About the VRR Pilot Project

The Virtual Reading Room is a three-year pilot project to investigate the role that electronic versions of Core Curriculum materials might play in building a technologically-enhanced teaching and learning environment at Columbia in support of undergraduate education.

The first phase of the VRR project included the selection, in consultation with faculty, of specific titles from the Contemporary Civilization (CC) syllabus for possible digitization. Since virtually all works in the CC syllabus are assigned to be read in modern critical editions, the next step was to initiate discussions with publishers and other copyright holders to secure permission to use their publications in the VRR project. From the initial list of works assigned for CC, permissions were able to be obtained for nine titles within the pilot project's timeframe. (See VRR Title Listing.)

An outside vendor was then selected for scanning and conversion, with the aim of generating basic HTML versions of the printed texts that could be used for reading and study or for classroom demonstration. At the same time, a standards-conformant TEI/XML version was created for possible later use in developing course-related presentations or for otherwise repurposing within the framework of the VRR project.

With the March 2002 completion and availability of this preliminary set of titles, the VRR project will move into an assessment and evaluation phase to try to determine the usefulness of these texts for reading and study, the usability of the interface, and the feasibility of integrating such texts into evolving online course environments and toolsets such as those being developed by Columbia's Center for New Media, Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL).

Technical Overview

Text Conversion. VRR titles were scanned directly from the printed editions specified in the Contemporary Civilization reading lists and then converted into both TEI-compliant XML and standard HTML versions. A commercial vendor, Pacific Data Conversion Corporation of Eugene, Oregon, performed the scanning and markup according to Columbia Libraries' specifications. The TEI/XML versions of these texts are currently archived, but may be made available for use as needed within the context of the VRR Pilot Project.

Every effort was made to ensure that the converted texts were as complete and accurate analogs of the corresponding print editions as possible so that the integrity of the works would not be compromised. Page numbers from the print version were retained as were all other structural portions of the text, such as preliminaries, copyright page, back of book index, images, etc.

User Interface. A user interface for the HTML versions of these texts was configured by library staff to provide a very basic, easy-to-use presentation for online text reading, one that might also be adaptable for use in other similar Libraries-based digital text projects. Navigation controls were included in the left sidebar and bottom menu bar to allow easier access to texts at the chapter or section level. Hyperlinks were added to the book's table of contents, footnotes and endnotes to allow for easier reference. The width of the text block was configured to be adjustable by the user by changing the width of the browser, so that different users with different monitors and settings could create a comfortable viewing window. (For more information about markup and interface, see the VRR project documentation pages.)

Browser Support. Although the presentation was developed chiefly for display in Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5+, every effort was made to ensure that the HTML presentation was equally effective in Netscape 4.5+ for Windows. Other browsers and hardware platforms were not able to be tested as part of this pilot project. Only minimal use was made of Javascript to facilitate cross-browser compatibility and accessibility.

Text Indexing. Although it was hoped that VRR texts would be able to be fully indexed using a markup-sensitive search engine that was optimized for full-text searching, this functionality was not available in time for the pilot phase of the VRR. Planning is currently (3/2002) underway for the implementation of a new digital library text search engine (XPAT), and the VRR texts will be provided with detailed indexing as soon as feasible.

Note

CC Reader Online. The Virtual Reading Room Pilot Project is unrelated to the "CC Reader Online," which is a project of the Core Curriculum Office. For further information about the CC Reader Online, please contact: Core Curriculum Office, 418 Hamilton Hall, MC: 2811, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, Telephone: 854-2453, Facsimile: 854-3236.

VRR Planning & Status. For further information about the current status of the Virtual Reading Room Pilot Project, please contact:

vrr@libraries.cul.columbia.edu

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