Digital Library Center Blog | UF

Press Release from FIU: Digital Library of the Caribbean seeks donations to support damaged libraries and archives in Haiti

February 8th, 2010

MIAMI – The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC), an international collaboration of educational, research, governmental and non-governmental institutions that provides access to electronic collections about the Caribbean, is seeking donations and technical assistance for the recovery and protection of Haiti’s libraries and their valuable historical, governmental and cultural resources.

The Digital Library of the Caribbean has initiated the Protecting Haitian Patrimony Initiative, the goal of which is to help the country’s three largest heritage libraries and the National Archives, all of which were damaged in the Jan. 12 earthquake. While the main structures remain standing, one library must be evacuated and most likely demolished and the others suffered significant damage, leaving their collections extremely vulnerable. As a result, significant resources will be needed to protect the already brittle, rare, books and documents, now left in piles and covered with debris.

Bibliothèque haïtienne des Pères du Saint-Esprit (also known as San Martial).
Courtesy of Dominique Franck Simon, director of the Alumni Association for San Martial College.

The damaged institutions have indicated they need gloves, masks, archival boxes and temporary staff to assist in the clean-up. Later, they will need to replace broken shelving, repair or replace damaged electronic equipment and provide more advanced restoration for many of the rarest books and documents.

Laura Probst, dean of FIU Libraries and a dLOC executive committee member, said protecting the historical documents is crucial in the earthquake’s aftermath.

“The collections in these archives represent the collective memory of the Haitian people, their culture, and Haiti’s role in the history of the western hemisphere and the world,” Probst said. “With this initiative we seek to preserve these invaluable resources for Haiti’s future, and for our own.”

FIU has a longstanding partnership with Haiti’s libraries and the National Archives through the Digital Library of the Caribbean and is one of the founding partners and administrators of dLOC, along with the University of Florida and the University of the Virgin Islands.

The Digital Library of the Caribbean’s operations are run out of FIU. Brooke Wooldridge, coordinator of dLOC at FIU, will be traveling to Haiti this week to assist the libraries and archives in documenting their needs and planning for the next phases of their recovery.

The Protecting Haitian Patrimony Initiative at first will channel resources to four institutions in Port-au-Prince:

• Archives Nationales d’Haïti houses both civil and state records, including births, marriage and death certificates, documentation of social works, civil governance and records of the Office of the President and most government ministries.
• Bibliothèque haïtienne des Pères du Saint-Esprit was founded in 1873 by the Fathers of the Holy Spirit. The library holds resources documenting the history of Haiti, French colonization, slavery and emancipation, and 20^th Century records, as well as newspapers and periodicals.
• Bibliothèque haïtienne des Frères de l’Instruction Chrétienne was founded in 1912 by the Christian Brothers.  It served as depository-library for Haitian imprints and holds titles not even available in the National Library.  It also holds one of the most significant collections of Haitian newspapers.
• Bibliothèque National d’Haïti was established in 1940 and also serves as a public library providing resources, study space and research support.  It has a small but significant collection of rare books, manuscripts and newspapers.

For more information or to contribute to the Protecting Haitian Patrimony Initiative, please visit http://www.dloc.com or call dLOC at 305-348-3008.

Media Contact: Madeline Baró at 305-348-2234.

-FIU-

About the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC):
The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) is an international collaboration of educational, research, governmental and non-governmental institutions that provides access to electronic collections about the Caribbean. It includes the Archives Nationales d’Haïti, Biblioteca Nacional Aruba, Bibliothèque haïtienne des Pères du Saint-Esprit, Bibliothèque Nationale d’Haïti, Belize National Library Service and Information System, Caribbean Community, Caribbean Studies Association, The College of The Bahamas, the Fundaciòn Global Desarollo y Democracia, the National Library of Jamaica, Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, the Universidad de Oriente in Venezuela, the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network, Florida International University, the University of the Virgin Islands, the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida.

