National Library of Australia


AV online: developing digital academic library

Project participants: La Trobe University Library
Contact officer/s: Ted Chrisfield, Digital AV Projects & Services Librarian t.chrisfield@latrobe.edu.au or phone 03 9479 2137)
Project description:Development of AV streaming services
URL of site: http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/imagedb/
URL for project information:  
Content: The project began by digitising images, but we have now added a media streaming capability using an SGI Origin 200 Server running their Mediabase software. We are currently encoding all of our high use video material which has has been produced by La Trobe University. We now have 10 hours online and accessible at Library workstations. We currently have storage for up to 60 hours of M.P.E.G. 1 content.
Digitisation policy and priorities: No digitisation policy as such, but is part of the general collection development policy framework.
Timetable: Continuing: January 1995 -
Budget and funding: In 1998 the Library provided the AV Division with $20,000 to run the 'video on demand Services trial', using a borrowed Alpha Media Server from the company Digital. In 2000 the Library provided the r $80,000. This enabled the purchase of an SGI Media Server, which streams multiple file formats to up to 100 simultaneous clients, and an upgrade of the Library encoding capabilities and client workstations.
Staff resources: All digitisation of video is done in house.
Technical standards: Video: MPEG 1 files currently encoded at 1.5Mbps. and Real Media @ 256kbps. Audio – Real Media @ varying surestream rates.
Cataloguing and indexing: Video - Currently the Innopac closed reserve module is used to create a minimal MARC record (title, author, course code, lecturer) which then hyperlinks to the SGI Mediabase Server software, from where the title can be found and played.
Comments: This is an ongoing activity with the long term aim being to enable the delivery of Library AV resources online, as required, using the multimedia capabilities of the W.W.W.

Project managers wishing to update the details of their Australian digitisation projects, should email the changes to alg@nla.gov.au.

Last modified: March 30 2006.