Announcement of j2kArcLib.info posted
This is the text of an announcement that was posted to the IMAGELIB, IFLA DIGLIB, DIGISTATES, DLTIG, ACRLNEC-L, and WEB4LIB mailing lists. If there are others that you think would be interested in hearing about this site, feel free to copy and adapt this text.
Has the landscape of access and preservation of digital imagery fundamentally changed? Perhaps -- read on...
For many years, libraries and archives have used the JPEG and TIFF coding standards to store and make available images in an electronic format. Decades of research in image compression techniques as a subfield of signal processing have yielded advancements through the use of wavelet transformation, and some have adopted products based on proprietary wavelet compression implementations such as SID.
In the 1990s, under the auspices of the International Standards Organization and the standards section of the International Telecommunication Union, the Joint Photographic Experts Group worked to create a new imaging standard using wavelet compression. The work of the committee reached a pinnacle in December 2000 with the ratification of Part 1 of the JPEG 2000 standard.
As JPEG 2000 is embraced by specialized vertical markets (such as medical imaging and national defense intelligence gathering) and appears in the consumer digital camera and scanner markets, it has the potential to revolutionize common practices in libraries and archives. In addition to achieving greater magnitudes of compression with reduced or no loss of image data, JPEG 2000 was designed to embed the technical and descriptive metadata associated with images that has become crucial to long-term usability of the image file as a digital artifact.
With funding from the Gladys Kreible Delmas Foundation and the Connecticut State Library, the University of Connecticut convened the Symposium on the Adoption of JPEG 2000 by Archives and Libraries on November 4-5, 2004 to begin the process of understanding, coordinating and accelerating the implementation of the standard by providing a forum for delegates to outline the efforts required to achieve wide-scale adoption.
Out of the symposium came several desires that would aid our communities in making decisions regarding a JPEG 2000 practice as well as provide a forum for sharing information about JPEG 2000 in archives and libraries. The lead request was the creation of a website that would allow users to register and post their own information on articles, projects, and products that use the standard. That website is now available:
~ http://j2kArcLib.info/
And it has contains information such as:
~ Report on the Symposium
~ http://j2karclib.info/node/42
~ Project Briefing at the CNI Fall Task Force Meeting
~ http://j2karclib.info/node/30
~ Resources by Focus
~ http://j2karclib.info/resources/by_focus
~ Resources by Type
~ http://j2karclib.info/resources/by_type
The skeleton is there and waiting for information to be added. Symposium participants will be adding information as we come across it; feel free to create an account on the site to add your own information.
Second, a mailing list has been created where subscribers can talk about the application of JPEG 2000 in archives, libraries, and related fields. One can subscribe through through the web (http://listserv.uconn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=j2karclib-l) or send an e-mail to listserv@listserv.uconn.edu with "subscribe j2kArcLib-L [your name]" as the first line of the message. Archives to the list will be available in GMANE.ORG shortly.
Third, ALA (American Library Association) has assigned space for a meeting of parties interested in JPEG 2000 during their upcoming Midwinter meeting in Boston. Tables 2 and 3 in the Marriott Grand Ballroom G from have been reserved from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 15th to connect with each other and explore a desire to create an interest group for JPEG 2000 within LITA. An iCal file with details of the meeting is attached.