About FIU:
Florida International University was founded in 1965 and is Miami’s only public research university. With a student body of more than 38,000, its 17 colleges and schools offer more than 200 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations and law. More than 100,000 FIU alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU has been classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a “High Research Activity University”. In August 2009, FIU welcomed the inaugural class of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu

Press Release: Eric Williams Centenary Stamp Design Competition

Port of Spain, TRINIDAD and TOBAGO (January 24, 2010) The Eric Williams Memorial Collection (EWMC) at The University of the West Indies and the Trinidad & Tobago Postal Corporation (TT Post) announce the Eric Williams Centenary Stamp Design Competition, co-sponsored by UNESCO (Trinidad and Tobago) and Kelly Services Customs Brokerage, Ltd. The contest runs from January 30 to April 30, 2010.

Since September 25, 2011 marks the 100th birthday of this “Father of the Nation,” Trinidad and Tobago’s Fifth and Sixth Form students are being asked to design a series of commemorative stamps in his honour, an added 50 cents of which will be donated to a Trinidad and Tobago charity. The Centenary stamp, with winner’s and school’s names included, will be sold, subject to availability, from January 1 to December 31, 2011.

Eric Williams was the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and head of government for 25 years until his death in 1981. He was also an internationally-renowned historian whose groundbreaking work, the 65-year-old Capitalism and Slavery, not only re-framed the historiography of the British trans-Atlantic slave trade, but also established the contribution of Caribbean slavery to the development of both Britain and America. Popularly referred to as The Williams Thesis, the book continues to inform today’s ongoing debate and remains “years ahead of its time…this profound critique is still the foundation for studies of imperialism and economic development,” according to the New York Times.

Competition judges are: Adrian Camps Campins, historical artist; Kenwyn Crichlow, artist; Kari Elliot, TT Post; Albert Sydney, philatelist. Each school is expected to host its own in-house competition and enter only two students in the national contest. Rules and regulations are being distributed via colour poster to all eligible schools.

The Eric Williams Memorial Collection constitutes the Research Library, Archives & Museum of Eric Williams. It was inaugurated by former US Secretary of State Colin Powell in 1998, and named to UNESCO’s prestigious Memory of the World Register in 1999.

For more information, please contact Erica Williams Connell, The Eric Williams Memorial Collection P.O. Box 561631, Miami, FL 33256-1631, USA. Fax: (305) 271-4160; Websites: www.ericwilliamsmemorialcollection.org; http://www.dloc.com/?m=hiteew

Videos of presentation:

• “Politics and Resistance in Twentieth Century Haiti” by Dr. Matthew J. Smith, presentation sponsored by the Digital Library of the Caribbean as part of the 12th Annual Haitian Studies Institute of Florida International University.
• Red and Black in Haiti,  presented at book launch by Dr. Matthew J. Smith

The UF Digital Collections (UFDC) now have fully functioning online metadata editing!

It’s only been a few weeks since the UFDC self-submittal tool for  faculty to use to load materials to the Institutional Repository and for UFDC partners to use to load materials to their collections went live and now we’ve already added  full online metadata editing.  Mark Sullivan, the programmer who created the internal metadata editor originally as a desktop tool and who has now made the online tool with the same and even enhanced functionality over the desktop tool, released the online metadata editing earlier this week. We’ve been keeping the release quiet for a few days to check for bugs and problems internally before sharing the good news with everyone.We haven’t found any bugs and we’ve found a whole lot to love, so we’re pleased to be able to share the news of the online metadata editing tool with everyone!

See the screenshots below to see how it works (annotations coming soon), or UF faculty, UF researchers, and UFDC partners can sign up for  myUFDC accounts to begin loading and editing.

