Livingstone Online Project Documents

Hilt of Livingstone's consular sword. Copyright Livingstone Online. May not be reproduced without the consent of the Scottish National Memorial to David Livingstone Trust.

Cite page (MLA): Wisnicki, Adrian S., ed. "Livingstone Online Project Documents." Livingstone Online. Adrian S. Wisnicki and Megan Ward, dirs. University of Maryland Libraries, 2017. Web. http://livingstoneonline.org/uuid/node/97fc9cb2-fc88-4a58-86b4-4cfaf7d4cf6e.


This section provides access to a curated set of project documents created during the development of LEAP: The Livingstone Online Enrichment and Access Project. Users have the option of downloading the entire project document collection (several hundred files produced over a three-year period), area-specific subsets, or individual highlights. Together these documents provide an intimate look into the development of the present site. Their provision supports our mission of transparency and comprehensive knowledge transfer..

Introduction    Top

Livingstone Online takes pride in being a public project, by which we mean a project that is publicly funded and that recognizes the importance of being publicly accountable, as noted elsewhere. In that spirit, we seek to make our research as open and transparent as possible, particularly so that others developing similar projects can study, learn from, and indeed improve upon our work.

This section of Livingstone Online makes a significant portion of our day-to-day project documents publicly available. The documents, created during the development of LEAP: The Livingstone Online Enrichment and Access Project, have been carefully selected to be as representative (and comprehensive) as possible and encompass all aspects of our work, including team meetings, digitization, data management, transcription, website development, and dissemination. Together the documents track every step of our research and capture, in intimate terms, the many dimensions of our international collaboration.

Note: Interested users will also find the project documents embedded in the two-part project history of LEAP, where the narrative sets the creation of these documents in a broader context.

Livingstone's mail bag, given to H.M. Stanley, c.1872. Copyright David Livingstone Centre (National Museums of Scotland, photographer). May not be reproduced without the express written consent of the National Trust for Scotland, on behalf of the Scottish National Memorial to David Livingstone Trust (David Livingstone Centre).
Livingstone's mail bag, given to H.M. Stanley, c.1872. Copyright David Livingstone Centre (National Museums of Scotland, photographer). May not be reproduced without the express written consent of the National Trust for Scotland, on behalf of the Scottish National Memorial to David Livingstone Trust (David Livingstone Centre).

 

The Entire LEAP Document Collection    Top

Download the Entire LEAP Document Collection (1.1 GB) of a series of organized subdirectories containing hundreds of files that together encompass every aspect of LEAP research.

Access the "Livingstone Online Instruction Manual" (version 1.5) (download or view), which includes over 300 screen shots and details every staff-side workflow needed to update the site and core data.

 

Area-specific Subsets of the LEAP Document Collection    Top

Download the LEAP document collection by discrete areas of endeavor:

 

Highlights of the LEAP Document Collection    Top

View 10 selected highlights from the LEAP document collection:

Bonus: Download the complete highlights (37.3 MB) of the LEAP document collection.

1. Revised NEH Grant Narrative (237 KB) - The award from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for LEAP came with a caveat: a request that the LEAP team reduce its budget by 21% and submit a revised workplan. This revised grant narrative, which grew out of that revised workplan, ultimately became the basis of the work done by the LEAP team.

2. Items for Digitization (221 KB) - LEAP led to the addition of some 5000 images of items from the David Livingstone Centre (DLC) and the National Library of Scotland (NLS). Staff at the DLC ( Anne MartinAnne Martin (Archivist, David Livingstone Centre). Associate director of Livingstone Online.) and the NLS ( David McClayDavid McClay (Manuscripts Curator, John Murray Archive, National Library of Scotland). Institutional contact for Livingstone Online.) produced detailed lists of the items to be delivered to Livingstone Online.

3. LEAP Project Plans, October 2013 to March 2015 (2.1 MB) - LEAP brought together a project team of over 20 individuals plus a global set of collaborating institutions. A series of comprehensive Gantt charts created by Michael B. TothMichael B. Toth (President, R.B. Toth Associates). Program manager for LEAP and the Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project. in collaboration with Adrian S. WisnickiAdrian S. Wisnicki (Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln). Director of Livingstone Online, LEAP, and the Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project. and Lisa McAulayLisa McAulay (Librarian, UCLA Digital Library Program). Institutional co-lead for LEAP. helped coordinate the project's myriad tasks. In evolving detail, the charts capture how real-life variables can impact and transform abstract project plans.

4. Legacy Data Documentation (819 KB) - Adrian S. WisnickiAdrian S. Wisnicki (Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln). Director of Livingstone Online, LEAP, and the Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project. and Ashanka KumariAshanka Kumari (Graduate Student, University of Louisville). Research assistant for Livingstone Online. reviewed and organized some 10,000 images and other documents in developing the Livingstone Online legacy data collection. This work is captured in two file lists, which enumerate the legacy data in its original and final forms, and in a formal essay written by Kumari. Preliminary, interim, and final reports sent by Wisnicki to the project team document how the team's knowledge of the legacy collection evolved over time.

