1. BETHLEHEM UNIVERSITY: A CASE
STUDY:APPLYING TECHNOLOGY TO
LIBRARY SERVICES.
TWO THUMBS UP FOR LIBRARY DIGITIZATION!
by
Francis Sleibi
April 2013

2. Project Outline
Utilizing the new technology to digitize the
library resources.
Converting rare books, videos, magazines,
books into digital format.
Applying technology in classroom for
teaching purposes. (Streaming server).
Digitized Library
Library
Resources

3. Number of Students/Staff/Faculty –
Academic Year 2012- 2013

4. Library Resources

5. Bethlehem University Library Collection: 96,019 Titles

6. Available Digital Resources at Bethlehem University Library
 Originally in digital form. (CDs/DVDs films)
 Digitized and have a printed form. (Books accompanied
with CDs/DVDs)
 Printed form and converted into digital form. (Scanned
books/ images)

7. Evolution of the Project:
 In 1996 BUL started in-house card catalog.
 In 2005 a new Library Management System being purchased. (Libsys – Noursoft)
Locally made in Palestine.
 In 2009, BUL initiated a pilot project to easy access:
- VHS cassettes.
- Palestinian Oral History.
- DVD films.
Followed by:
 Important historical documents from the university archives
 Rare books on and about Palestine/the Holy Land

8. Works started…
 Steering committee:
- Two members from the Library (audio visual center head and
software/hardware assistant).
- Two members from the computers center (network administrator and
software/hardware assistant)

9. Software & Hardware Used
 Software:
- Windows 2003 R2 64bit
- Open Source Media Server for the video streaming. (Red 5.0)
 Hardware:
- Dell Server with RAID capability:
 Dell Power Edge R510 Server
 Xeon, Quad Core 2.4 GHz,
 12 GB of memory
 6*300 GB

10. Data Row Format:
Archival Original format (Meta Data saved on DVD/CDs/NAS storage):
Video: MPEG4/WMV/AVI/MOV
Audio: WAV
Internet format Access:
Video: Flash video
Audio: MP3

11. Software Used:
 Converting films/audio/videos:
- Total video convertor.
 Editing films:
- Nero, Adobe premier
 Editing sounds:
- Sony Sound Forge.
 Archiving books:
- XMAG software

12. Red5 Media Server Installation
 Installing the Java
 Red5 Configuration.
 Using the Jwplayer for displaying the digitized
material.

13. Our Success Story: the first among West Bank Universities
http://www.eifl.net/news/palico-projects-and-events-fall-2010

14. Backup System for the Stream Server - Nov. 2010
 Dell PowerVault DL2200
 6T Hard disk RAID
After three years, almost 40% of the stream server is being
filled.

15. Library User Questionnaire Study
• In November 2011, a user study was done for a follow up of the project, evaluating library
services and the efficacy of the library resources:

16. NAS Storage:
 A new Network Attached Storage NAS of 3T size was purchased in April 2012 for
manipulating the video/audio files.
 RAID technology.

17. System Mechanism
Libsys
Server
Search
Library
Catalog
Access
the
streaming
files
Stream Server
+ FTP server
Backup
system
Tape
backup

19. • 538 DVD films Link
• 20 Rare books Link
• 1095 issues of Al-Quds newspaper. Link
• 8 volumes of Bethlehem University Journal. Link
• 165 BU Archive films Link
• 53 BU Archive Audio sounds
• 131 Audio cassettes Palestinian Oral History. (Dr. Adnan
Musallam) Link
Project Results : Live DEMO

20. Selection Criteria – Arabic English Books
 According to date (before 1900 and up to 1947, old and
rare, without copyright dates/places, nor authors);
 According to subject (on and about Palestine,
written/contributed by Palestinians living here in
Palestine or overseas).
 According to subject interest and significant contribution
to the arts, culture and education in Palestine; work by
artists, painters, authors, etc., regardless of publication
date.

21. Selection Criteria – Archives
Based on the recommendation of the UNESCO
Archivist who visited the Archives in August of
2009.
 1. The idea of preserving the value of the
original materials is the main objective of
digitization.
 2. Another criteria in selecting materials to
be digitized is the educational use of the
materials to the teaching-learning activity in the
university.
 3. A practical criterion is space-saving;
keeping ephemeral files on electronic format
saves space for other more important records.

22. Selection Criteria – Audio Visual Center
 Materials chosen for conversion to e-format
include archival resources, books in
Arabic/English on Palestinian topics, old
newspapers in Arabic/English (including those
on microfilms and microfiche) and oral history
recorded tapes..

23. Stream Server Policy
 Usage of the steaming server materials falls under the Teach
Act/Fair Use.
 Uploaded Materials are not allowed to be downloaded/
republished under any circumstances (not for sale, rent, and
share).
 The Computer Center is the party to support the
maintenance/backup and software updates for the Server.
 The AVC staff are the only authorized technical party to
upload/remove materials into/from the Stream Server after
consulting the Library Administrative Team.
 Accessing the streaming material is limited to be used
through BU Intranet (Campus’ PCs).
 The Library can loan headsets to be used for viewing the
streaming material from the Library PCs.
 Films, videos/other materials recorded for teachers/staff may
be stored in the streaming server for the duration of its use
or, at most, for the term it is needed for classroom use.

24. Equipment Used in scanning materials
- Flatbed scanner (HP ScanJet 8270)
Automatic feeder and negative scanner
- Duplex scanner with a very high speed. (Canon
DR3030c )
- Eye camera scanner . (Jetion DB24) Scanning
rare books, maps, 3D shapes

25. Project Challenges
 Adopting E-Documents archiving system.
 Upgrading the Libsys/Streaming server.
 Authentication Server for accessing the online materials.
 Copyright/Intellectual Property issues
 Budget constraints

26. Sustainability
 Human resources available.
 Annual Library budget.
 Funding from granting agencies.
 The project team will follow digital preservation
standards to ensure the technical continuity of the
materials digitized.
 The life of the storage media and the accessibility
to the contents of the digital collection.

27. Working
Hard with
Determination

28. Accessing online the digitized materials in the classroom/Library.
Output:

29. Work Progess…. 2012-2013

30. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO THE VICE
CHANCELLOR BROTHER PETER BRAY FOR HIS
ONGOING SUPPORT....