3. Digitization from preparation to preservation
October 2014

4. Programme Projectmanagement Preparing collections for digitization
Digitization, storage and publication
Digital humanities and digital longevity
Examples of digitization projects

5. Thank you! Cecile van der Harten Sylvia Van Peteghem Marcia Lei Zeng
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Sylvia Van Peteghem
Universiteit Gent
Marcia Lei Zeng
Stadsarchief Amsterdam

6. Digitization: a definition
The proces to convert an analogue source
text
image
audio
video
to a digital file
It also concerns the processing and bibliographic description because of retrieval and presentation in a digital environment
(e.g. a website on the Internet or an mobile application)

7. Digitisation Mulrenin and Geser, 2001
The conversion of several types of documents (with relevant cultural content) to bits and bytes opens a completely new dimension to reach the usual, but certainly als a new audience
This happens by providing access to sources of cultural heritage in a way that was not possible ten years ago
Mulrenin and Geser, 2001
Hughes, 2004

8. LIB@WEB Focus on documentary materials e.g. We do not include here
Manuscripts
Books
Photographs
Maps
etcetera
We do not include here
Audiovisual materials
Television, radio etc

9. Topics Digitisation Storage and presentation
Analogue documents (paper, manuscripts, books, photo’s and moving image, sound…) are converted to digital formats
Storage and presentation
ICT infrastructure for storage and access
Digital archiving/preservation and digital longevity
How can digital documents kept accessible for a very long term? Prerequisite: integrity and authenticity

10. Some history Library of Congress
American Memory: in the nineties
Royal Library (KB) Den Haag Netherlands 1995
Hundred Highlights: KB
Google Books
Cooperation with libraries with important (heritgage)collections in a language area
Europeana:
Brings together digitised collections of European archives, libraries, museums

11. Some history Early books online: Netherlands 1780-1800 Commercially
Model for period
Commercially
Proquest: large number of products with historical contents
Conclusion: large digitisationprojects worldwide for more than 15 years

12. Steps in a digitisation project/1
Projectmanagement
Strategic policy management
yes/no digitisation
Selection of the materials
Analysis of the materials
Preparation of the materials
Metadata/cataloguing

13. Steps in a digitisation project/2
8. Scanning/imaging:
- making the digital images:
in house or by an external company
9. Digital humanities and context information
10. Storage
11. Publication
12. Digital archiving, preservation and longevity

14. 1. Projectmanagement Write a project plan Steps
Management of the organisation:
Planning, staff, costs
Questions:
Extra budget available?
Digitisation in house?

15. Problem: budget Large national libraries had large budgets
Tens of millions dollars/euro’s for American Memory, Memory of the Netherlands, Europeana etc
Projectteams with experts
Financial crisis
Cancelling of digitasation projects
Other model: private/public partnership e.g.
Proquest and Google

16. Belgium/Flanders: FLANDRICA.BE
Project FLANDRICA.BE: guidelines
6 Organisations must pay (almost) everything themselves
Universities of Antwerp, Leuven and Gent
Public Libraries of Brugge and Hasselt
Heritage Library Hendrik Conscience
Challenge:
Within existing numbers of staff and budget

17. Example

18. Staff for a digitisationproject
Management/client
Descision, budget
Projectleader
Curator/librarian/archivist
Content specialist/researcher
Metadataspecialist/cataloguer
Photographer/scanner/external scancompany
ICT specialist: storage + longevity
Webmaster: publication
Support: departments for
Staff, financing and communication

19. Coordination digitisation
Projectleader
Sufficient knowledge of the aspects of
technical processes
planning
budget and financing
projectmanagement
To be able to manage a digitisationproject

20. 2. Strategic policy
An organisation (archive, library, museum) must take a strategic decision: digitisation: yes or no
Ideal situation : organisation makes strategic plan for digitisation – before the start of a project:
What will we digitise?
What is the objective?
Do we have unique materials?
Who? Board of directors/management

21. Why digitise?-1 Improve access Improve services, e.g.
Applications for education
24 *7 access, outside office hours
Life-long-learning
Less fysical acces to vulnerable materials e.g.
unique documents
brittle books
Nota bene: digitisation creates also availability of the original

22. Why digitise?-2 Profiling of the organisation
Universiteit Gent: Google Books
KU Leuven: Europeana
Development of ‘virtual collections’
‘collaborative resources’
Digitize source materials
‘sharing partnerships’
American Memory
Flandrica.be (Flemish Heritage Library)

23. Why digitise?-3 Added value by a common approach, e.g.
Coptic manuscripts from Ethiopia worldwide available
Earn money (not often)
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Images that are often requested
Available in very high resolution: printing

24. Digitisation: objectives
The objective of the digitisationproject defines the proces and the costs
Target: Printed authoritative catalogue Rubens
Topquality is required
Target: 24 * 7 access to tekst and images
E.g. Scanning books collection Historical Collections UA: students have access after closure of the reading room
Publication via website, quality can be less
Topquality (=scans with very high resolution) is very expensive!

25. Ask yourself the following questions
Think before you start!
Ask yourself the following questions

26. Motivation for the project ?
Necessary for users?
Is there an opportunity?
Necessary for preservation and maintenance?
E.g. fragile objects that are often requested by the users?
Source of income?

27. Do we have? Budget? Knowledge? Capacity: Staff? Space?
(of collections, scanning, cataloguing and metadata, ICT infrastructure, presentation, website)
Capacity: Staff? Space?
Technical infrastructure?

28. First steps Benchmarking: Learn from others Manage Copyright issues!
Many guidelines and best practices available in the public domain (Internet)
Use it! Don’t re-invent the warm water
Manage Copyright issues!
Feasibility studye (go/no go decision)
Maybe: technical pilot concerning infrastructure

29. Vision Organisation must have a vision concerning digitisation
And when it is NOT necessary -
DON’T do it!!!
Costs
Efforts
Digital archiving/longevity is not secured yet

30. Questions?