Online Metadata Editing (some of the preview views run across in my Firefox for the screenshots, but it looks great in use)

Celebrate the official launch of the Jamaica Journal online in the Digital Library of the Caribbean:

Jamaica Journal Historical Collection Online
November 15, 2009, 4-6pm
Florida International University; Green Library 220

Event will feature Jamaican writer Donna Weir-Soley, reading from her book, Eroticism, Spirituality, and Resistance in Black Women’s Writings. Tour an exhibit featuring the Jamaica Journal with presentations from the Institute of Jamaica.

Admission is FREE and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Subscriptions to the Jamaica Journal and books by Weir-Soley will be available for purchase and signing.

Co-Sponsors Include: Air Jamaica, Jamaican Information Service, Jamaica Tourist Board, and the Latin American and Caribbean Center

This event celebrates the collaborate work of the Jamaica Journal and the Digital Library of the Caribbean. With the cooperation of the publisher, a long run of the Jamaica Journal from the holdings of Digital Library of the Caribbean partners has now been made available in the Digital Library of the Caribbean. These issues are now online here.

One issue of special note is that of Volume 10, No. 1 (1976), dedicated to the folk music of Jamaica. When originally distributed, this issue was accompanied by a vinyl record of examples of traditional Jamaican music. The supplemental recordings were converted to digital audio, and may be heard online. This serves as an example of how the Digital Library of the Caribbean can bring together information from different formats (print, audio, etc.) in one online repository.

Jamaica Journal Online: http://www.dloc.com/ufdc/?m=hdBI2&b=UF00090030

Digital Library of the Caribbean: http://www.dloc.com

Press Release:

Eleventh Annual FIU Eric Williams Lecture Touts a New Vision for the Caribbean

MIAMI, Fla. (October 27, 2009)— The 11th Annual Eric E. Williams Memorial Lecture at Florida International University will take place on Friday, November 6, 2009 at 6:30 p.m., as part of FIU’s African & African Diaspora Studies Program. As current events demand new prescriptions for emerging countries, this year’s Distinguished Africana Scholars Lecture, “A New Vision for A New World Reality: Prospects for the Anglophone Caribbean,” promises to address critical issues of sustainable development for the region with a vibrant discussion of the implications for contemporary times.

Former Jamaican Prime Minister and current Leader of the Opposition Mrs. Portia Simpson Miller will be the featured speaker at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center, Modesto A. Maidique campus, 11200 Southwest Eighth Street, Miami, Florida. Admission is free and open to the public.

Mrs. Portia Simpson Miller became Jamaica’s first woman Prime Minister on March 30, 2006, having served seventeen years as a senior Cabinet Minister for Labor and Welfare – among her many other portfolios. She was conferred with the “Order of the Nation” on May 29, 2006. Mrs. Simpson Miller is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an international network of current and former women Presidents and Prime Ministers whose mission is to mobilize action on critical women’s issues. In March 2007, she was awarded the International Olympic Committee’s World “Women and Sport” Trophy for her outstanding dedication to women in Jamaican sport – both as athletes and administrators. The leading architect of Jamaica’s Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development, Mrs. Simpson Miller has been tireless in promoting and strengthening urban renewal and community development, leading to fundamental reforms in local government.

Established in 1999, the Lecture honors the distinguished Caribbean statesman Eric E. Williams, first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and head of government for a quarter of a century until his death in 1981. He led the country to Independence from Britain in 1962 and onto Republicanism in 1976. A consummate academic and historian, and author of several books, Dr. Williams is best known for his groundbreaking work, the 65-year-old Capitalism and Slavery, which has been translated into seven languages, including Russian, Chinese, Japanese and soon-to-be, Korean. Urdu and Hindi editions are also planned. Popularly referred to as The Williams Thesis, this landmark text continues to inform today’s ongoing debate and remains “years ahead of its time…this profound critique is still the foundation for studies of imperialism and economic development,” according to the New York Times.

Among prior Eric Williams Memorial Lecture speakers have been: the late John Hope Franklin, one of America’s premier historians of the African-American experience; Kenneth Kaunda, former President of the Republic of Zambia; Hon. Cynthia Pratt, Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas; Hon. Mia Mottley, Attorney General of Barbados; Beverly Anderson-Manley, former First Lady of Jamaica; the celebrated civil rights activist Angela Davis; and prize-winning Haitian author Edwige Danticat.

