"Oklahoma Today" Online Thanks to EPC
March 22, 2007
For Immediate Release
STILLWATER -The OSU Library’s Electronic Publishing Center (EPC) has completed its latest project. In cooperation with the Oklahoma State Department of Tourism and the Oklahoma Department of Career Technology, the EPC digitized the first 50 years of our state’s magazine, Oklahoma Today.
All fifty years of Oklahoma Today magazine are available in PDF through the EPC's Web site. It is free and fully searchable. Anyone can use the site.
David Maxwell served as project manager and was primarily responsible for the digitization process and the design of the Web site and search interface. According to David, the best part of the project is the relatively small size of the full-color PDFs.
"I'm very happy with the finished product," Maxwell said. "The PDFs are compressed so they will open more quickly on your computer. The technology for this kind of project has come so far. Just five years ago, we wouldn't have been able to produce such high-quality and quickly loading images."
Oklahoma Today is the official magazine of the state; it is published by the Department of Tourism. The popular periodical, well known for its beautiful photography, provides its readers the best of Oklahoma's people, places, travel, culture, food and outdoors. The magazine is published bimonthly in January, March, May, July, September and November.
A formal launch of the Web site is planned for March 28 and will be covered in the May/June issue of Oklahoma Today.
The EPC began this project in February 2006, and completed it one year later. "We wanted it finished by the State Centennial," said David. "That's why we partnered with Career Tech."
Career Tech provided access to two high speed sheet fed color scanners. "It allowed us to complete the scanning portion of the project much faster than we could have using only the EPC’s equipment."
Funding equipment purchases is just one way donors can support the EPC and its mission. Currently, the Library's wish list has a $3500 entry for a Fujitsu fi-4340C Color Duplex Scanner. This would be used by the EPC to facilitate digitization of historical documents.
Donors can also underwrite entire digitization projects. The McCasland Foundation recently provided over $76,000 to digitize and preserve 1,000 fragile and extremely rare historic maps of Oklahoma. If you are interested in funding equipment or projects at the EPC, contact Chad Haney at 405-744-6323 or chaney@osugiving.com.
Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant system that cuts across disciplines to better prepare students for a new world. Oklahoma's only university with a statewide presence, OSU improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach. OSU has more than 32,000 students across its five-campus system and nearly 21,000 on its Stillwater campus; with students from all 50 states and about 110 nations. Established in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 200,000 students who have made a lasting impact on Oklahoma and the world. CREATE - INNOVATE - EDUCATE - GO STATE!
URL: http://www.library.okstate.edu/news/spring07/oktoday.htm
Last Updated: 5 June 2008
