Ideally, all digitization projects undertaken by library departments should meet Digital Initiative standards to insure that the library’s investment in digitization and imaging technologies results in products that are useful and sustainable. To this end, it is recommended that any library digitization efforts that will result in the creation of a digital collection should be brought before the Digital Library Committee for approval, even if the actual digitization work is not undertaken or overseen by the committee. Whenever practical, the library’s digital collections should be integrated into the centralized digital asset management system (currently DigiTool) so that they can be made accessible (within rights limitations) and so that they will be included in ongoing digital collection maintenance schedules. A procedure for evaluating and approving digitized collections, whether they originate from within the Digital Library Committee or are a by-product of departmental activities, is outlined below.
Rationale: Digitization is now a commonplace activity and is integral to the work of some library departments. The Digital Library Committee does not have the authority to regulate digitization activities library-wide, however it does have the authority to exclude digitization projects from inclusion in the Digital Initiative until they meet agreed-upon standards. Adherence to standards insures that the product of the library’s investment in digitization can be managed and preserved. Additionally, the Digital Library Committee is responsible for allocating the resources at its disposal as fairly as is possible.
There are three options for submitting a digitization project or digital collection to the Digital Library Committee for inclusion in the Digital Collections Initiative. Processing of projects will be undertaken in the order approved, unless practical workflow considerations require otherwise. Options 1 and 2 are the preferred procedures for routine project approval, but Option 3 is included to offer some flexibility in responding to exceptional circumstances.
Option 1. Pre-approved - committee project
Work for approved projects will be undertaken by the committee using committee resources, i.e. the Digitization Unit overseen by the Digital Collections Librarian under the advisement of the Digital Library Committee, and following Digital Initiative standards.
Applications for project approval must respond to criteria as outlined on the Digital Collection Project Proposal Form.
Proposals will be considered by the committee within the next two regularly scheduled meetings after the proposal is submitted.
Option 2. Pre-approved – independent project
Work for approved projects will be undertaken using independent resources, i.e. grant funds and non-committee controlled library resources, and following Digital Initiative standards. It is recommended that the applicant seek pre-approval for a project before applying for grants funds. In the case of a short grant deadline that prevents seeking pre-approval, Digital Library Committee members should be notified (an email announcement would be acceptable).
Applications for project approval must respond to criteria as outlined on the Digital Collection Project Proposal Form.
Proposals will be considered by the committee within the next two regularly scheduled meetings after the proposal is submitted.
This option should be considered when a department would like to expedite project completion by using additional library staff time not ordinarily devoted to digitization, has obtained outside project funding, or the project must be outsourced because library equipment is not compatible with the format of the materials to be scanned.
Option 3. Post-approval - independent project
Independently undertaken digitization projects will be considered through the same application process as pre-approved projects and must meet, or be able to be made to meet, Digital Initiative standards. If additional work must be undertaken using committee resources to bring the project inline with Digital Initiative standards, such as metadata creation or format conversion, the processing of previously pre-approved projects will take priority.
Option 3 should be considered when digitization has taken place as a regular part of departmental work, resulting in a de facto digital collection, or when the department has acquired digital objects as part of its collecting responsibilities. Where possible, pre-approval for digitization projects is a better option than post-approval as it guarantees project acceptance in the Digital Initiative and compliance with Digital Initiative standards before digitization work is undertaken.
February 8, 2006