5. MODS Files (3.6 MB) - The previous phase of Livingstone Online (2004-2010) resulted in the creation of a comprehensive MySQL database of original Livingstone items. The LEAP team, led by Claudia HorningClaudia Horning (Metadata Specialist, UCLA Library). Metadata specialist for LEAP., Lisa McAulayLisa McAulay (Librarian, UCLA Digital Library Program). Institutional co-lead for LEAP., and Adrian S. WisnickiAdrian S. Wisnicki (Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln). Director of Livingstone Online, LEAP, and the Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project. and with support from Frank SmutniakFrank Smutniak (Web Developer, Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln). Web developer for LEAP., converted this database into a series of enhanced and expanded MODS records.

6. TEI Conversion and Encoding (867 KB) - James CummingsJames Cummings (Senior Academic Research Technology Specialist, IT Services, University of Oxford). TEI specialist for Livingstone Online and the Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project., one of the world's leading Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) specialists, produced a comprehensive report on Livingstone Online legacy transcriptions, converted these files from the P4 to P5 standard, and collaborated with the LEAP team to develop a new transcription manual and set of supporting documents and templates for working with the TEI transcriptions.

7. Website Mockups and Documentation (13.1 MB) - LEAP led to the redesign of the Livingstone Online website to cater to modern aesthetic and political sensibilities. Led by Angela AliffAngela Aliff (Graduate Student, Indiana University of Pennsylvania). Research assistant and interface designer for Livingstone Online., the "LEAP Aesthetic Action Team" produced a series of full mockups (plus documentation) to guide the work of implementing the new site.

8. Report on Fall 2014 UK Collaborator Meetings (151 KB) - To mark LEAP's one-year anniversary, Adrian S. WisnickiAdrian S. Wisnicki (Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln). Director of Livingstone Online, LEAP, and the Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project. made a one-week trip to the UK for meeting with collaborators and stakeholders in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London to review ongoing project results and to solicit feedback. Wisnicki's report to the project team captures the many outcomes of this visit and highlights the importance of face-to-face collaboration in projects such as LEAP.

9. Outreach Program Final Report (1.0 MB) - Kate SimpsonKate Simpson (Graduate Student, Edinburgh Napier University). Project scholar and UK outreach coordinator for Livingstone Online. and Megan WardMegan Ward (Assistant Professor, Oregon State University). Co-director of Livingstone Online, LEAP, and the Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project. worked together with the David Livingstone Center and the National Library of Scotland to create a web-based educational resource for Livingstone Online. Using a series of eleven worksheets, teachers can guide students aged 9 to 13 in learning about the life and work of David Livingstone. This report details the process of creating an education resource that will help students explore many important nineteenth-century issues that continue to resonate in our own time.

10. Livingstone Online Archival Packet README (170 KB) - One of Livingstone Online's most distinct features is its collection of manuscript images (15,000 by late 2017), the largest digital collection dedicated to any British explorer of Africa. To encourage the broad, non-commercial use of our site materials, we enable users to download "archival packets" of images, transcriptions, and metadata whenever possible. Our READ_THIS_FILE file sets out the contents of each such packet and enumerates some of the international archival standards according to which we have produced the data in the packets.

11. Drupal and Islandora Development at University of Maryland (2.4 MB) - Kathy ChavezKathy Chavez (Web Developer, KappaLuppa, Inc.). Web developer for LEAP. and Nigel BanksNigel Banks (Independent programmer). Web developer for LEAP. worked with Adrian S. WisnickiAdrian S. Wisnicki (Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln). Director of Livingstone Online, LEAP, and the Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project. to install the new Livingstone Online site at the University of Maryland, to finish the tasks left undone by the beta launch, and to complete the full site development required by LEAP. This series of documents scopes out and tracks the development of that work.

12. Workflow for Encoding Final Manuscripts in TEI (175 KB) - Megan WardMegan Ward (Assistant Professor, Oregon State University). Co-director of Livingstone Online, LEAP, and the Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project. led the LEAP team over a three-year period in transcribing and encoding in 2000+ manuscripts pages from Livingstone's final diaries (1866-73), the massive Unyanyembe Journal (1866-72), and all the Livingstone letters held by the David Livingstone Centre. This workflow documents the process and schedule by which this work was accomplished.

13. LEAP Program Plan (2015-17) - During the last two and a half years of LEAP, Adrian S. WisnickiAdrian S. Wisnicki (Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln). Director of Livingstone Online, LEAP, and the Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project. and Megan WardMegan Ward (Assistant Professor, Oregon State University). Co-director of Livingstone Online, LEAP, and the Livingstone Spectral Imaging Project. used this plan to guide the development work for their multispectral critical edition of Livingstone's 1870 Field Diary and the closeout of LEAP. The plan documents the sequential tasks involved in this endeavor, but also shows how Wisnicki and Ward balanced the work on two concurrent, funded projects.

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