This document discusses the challenges and solutions in creating a European historic newspapers browser. Key points include:
- The European Library is building an interface to allow cross-searching of digitized historic newspapers from various European partners.
- The beta version will launch in September 2013 with limited content and functionality, with ongoing updates through 2015. Usability testing will occur in 2014.
- The interface aims to provide unique value to users while respecting the wishes of contributing library partners and reflecting the relationship to original newspaper collections. It also seeks to offer added value to contributors and be sustainable over time.
2. Task $
“...
Creation of a full-text index
of newspaper content
Development of a
newspaper content
browser
Work
Package 4 -
Aggregation and
presentation of digitized
newspapers
3. The European Library is
building an interface to
allow cross-searching of
historic newspapers
digitised by project
partners
Title-level metadata
exported to Europeana.
In reality ...
4. Timetable
Sep 2013 - Beta version with limited
content and functionality made
available
2014 - Ongoing inclusion of more
content and functionality
Spring 2014 - Usability testing I (subject
to project funding)
Winter 2014 - Usability testing II (subject
to project funding)
Jan 2015 - All scheduled content and
functionality completed
5. What content
will be
included ?
Full Images, Full Text, Metadata
Latvia, Belgrade, Hamburg, Berlin,
Estonia, Finland, Netherlands *,
Austria *
Snippets of Images, Full Text,
Metadata
Frederich Tessman, France *,
Poland
7. What content
will be
included ?
Full Images, Full Text, Metadata
Latvia, Belgrade, Hamburg, Berlin,
Estonia, Finland, Netherlands *,
Austria *
Snippets of Images, Full Text,
Metadata
Frederich Tessman, France *,
Poland
9. Just Metadata
Turkey
(Partners with copyright issues)
All Associate Partners (for now)
The available content in influenced
by what restrictions in copyright
and business model from each
of the contributing libraries.
What content
will be
included ?
10. Just title level metadata can
be shown:
“Kleine Blatt, 15 November
1932”
(National Library of Austria)
(Although can we have dark
index of full text ?)
11. Creating a
newspapers
interface
that ...
• Provides unique value to users
• Reflects relationship to original
physical newspaper collections
• Is sustainable
• Offers contributors added value
• Defines relationship to
Europeana
• Respects library wishes
12. Users can cross-search
European Newspapers
18m pages, 10m with full text
Users can see what was
published on a particular day
across Europe
Users can see information on
individual newspapers
Provides
unique value
to users
14. Respects
library wishes
The available content in
influenced by what
restrictions in copyright and
business model from each
of the contributing libraries.
●Location of digital image
●Size of image
●Format of image
16. Embedded in The European
Library (TEL) portal
TEL membership fees will
help with ongoing costs
TEL members can add
content to newspaper
browser over time
Is sustainable
17. Logos and links back to
source of original content
But also evidence of usage
of library content via TEL /
what statistics are needed ?
Offers
contributors
added value
18. Interface will respond to
usability testing
Harvesting of different
material will affect interface
Changing requests from
libraries
Uneven quality, especially in
Is developed
iteratively
20. ● OCR shown
● Zoomable version of full
image
● Clickable links between
full text and image
(sometimes)
● Link to newspaper source
library (where we have
been provided with links)
First
Iteration
21. Second
Iteration
● Fragments (where requested by
library)
● See information on particular
title
● See what was published on a
particular day
● Search over titles (not just text)
● Other browseable visualisations
of publication and library
source
● Search / browse via entities
22. Newspapers from national libraries of
Finland and Austria are available for
searching (Sample search terms: Linz,
Graz, Salzburg, Turku, Oulu, Tampere)
Testing the
Site