The Lecture, which seeks to provide an intellectual forum for the examination of pertinent issues in Caribbean and African Diaspora history and politics, is co-sponsored by: the Caribbean Consular Corps (Miami); Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs; Delancyhill, P.A.; Diane Galloway’s Herbal Gardens, Inc.; FIU: College of Arts and Sciences, School of International and Public Affairs, AADS Graduate Students’ Association, Caribbean Students’ Association, Council of Student Organizations, Latin American and Caribbean Center, National Society of Black Engineers, Ruth K. and Shepard Broad International Lecture Series, Student Government Association, Women’s Studies, Women’s Studies Graduate Students’ Association; Jaskq Creations; Joy’s Roti Delight; Trinidad & Tobago Diaspora, Inc.

The Lecture is also supported by The Eric Williams Memorial Collection at the University of the West Indies (Trinidad and Tobago campus), which was inaugurated by former U.S. Secretary of State, Colin L. Powell in 1998. It was named to UNESCO’s prestigious Memory of the World Register in 1999.

Books by Eric Williams will be available for purchase and signing at the Lecture.

For more information, please contact 305-348-6860/271-7246 or africana@fiu.edu.

Caribbean Scholarship in the Digital Age
September 15, 2009
2:00 - 4:00 pm
Graham Center 150
Florida International University
11200 SW 8th St.
Miami, FL 33199

The Digital Library of the Caribbean will host three speakers on the use of digital resources for Caribbean teaching and research.   The speakers will highlight how digital access to Caribbean research materials is opening new paths for both research and teaching.

• Dr. JoAnne Harris, Brittain Fellow, School of Literature, Communication, and Culture, Georgia Tech
• Dr. Nicola Foote, Assistant Professor of Latin American and Caribbean History, Florida Gulf Coast University
• Mr. Patrick Tardieu, Curator, Fathers of the Holy Spirit Library, Port au Prince, Haiti

Event is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact 305.348.3008 or dloc@fiu.edu.

The National Library of Jamaica was awarded nearly $3 million through the 2009 Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) to conserve the Enos Nuttall Manuscripts. The Jamaica Gleaner explains that the grant:

will save historically important documents which once belonged to the esteemed Enos Nuttall who served as bishop. His collection consists of 38 boxes of letters written by governors of Jamaica, clergy and laymen identified as a source of important perspectives during the period immediately following the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 up to and including the World War I. The manuscripts also provide information on the formation and development of several institutions including schools, mental institutions, prisons and the poor relief services.

Congratulations to the National Library of Jamaica!

[The job posting below is from Florida International University, a public university in Miami. FIU is one of the public universities, along with UF and a number of others, in Florida. The UF Digital Library Center (which is where I am and what I write about on this blog) is part of the University of Florida Libraries in Gainesville. While FIU in Miami to UF in Gainesville are a fair distance apart, FIU and UF work closely together on a number of projects including the Digital Library of the Caribbean and the Everglades Digital Library. We work together frequently, as do all of the State University Libraries in Florida, but we have extra time with FIU for the Everglades Digital Library and the Digital Library of the Caribbean. I can't stress enough how wonderful these projects and the people involved are. This is an excellent position that's also excellently positioned.]

Job Posting: Florida International University, University Libraries, Associate Director for Technical and Digital Library Services

This position leads, shapes, and oversees the work of 35 staff on two campuses engaged in acquiring and making accessible the resources in all formats of the FIU Libraries.  The Associate Director is a member of the Libraries’ management team, with leadership and management responsibilities for all technical services and systems operations.  The Associate Director is also responsible for leading the Libraries’ digital services program, coordinating projects and planning across library departments (Digital Collections Center, Sound & Image, GIS/MIUS, Special Collections, and Reference).

