The Digitization Process
The Digitization process can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. The Archival Services and Digital Initiatives digitization model has 10 iterative steps.
1. Nominate a collection
- Why is this collection important?
- Who will use this collection once digitized?
- Does this collection’s format lend itself to digital display?
- What are this collection’s strengths and weaknesses according to the Archival Services and Digital Initiatives rubric?
- Submit a Nomination Form
2. Schedule a site visit
- When are you or your staff available for a 1-3 hour block of time?
3. Select the materials to be scanned
- Does your library own these materials?
- What is the copyright status of these materials?
- Are any materials subject to privacy concerns or legal restrictions?
- Do the materials present any preservation issues?
4. Scan
- Who should do the imaging work?
- DLG
- Vendor
- Owning library
- How much will the imaging work cost?
- How long will imaging take?
- What is the desired output format?
- What is the desired derivative format?
5. Create metadata
- Who should create the metadata record(s)?
- DLG
- Vendor
- Owning library
- Archival Services and Digital Initiatives
- How much will metadata creation cost?
- How long will metadata creation take?
- Is there any existing information about the collection, such as an acquisition record, catalog record, finding aid, index, or transcription?
- Is any metadata beyond Qualified Dublin Core required for the item’s description, use, or preservation?
6. Ingest into DLG
- Can all image files be corresponded to a metadata record?
- Will DLG host the images and metadata?
- Will DLG preserve the archival masterfiles?
- How much space will be required to host / store files?
- How much will hosting / storage cost?
7. Harvest by DPLA
- All Archival Services and Digital Initiatives collections are harvested by DPLA. Nothing to worry about here!
8. Create online public access
- If the collection is being hosted by DLG, it can go live whenever ingest is complete.
- If the collection is being hosted by someone other than DLG, what steps are required to make the collection available online?
- Will you be creating any additional online access points, such as linking the collection record to a PINES record, creating a collection or subject guide, including items in a digital exhibit, or developing other points of public access?
9. Store master and derivative files
- If DLG is storing files, there is nothing to worry about here!
- If files are being stored elsewhere, what steps are required to ensure their preservation and access?
10. Promotion
- Archival Services and Digital Initiatives projects are always announced with a press release, a post to DLG’s blog, and a custom webtile that can be added to your website.
- Do you have additional PR requirements or ideas?
- Will you be willing to write an impact statement for inclusion on DLG’s landing page?
- Would you like to receive collection metrics from DLG to measure access to the digital collection?