Sheet Music Made Searchable

Baylor's Riley Digitization Center is a tool that enables researchers from around the world to mine the University's treasures. Outfitted with the latest technology, this room on the third floor of Moody Memorial Library is the place where music and written artifacts are converted into digital format and made searchable.
In 2002, Harold Riley, BBA'52, and his wife, Dottie, donated $100,000 for the room's creation in honor of Harold's late father, Ray I. Riley, BA '45, a Baptist pastor. 
"Without [Harold and Dottie's] vision, without their dedication to Baylor and the students, it never would have happened," says John Wilson, director of library advancement and special projects. "We're grateful."
The modern room was designed by Herman Miller and outfitted with four computers -- three personal computers and one Macintosh -- and extra-large flatbed, color management scanners and software to ensure accuracy. CONTENTdm is the database used to catalog the digitized information, which can then be searched using BearCat, Baylor's online library catalog.
Samples of the Riley Center's first and most ambitious project to date -- The Francis G. Spencer Collection of American Sheet Music -- hang on the walls. At 30,000 pieces, it is the country's largest American popular sheet music collection. Moving the project into the Riley Room seemed natural since the project, started in 1999, already was employing the technology housed there, says Darryl Stuhr, electronic access services coordinator in the libraries.
The Aurelia Brooks Harlan Collection, a slice of 19th-century life, also has been digitized in the Riley Center. This collection features 72 letters to Elizabeth Barrett Browning from various publishers and literary figures of that time. Instead of handling these delicate materials in the Armstrong Browning Library, now researchers can view every pen stroke online, Wilson says.
"Some people knew [the letters] existed, but they didn't know the content. Now the content is available and you can search them," he says.
The Riley Room also is used for preparing audio reserves for students to listen to either online through BearCat or on the library's collection of loaner iPods.
Stuhr and his team are just beginning work on their latest project, digitizing recordings of and materials related to black gospel music from the 1940s to the 1970s. Charles Royce, a New York philanthropist, is funding the preservation project. 
"Of course this was very donor related, but it was built upon the quality of the equipment that we already had in the Riley room and then what we can add to it," Wilson says. "This particular philanthropist has no Baylor connection. So why did he want to step forward and do this? Because he has a passion for the music and the culture and was interested in the project. ... There's something that tells [donors] inside that it's the right thing to do."
In order to accommodate this unique project and the increasing interest in the Riley Center's services, the library will be hiring an audio technician and, Wilson hopes, more people to help Stuhr run the room.
"There are so many projects, we don't have enough money to work on all of them. And we only have one person," Wilson says. "I think this is an area we can continue to grow and develop." 
 

Frances G. Spencer Collection of American Popular Sheet Music:

1. The process begins with a 300+dpi scan of the original sheet music. Lyrics are transcribed to a text file along with a brief description of the cover art and any catalog information present from the shelf-list card.
2. The music is fully catalogued by the Music Cataloger in BearCat, the online library catalog.
3. A script organizes and prepares the images, lyrics and exported catalog information from BearCat for loading.
4. The images and metadata are uploaded to the digital collection management system, CONTENTdm.
5. Links are added to the library catalog to point to the digital assets.
    

Audio Reserves:

1. Audio reserve CDs are encoded as an MP3 file.
2. Metadata is added to the files, including the CD's call number.
3. A script processes the MP3s to prepare them for audio streaming and transfers them to the streaming server.
4. The Web-based administration interface allows the fine arts staff to control what streaming files are accessible and what files get copied over to the iPods based on class.
5. Students can access their listening assignments online or with an iPod from the fine arts circulation desk.