Responsibilities:

1. Provide administrative oversight of cataloging, serials, acquisitions, systems, and digital library functions across University Park and Biscayne Bay Campus libraries.
2. Hold line authority for faculty and staff in four departments:  Acquisitions and Serials, Cataloging, Digital Collections Center, and Systems.
3. Participate with the Dean and other Associate and Assistant Directors in the leadership and management of the University Libraries.
4. Lead the reorganization of technical services operations and functions.
5. Lead the reorganization of digital library services.
6. Cooperate with FIU Law and Medical Library technical and digital library staff on planning and library operations.
7. Collaborate with other state university libraries and the Florida Center for Library Automation (FCLA) on implementation of new library catalog architecture.
8. Collaborate with other state university libraries and FCLA on digital library services (including FDA, PALMM, and other projects).

About the University: Florida International University is an urban multi-campus comprehensive university with a student enrollment of over 38,000 students from all states and 120 countries.  It is one of the 25 largest universities in the nation, based on enrollment.  FIU is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and sponsored research funding (grants and contracts) from external sources for the year2006-2007 totaled approximately $108 million.  FIU prides itself on the cultural and ethnic diversity of its student and faculty.  More information is available at: www.fiu.edu

About the Libraries: The Libraries accommodate state-of-the-art information technology, including a Geographic Information Systems Center and a Digital Collections Center.  Total library collections comprise more than 2 million volumes, subscription to more than 39,000 journals and access to over 525 databases and services.  The FIU Libraries are in a statewide university consortium and employ the Ex Libris ALEPH library management system.

Required Qualifications:

1. Master’s degree in library science from an ALA accredited institution, or its equivalent
2. Professional experience in acquisitions, cataloging, digital initiatives, e-resource management, serials, or systems with a record of increasing responsibility
3. Excellent oral and written communication skills
4. Excellent interpersonal skills

Preferred Qualifications: Record of professional service at the local, regional, or national level. Evidence of potential for scholarly or research contributions.

Salary/Benefits: Salary commensurate with experience and background.  Excellent State of Florida benefits.
Application Procedure: For complete position descriptions and application procedures, go to https://www.fiujobs.org.
Florida International University is an equal opportunity, equal access, affirmative action employer.

Google recently released the Google Translator Toolkit. The Translator Toolkit allows users to easily upload text, has Google Translate’s existing functionality to automatically translate the text, and then adds “Translation Memories” which is a database of prior human translations.

A translation memory (TM) is a database of human translations. As you translate new sentences, we automatically search all available translation memories for previous translations similar to your new sentence. If such sentences exist, we rank and then show them to you. Comparing your translation to previous human translations improves consistency and saves you time: you can reuse previous translations or adjust them to create new, more contextually appropriate translations. When you finish translating documents in Google Translator Toolkit, we save your translations to a translation memory so you or other translators can avoid duplicating work.

Translation Memories is an excellent example of a smart technological idea because its service is embedded within a use case that could sustainably and equitably support all involved. Users are provided with an easy tool to do translations, and a tool that will continue to improve as they use it. Google gains access to translations and translations in context. This is the type of data that can easily be used (or much more easily than most) to better train computer translations, which can in turn improve Google’s translations overall and Google’s search engine results in other languages.

The Google Translator Toolkit has a limited set of languages right now, but it should improve as more texts in more languages are available overall and as the Google Translator Toolkit improves. The Google Translator Toolkit is a smart example of aiding small, current needs–current needs for an easy, online, collaborative tool for translations–to aid larger concerns like the need for better translations overall which requires human translations to improve automatic translations and which will be an ongoing process.

My current interest is in hoping that the Google Translator Toolkit soon adds Papiemento and Papiementu because the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) already includes texts in Papiemento and Papiementu. As dLOC adds more partners and more languages, more translations will be needed and more tools–especially those that ease collaborative work and shared results–are always welcome.