.

    • Review.png

Metadata needs prior to File Ingest

The most efficient workflow for PUL is for descriptive metadata to be created prior to file ingest. Once Metadata for your item is complete, we are ready to attache files to the item!

Metadata specifications for Born Digital Monographs, Serials & Series Reports

Metadata for Born Digital Monographs & Reports items are records created in Figgy, PUL’s digital repository. Templates have been set up for both “Open” and “Princeton Only” with many of these fields pre-populated for your convenience.

All fields highlighted in orange are required fields for data entry.

  • Barcode (required) – The templates will have “00000000000000” automatically populated. This field remains in Figgy. Only internal Figgy proficient staff will see this field.

    • The Unique Project identifier for each item will be changed to the figgy identifier (the number found within the record URL after the “catalog/”. ex: https://figgy.princeton.edu/catalog/b6a0f623-3c16-49cd-a9f3-1dd62a8ff29a ) upon completion of metadata entry by Submitters.

  • Box Number – Disregard. This is added for you in the template.

  • Folder (required) – The Unique Project identifier for each item (the unique Figgy identifier, located in the item URL) should be added here. This field remains in Figgy. Only internal Figgy proficient staff will see this field.

  • Title (required) – of the item as printed. If the item is in a non-Roman script language, add the original language script. This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog).

    • Helpful hint: A Sort title field will automatically be added in Figgy for this item that matches the title.  

    • A note on capitalization if the title is in English: As with Library of Congress convention, please capitalize the first letter of the title and any proper nouns contained within.

  • Alternative title – This field can be used if an item in native script  has the title in Roman letters. In such a case, the Romanized title would go in this field. A translated title may also be placed here. This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog) as “other titles”.

  • Transliterated title – If the item is in a non-Roman script, transliterate the title in accordance with Library of Congress Romanization standards. This is a field that will be iterated on as we use the new workflow.

  • Language (required) – You can select more than one if it is a multilingual item. This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog).

  • Genre (required) – add one from the Figgy Genre Terms. This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog) as “format”.

  • Width – Disregard. These are Born Digital Items.

  • Height – Disregard. These are Born Digital Items.

  • Page count (required) – Add page count. This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog) in description field.

  • OCR language – Add the dominant language of the item, if the item is printed. This field remains in Figgy. It is selected from a dropdown and OCR is run on the entire item, making it Keyword searchable in the viewer.

    • Why can’t I add an OCR request to a manuscript/handwritten item? Our digital repository currently uses Tesseract for OCR generation. Standard OCR for contemporary printed materials works decently for many languages, but handwriting is a bit trickier, and does not generate reliable outputs.

  • Keywords This field remains in Figgy. It will be iterated on as we use the new workflow and build out the community of practice for controlled vocabularies.

    • In some cases, you may need to use the keyword field to capture more intuitive Romanized versions of non-Roman script  titles or names. This adds a very helpful layer of discovery, so please try to imagine how a user will search for the item!

  • Series – If this is a part of a series, add standardized language here. This is NOT a space for years or numbers. (ex: 2007-2008 is not a series title. This information may be added to the tile, for example: https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9991640283506421 ). This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog) as “Series”.

  • Creator – Add the name of the author or creator (if available on the item). This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog) as “primary author”.

    • Add in the original script.

  • Contributor – If the name in the Creator field is in a non-Roman script language, provide the transliterated version of the creator here. This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog) as “secondary authors”. 

    • You can add additional contributors if needed, e.g. if there is more than one author. 

  • Publisher – Add as follows: City : Name of Publisher. If the item is in a non-Roman script, add in the original script. Add another field with Roman transliteration. This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog) as “publisher”.

  • Geographic origin (required) – Country of publication. This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog) as “country of location”. (eg. when there is a citation, this information will show up in that citation).

    • What is the difference between “Geographic origin” and “Geo Subject”? A great question! As an example:  an item may have been published in Spain, but it is about the climate in Germany. “Germany” would be the Geo subject.  “Spain” would be the Geographic origin.

  • Subject (required) – Add a maximum of 3 subjects from the controlled subject vocabulary. This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog) in its defined spot (eg. LCSH, Homosaurus, local subject)

    • Subjects may be entered as the [main subject]--[sub-selection]. 

