2 - Why digitize?

Summary

Cultural institutions are investing in digitization for two reasons. First, they remain convinced of the continuing value of such resources for learning, teaching, research, scholarship, documentation, and public accountability. Second, they recognize that changing user behavior may jeopardize these resources and their stewardship.

(Kenney and Rieger, 2000, 1)

Introduction

Most libraries today are re-evaluating their information delivery services in this new world of digital information, and some are contemplating the digitization of collections within their own holdings for a wide variety of reasons and purposes. Embarking on digitization projects can be onerous and costly, and libraries need to be certain of all the implications of such an endeavour before they begin. While it is relatively easy to obtain funding for discrete projects, recurrent funds for ongoing activities are harder to come by, and the commitment to maintain digital content for the long term needs to be planned and costed alongside the initial costs of conversion. However, libraries can greatly enhance their services, skills and prestige through good digitization projects. In this chapter we examine the benefits of the digitization of collections, outline many of the practical, strategic and institutional issues to be considered, and describe a number of different projects and programmes to illuminate the points made.

This chapter will discuss the following issues:

• • practical and strategic issues in the digitization of library collections

• • the benefits of digitization

• • formats of materials for digitization

• • what a digitization project involves

• • the digital lifecycle approach

• • running a digitization project

• • digitization projects and the management of risk

• • some example projects, including newspaper, periodical and grey literature examples, plus the Gutenberg Bible, photographic collections and digitization for the print disabled

• • digital library programmes.

Practical and strategic issues in the digitization of library collections

Digital collection development is part of a broader perspective on collection development, and generally needs to be assessed using the same criteria. However, there is a difference between reviewing collections already held by the institution with digitization in mind, and choosing to acquire digital materials from elsewhere. We deal with building digital collections in more detail in Chapter 3 ‘Developing collections in the digital world’. In-house holdings have been initially acquired or retained because they are perceived to have some value to the community served by the library, and thus theoretically they might all be candidates for digitization.