SELECTING & PREPARING COLLECTIONS TO DIGITIZE
Issues
of Importance
The
process of selecting objects to be digitized and determining which objects
will be offered for viewing is not a trivial issue. An important rule
of thumb is that you will get only one chance to digitize the collections.
The cost of digitizing and the complexity of the activity will determine
that most organizations will not be able to experiment on collections
or learn expensive lessons through trial and error methods.
The process of selecting specific items to be digitized will employ such standard library selection criteria as value, significance to the overall collections, patron demand and interest in the materials. The availability and fragility of the original is also a factor. You will need to carefully consider the cost versus access questions. Questions of rights and ownership play an important role in the choice of materials to be digitized. Rights and Permissions is the topic of a separate resource paper.
Handling the physical
objects:
The collection of material for digitization may be as simple as retrieving
boxes of materials from the stacks at the library or as complicated as
digging through materials in attics and basements. There is a logistical
aspect to the digitizing process; one that must be considered in the planning.
These factors will involve substantial costs in human effort, time and
products. Preparing and processing collections to be digitized will be
done by staff and is one of the most costly and staff intensive activities
in the process.
Non electronic
Documents
The term "non electronic document" includes bound books, manuscripts,
reports, serials, maps and letters, in short, anything printed on paper.
For each type of document there are issues regarding the handling and
capture of its contents into digital form. Generally, organizations with
little or no digitizing experience choose familiar paper or photographic
collections for their first digital imaging projects.
Images
The term "image" is defined by Webster to be "a likeness
of an object produced on a photographic material." Images include
any representation (and copies) of objects such as photographs (all sizes),
microfilm, aperture cards, and stereo graphs. It is important to note
that color plays a part in defining the object. Whether it is black and
white or the full spectrum, any capture of an image must address tonal
qualities.
Audio-Visual
Black history audio example
A conversion of an analog recording to a digital file constitutes digitization.
Many collections of historical and noteworthy speeches, sound clips, movies,
and general recordings are available for public access.
Objects already
digitized
Some objects are already in digital form ("born digital") and
do not require conversion / digitization. These include documents in electronic
files, Web pages, digital recordings, and databases.
Options
to consider:
When proceeding with a digitization effort, an issue faced early in the
planning is how a set of candidate documents, photographs, recordings,
museum artifacts, etc., called "objects" could be reduced to
a group of items acceptable and worthy of digitization. The following
list presents concepts to be considered while formulating selection criteria.
Choose for access
- To bring together materials separated in the physical world.
- To make materials available where use is currently limited.
- To create better discovery and navigation.
- To allow better
distribution of copies.
Choose to fit the
audience
User
matrix from Colorado
- Create information of value to your users.
- Know your users' information needs.
- Plan to reach new audiences.
- Make sure your decisions are user driven.
Choose formats that fit your need and budget
- Text documents can be offered as images, but costs rise if you use OCR, or other interpretive tools.
- Color images cost more and require far higher rates of storage than black and white images.
- Materials that can be fed through a sheet scanner cost less to digitize than those that require flatbed scanning.
- Scanning from archival quality microfilm may be better for rare and delicate materials than digitizing directly.
- Decide if the cost of digitization matches the potential benefits.
- Consider the technical and logistical aspects of the project.
- Does the material's content merit the effort and expense? If not choose a new project.
- Does the material meet the audience needs and the organization's mission.
- Will access to the materials be enhanced by publishing in a digital format?
- Determine the scope and extent of digitization.
- Determine if there will be a preservation component of the project.
- Technology is not the major cost, staffing usually requires two-thirds of the budget.
- Is the selection, manageable, appropriate for content, cohesive in theme or approach?
- What is the condition, size, fragility of the materials?
- Select materials that match your goals.