      • Ex: Religion–Catholic Church;Religion–Bible

    • What if an important subject for my collection is not represented in any way? We try to stick to the controlled subject vocabulary that already exists in Figgy, but CaMS colleagues are welcome to contact fellow ephemera contributors in the #ephemera_projects Slack channel if there is a subject that needs to be added to the list.

  • Geo Subject – Add the country that the item is about. You can add more than one if needed. This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog) as “coverage”.

    • What is the difference between “Geographic origin” and “Geo Subject”? A great question! As an example:  an item may have been published in Spain, but it is about the climate in Germany. “Germany” would be the Geo subject.  “Spain” would be the Geographic origin. 

    • Helpful hint: If there is a particular province that the item is about, you can add that too.

  • Description – Add a brief description of the item here. This can include your original description, description from the project, condition report, etc. This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog) as “notes”.

  • Date created – Provide the year only. This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog) in “publication year”

    • Why can’t I add days and months here too? This field should just include the year so that searchability is easier. There are other places where more detailed date information is more appropriate.

  • Date range start – Date range end – Disregard.

  • Provenance – For the items in collections that are a part of collaborations with other institutions, please add the name of the project and the present holding institution as you would like it seen in each item. This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog) as “provenance”.

  • Source URL – Add the source URL (the website link) of the original here. This Field remains in Figgy.

  • User Downloads –  Automatic Default to Public. However, this option can be disabled for “Princeton Only” Submissions.

  • PDF Type – Automatic Default to Color. However, this option can be disabled for “Princeton Only” Submissions.

  • Holding Location – Disregard. This field will be used in Orangelight (the online catalog) as “view online” under holdings.

  • Rights Statement – Default to “Copyright not evaluated”.

Controlled Vocabularies in Figgy (Internal links)

File ingest in Figgy

Once metadata is completed*, you are ready for file staging and ingest (upload) into Figgy!

 

File ingest for Ephemerra Workflow

File ingest workflow for Born Digital Serials and Series via MVW “Attach a New Resource” in Figgy

  • Search for the title (or MMS ID) of the MVW in Figgy which we call a Multi-Volume Work (MVW), using the all search box.

  •  

  • Click on the appropriate title of the MVW in the search results listing.

  •  

  • The view page is the Host (Parent) record of your MVW. Scroll to the bottom to find the attached constituents (children) to the host record.

  •  

  • Click on “Attach Scanned Resource”

  •  

  • Add the Title of the new submission (or appropriate MMS ID), in accordance with the best practice of other attached items in the MVW.

  •  

  • Add the OCR language

  • Add the Download/PDF options (Open/Color? No Downloads/None?)

  • Add the visibility to match the other ingests (Open? On Campus?)

  • Click Save. You are now ready to upload your PDF!

  • Go to the bottom of your screen and click on the “File Manager” buttonn.

  •  

  • Click on “ingest local files” button

  • Select the item you wish to ingest. You may either “Drag and Drop” or click the “Browse” prompt inside the dotted-line rectangle in the center of your screen.

  • Once item is selected, a long green button will appear directly under the dotted line rectangle, confirming your wish to upload 01 item. Click on the green button to accept.

  • You are now uploading your item to Figgy!

  • Navigate back to your MVW Host page. you should see your new child record in the table of contents on the lefthand side of the viewer.

  • That’s it!

Metadata and image review in Figgy

Once metadata and corresponding images are ingested (or uploaded) in Figgy, it is time for metadata and image review! This workflow will differ, depending on the stakeholder and their team. Please refer to your team’s best practices or contact your Librarian in CaMS or your department.

Confirmation of review

Once review is complete, please email or ping in Slack your Librarian, if necessary, to confirm completion of the review and approval of the metadata and Images or to report issues that need to be addressed by IT staff. 

Image file errors

If reviewers find errors in the ingested images prior to Final Acceptance, they may require PUL IT to correct the errors or request new scans from the holding institution.

Communications & contact information

Additional resources

  • Forthcoming, as we learn together about this new process!