Decapod Nigeria Trip Report - July 2011

• Decapod lab is running off the NEPA power grid.
• Power outages should be considered frequent (3 to 6 times daily).
• Outages are typically short (i.e. 10 minutes), but outages have been known to last for hours.
• Power inverters with deep cycle batteries used to power some appliances.
• Many computers using a UPS.
• Server room has a battery backup capable of several hours of operation.

Server battery backup at UI.

• Decapod lab is off the NEPA power grid and uses diesel generators to power university.
• Generators are shut down daily from 2pm to 4pm for cooling, maintenance, and refuelling.
• Power inverters can be purchased by the university to supplement the power in the Decapod lab.
• A solar panel array is slated to be installed at the library.
• Deep cycle batteries ~$400 USD.

Brand-new power inverter. (see larger)

Inverter with batteries powering printer, fan, and other appliances. (see larger)

There is an existing digitization project funded by McArthur.

• Started 2 or 3 months ago. So far 100,000 pages scanned over 2 months.
• Uses ~5 workstations, with HP Scanjet G2710 connected to Windows PCs.
• Scanners are paid per page scanned.

Workflow:

• put materials on flatbed
• scan using Macromedia Fireworks using TWAIN standard capture.
• save original file as a Fireworks file
• do touch-ups (remove dirt, straighten)
• crop left and right pages
• save left and right pages as JPEGs at 600dpi (note: this appears to be upscaling the "preview scan" to 600 dpi, therefore not truly a 600 dpi scan).
• then compiled in Acrobat pro for a PDF
• a DVD is burned of the output PDF and given to the library staff
• other library staff then generate metadata for books based on what they see
• upload images to dspace (http://www.dspace.org/) for hosting

There is no existing digitization project at BUK.

• mixture of some type and hand generated documents.
• some letters, books, typed pages.
• some materials from people influential to Nigeria including Herbert Macaulay, Henry Carr, etc.
• material is brittle and exposed to moisture (rain) and humidity. No air conditioning.
• most material are in boxes, but some are stacked loosely.
• UI was the official national archive up until the 60s. Today it receives duplicates of content submitted to the National Archive.

• majority are hand written Arabic manuscripts on loose pages.
• very few typed pages. Example content: Native Assembly documents.
• metadata is unknown for many of the material.
• materials may have been acquired from households where content has been handed down through generations (possibly prone to neglect).
• material is extremely fragile and degraded (i.e. some pages with holes).
• BUK aims to expand its acquisition of materials in the next 6 months through partnerships with other institutions and by approaching locals.

• Project Manager: being transferred from another dept. A librarian with CS background.
• Tech lead / contact: Patrick
• Possible devs: Hameed and Dauda
• Content expert: ask Toja

• Project Manager: ask Toja
• Possible devs: Faisal and Mustapha
• Content expert: ask Toja

• in room next to server room inside the library.
• air conditioned.
• multiple LAN, and power outlets.
• shelves, and tables.

• room inside large room at the library where materials are hosted.
• limited air conditioning.
• single Ethernet cable inside the room. Currently connected to an existing PC.

• Windows PC

• Windows PC

• unknown

• Plans to train more people at BUK to use Decapod and to expand capacity.
• Increase content acquisition in 6 months.
• Intends to roll out Decapod to other Nigerian universities.
• Strong desire for a sustainable strategy.