98618 - TECNICHE DI DIGITALIZZAZIONE DEI DOCUMENTI

Learning outcomes

The course aims to train students in the critical use of information technologies and tools for the digital acquisition, processing and restoration of textual documents on various media. At the end of the course, students are acquainted with effective principles and methodologies for the acquisition and digital representation of images, and are able to prepare digitisation, restitution and enhancement activities for textual documents

Course contents

Topics covered:

• Digital Scenarios for Cultural Heritage: Issues and Problems 

• Scenes, analogue images and digital images

• Scanning processes and acquisition devices (flatbed and planetary scanners, digital cameras, digital backs) 
• Optical and interpolated resolution 
• Calibrating a scanner 
• Digitising a printed and handwritten text 
• Methodologies for verifying the quality of a digital image (histograms, distributions and information content) 
• Visualisation on any medium 
• Storage of digital images
• Formats 
• Notes on the function of technical metadata 
• Use of nomenclature in logical structure 
• Dimensioning a digital collection (general considerations on the uncertainty of determining the exact storage space of a digital collection) 
• Critical analysis of the guidelines published by PND https://docs.italia.it/italia/icdp/
• Critical analysis of technical specifications for digitization tenders
  

Course objectives:

-Knowledge / skill: to be in possession of the necessary knowledge of the problems related to document digitisation techniques, digital image production and their relationship with traditional iconography; to be able to distinguish and use the main treatments of visual data with numerical calculation tools; to know the typical aspects of the conservation and valorisation of great iconographic heritages, highlighting the criticalities of long-term conservation and possible solutions


-Know-how: to be able to use computer technologies and tools for the acquisition and processing of digital images of textual documents and for their overall digital reconstruction; to deal with the various phases of a digitisation and enhancement project of documentary resources; to be able to draw up technical specifications for a digitisation project.


-Autonomy of assessment: to be able to check a Data Management Plan; to be able to adopt the technological tools for checking the quality of the digital images produced following the directives expressed by the new PND 'guidelines for the digitisation of cultural heritage'.


-Communication skills: to be able to illustrate with logical and terminological rigour issues, including technical issues related to document digitisation techniques.


-Learning skills: to be able to independently explore in depth the issues inherent to the discipline

Readings/Bibliography

For all ( attendees and non-attendees):

Nicola Barbuti, La digitalizzazione dei beni documentali. Metodi, tecniche, buone prassi , Editrice Bibliografica , 2022

C. Jacob, Dimensionamento e politiche di gestione di una biblioteca digitale, in E-Lis 2007 http://eprints.rclis.org/10717/

A. Salarelli, International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF): a panoramic view in JLIS Vol. 8, No. 1 (2017) https://air.unipr.it/bitstream/11381/2825535/1/12090-22175-3-PB.pdf

E. Groppo, C. Cortese et all, International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) per la gestione, la fruizione e lo studio delle immagini digitali in Bibelot V. 23 N. 2 (2017) https://riviste.aib.it/index.php/bibelot/article/view/11677

 

** Non-attenders will add the reading of the volume
C.Jacob Immagini per la biblioteca digitale 2006, dispensa deposito SIAE n. 9801090 https://dspace-glam.4science.cloud/handle/123456789/283

Teaching methods

The innovative teaching module will be based on cooperative learning teaching methods.


At the end of a cycle of frontal introductory lectures, online workshop-type activities will be proposed. The students attending will be divided into homogeneous groups to which a virtual class on teams will be assigned; all the collaborative and material-sharing tools made available on the platform will be adopted, thus achieving complete integration between different knowledge, skills and abilities, both cognitively and relationally. The virtual environment will allow students to share the study of documents made available by the lecturer and the production of reports and analysis documents. At the end of the innovative teaching process, each working group will present its work to the other student teaching groups. This presentation activity will enable students to hone their communication skills on the main topics of the course. Discussion and comparison will enable students to sharpen their judgement skills.

Assessment methods

Participation in the lessons is strongly recommended and active participation during group activities and practical exercises, which will be conducted in hybrid mode, will also be taken into account in the assessment


Knowledge and mastery of the topics discussed during the lectures will be assessed.


The ability to express oneself adequately and in language appropriate to the subject matter, the ability to synthesise and analyse themes and concepts, and finally the critical and methodological skills acquired by the student.


Students who demonstrate that they have achieved these skills will be assessed with an excellent mark (A = 27-30 with distinction). A predominantly mnemonic acquisition of the topics covered in the course as well as a lack of mastery with regard to the examples developed during group work and exercises, combined with verbal expression and logical skills that are not fully satisfactory, will be assessed with a score between good (B = 24-26) and satisfactory (C = 21-23).


Students are warned that formative deficiencies, inappropriate language and lack of orientation within the bibliographical materials offered during the course will be assessed negatively. During the examination, students who have participated in the course will be able to present the workshop activity carried out in their group from the shared papers.

Teaching tools

For online lessons and group work, the University's Teams platform will be used, with the creation of special virtual classes, one for each working group.

Office hours

See the website of Emilia Adele Groppo