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October 1995, vol. 27, no. 10
by Gary Cleveland, Information Technology Services
The technical development process had four stages: scanning and image manipulation; hypertext markup (HTML) design and markup; editing and correcting; and transmission to Colorado.
Scanning and image manipulation: maps, photographs, caricatures and original historical documents were scanned first to create an original "reference" image, which was then manipulated to remove scratches, wrinkles and other imperfections. The reference image was used to produce another image to be displayed on the Web, and then stored on tape for archival purposes.
HTML design and markup: Documents created by the writer and transcriptions of historical documents were converted from WordPerfect to ASCII text and marked up by a coder using PC-based HTML Assistant. The design of the project required that the text be broken into "cells", supplemented by images, and linked to more text and images.
Editing and correcting: As with any printed text published by the National Library, the text intended for the Web had to be read, edited, corrected and proofed for accuracy, style, and consistency.
Transmission: When the separate elements of the project were completed and amalgamated, the whole project -- images, text files and directories -- was compressed into one large file and sent via the Internet to Denver. In Denver, the file was "unpacked" and once more recreated in its separate components.
The first three stages were all affected by the extremely tight time constraints that obtained during the entire project. The lack of time necessitated certain decisions that had specific results in each stage. For example, a HP LaserJet scanner and 60 Mhz Pentium Notebook computer were used to scan reference images at 75 dots per inch (dpi) rather than the 300 dpi normally used for reference images because higher resolutions require more time for scanning and digital manipulation. More generally, the project's deadlines meant that stages normally carried out and completed subsequent to one another (e.g., design, writing, editing, and markup) had to be carried out simultaneously, thereby resulting in unnecessary work and duplication of effort. One of the valuable lessons learned and emphasized during the project is the need to take account of the time required for all stages, and to plan accordingly.
For detailed technical information on the Confederation project, contact:
Gary Cleveland
Copyright. The National Library of Canada. (Revised: 1995-12-01).