Topaz Japanese-American Relocation Center Digital Collection

The Topaz Japanese-American Relocation Center Digital Collection was a digitization project carried out by the Digital Initiatives Department of Utah State University’s Merrill-Cazier Library. This case study provides a background on Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, and Digital Initiatives. The mission, technology acquired, consortium involvement, and organization of Digital Initiatives are discussed. A description of the case provides an overview of the Topaz digitization project, which includes background on the Topaz collection, project assignments, technology components, technological issues, and organization considerations. The technological and organizational issues stemmed from the CONTENTdm software, image quality, standardized file naming format, and collaboration with Mountain West Digital Library, other institutions, and library departments within Merrill-Cazier Library. The current status of these issues and continued improvement of these issues are discussed.