Digital collection of rare editions
in the Scientific Library of the Ural State University
Technology and subject

The project of digitization of editions from the USU Scientific library stocks was started at the beginning of 2001. The past period has convinced us that any project on digitization conducted by any library can be successful only at observance of the following conditions:
•	availability of the effective demand on digital resources and technical possibilities of its satisfaction (computers for the users, server space, connection channels and so on);
•	availability of the effective and economic technology of creating and exploiting digital resources;
•	a solution of the internal tasks of the library with the help of digitization.
In addition it should be mentioned that the digitization of the library stocks must be advantageous for the conducting library. Only then it is possible as long-time operation but not as a random action.
Let’s consider, how the above-mentioned conditions are reflected in the Scientific Library realias. With the total amount of the library stocks about 1million copies the annual quantity of book loan constitutes the same 1 million, it means that average every copy is borrowed 1 time a year. It is natural, that the real picture doesn’t coincide with ideal — the most claimed issues are borrowed up to tens time in a year, thus their obvious shortage is appreciable. The tendency is characteristic for modern and pre-revolutionary (published before 1917) editions. For the last 5–6 years the demand for pre-revolutionary Russian books has sharply increased, thus increased load on separate book copies puts the tasks of their physical safety and restorations more and more vital. The digitization of resources in this case looks as one of possible ways of a simultaneous solution of problems of the access extension and physical safety, in case that the digital copy of a book, instead of a physical copy will be given to the majority of the readers.
At the same time processes of library activity automation have already been a quite successful progress for a long time. The library has the advanced infrastructure for allocation of the users access to electronic resources — 4 computer classes with the modern equipment (total of workstations — 30).
Thus, first of the conditions, formulated by us, in the Scientific library of USU is fulfilled.
The availability of effective and economic technologies of creating and exploiting digital resources is the requirement, which value cannot be overestimated. Perhaps, it should be in the first place. It is natural, that libraries be not capable to develop these technologies, independently, it is simply outside their competence. The task of the library is to take ready, completed and approved technological schemes and to apply them in practice. It is necessary to mention, that the majority of libraries are not simply capable to create serious, large divisions occupied with digitization of stocks. But there is no use to talk about digitization it we mean the processing of hundreds or one or two thousand pages, the problem can not be solved in such a slow pace. It is necessary, that the total productivity of the technological process on digitization achieved as a minimum thousands of pages annually on one worker.
In the Scientific library USU we have tried to evaluate the projects already fulfilled in Russia as regard to task of issues digitization of our own stocks. Unfortunately, the one of that could not become the prototype for our digital collection was not found. We have also made the analysis of some European and American projects, which has appeared very useful from the point of view of definition of some common directions of digitization. As a result we haven’t found a satisfactory solution and have undertaken independent development of the technological process. And first of all prepared scheme should have taken into account our realias — from the available equipment up to qualification of the performers, occupied in the project.
What has been achieved?
The digital collection of the Scientific library USU is created on the basis of compromise between two main approaches to creation of digital libraries: allocation of the images of the scanned pages and allocation of the text of books. The scanned images of pages are granted in the graphics format DjVu, which allows to achieve quality unprecedented of compression of the images of a high-resolution. Usage of the DjVu-format provides:
•	access to a digital collection on the Internet with usage of the standard software (the installation of the freely distributed plugin for a browser is necessary);
•	high quality and small size of the images of any kinds (20–30 Kb for the black-and-white page of format A4 with permission in 300 dpi; 80–100 Kb for the same true color image);
•	complete reservation of available sort of book.
For implementation of full-text search the text identification of the scanned editions is carried out. This problem is easily solved for the texts in a modern spelling. The texts of pre-revolutionary books, that constitute now more than 80 % from total amount of a collection, are automatically translated in a modern Russian spelling, driving simultaneously through correction of recognition errors. Usage of only automatic methods allows to play back correctly about 80–90 % of words. For the texts of the most claimed editions the hand-work correction bringing the quantity of correct words up to 98–99 % is carried out.
Most important: all processes are inside the library without engaging the indirect technical experts. Speed of scanning and creating of digital copies in the format DjVu constitutes about 2 thousand pages per one month on one worker. Speed of identification and automatic correction of the texts about 30 minutes work of the operator on 100 pages of the text; the complete loading of one computer allows to process several hundred pages a day.
Under the planned scheme the recognized and corrected texts should be joined with the scanned maps of pages within the framework of the unified database. The users will receive only DjVu-maps of pages, the texts of which will be «behind the frame « and will be applied only to search in a collection. At present this stage is not realized, as engaging the technical experts is necessary for its successful execution.
The digital copies of issues are connected with the bibliographic descriptions in the electronic catalogue and are accessible on the Internet, access to them is made in the automatic mode.
The texts with high accuracy of recognition can also be converted in formats html or pdf and be produced to the user in such form.
As a result, having begun (at the stage of experiments!) in January, 2001, now in the digital collection we have:
•	more than 12 000 pages of monographic editions of the end XIX—beginning XX centuries;
•	about 2 000 pages of theses of dissertations, defended in 2000 and 2001 in dissertation advices USU;
•	constant addition of a collection in size about 1 000 pages per one month.
It is important, that the digital collection is created as a result of rise of productivity of already available equipment and human resources, without engaging considerable material resources.
Demanding of issues became the main criterion of selection. The compositions on the history of the Russian Law occupy more than half of the total amount of the collection, there are also philological and historical works. The collection of theses of dissertations is formed as polysubject, the latest theses defended in USU are the part of it.
What internal tasks of the library does the created digital collection allow to decide? We list them briefly:
•	the extension of access to the most claimed issues, removal of situations, when the book can not be given to the reader as it was borrowed by someone else;
•	support of physical safety of issues, for which the digital copies are made, by reducing book loan;
•	rise of quality of information service of the readers by implementation impossible before tools, such as full-text search, allocation of the electronic texts of documents and so on;
•	an abatement of load by reading rooms and on the librarians occupied on output and arrangement of the books;
•	possibilities of copying and listing of pages without damage to a physical copy, that is especially urgent for editions XIX — the beginning XX centuries;
We think that our experience is rather successful and consider, that it can be repeated in any library, which have similar conditions and possibilities with the Scientific library of USU. The seminars conducted in Ekaterinburg for the employees of libraries of the participants of the project «Consensus Omnium: The Corporate network of libraries of the Ural», have allowed to distribute our operating time. Is pleasant to see, that two libraries of Ekaterinburg have begun creation their own digital collections, which size now comes to 3 thousand pages.
Having involved in the process and having realized it expediency for our library, we do not gather to stay on achieved. Our schedules include further addition of a digital collection at the expense of the monographies and theses of dissertations materials, creation of subject collections both collections of various types and sorts of issues. We hope for organization of interlibrary cooperation in this sphere, exchange of digital copies of issues and removal of blanks in funds of libraries. Such cooperation already started with the Chelyabinsk regional scientific universal library.
We also plan to develop technical possibilities granted by our digital collection. The nearest task is the structural marking of the recognized texts, separation them on basic elements, such as the titles, titles of parts, sections, chapters, footnotes, bibliographic references and other. It hereafter will allow to carry out not simply full-text search, but multiaspect search within different elements of text.
We are ready for cooperation and open for any proposal.