Handbook for Digital Projects:
A Management Tool for Preservation and Access

Table of Contents

PREFACE

I. INTRODUCTION

School for Scanning Conferences

Purposes

An Overview of the Contents

II. OVERVIEW: RATIONALE FOR DIGITIZATION AND PRESERVATION

Paul Conway, Yale University Library

Introduction

Advantages of Digital Access

Risks of Digital Imaging Projects

What Digital Imaging is Not

Preservation in the Digital World

Relationships Among Purpose, Source, and Technology

Transformation of Preservation Principles

Conclusion

Summary of Key Principles and Points

Sources

III. CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Stephen Chapman, Harvard University Library

Setting Goals

Project Planning: Creating a Plan of Work and Budget

Project Implementation: Managing Workflow & Sources

Sources

IV. SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR SCANNING

Diane Vogt-O'Connor

Introduction

Why Select for Scanning?

The Selection Committee

The Selection Process

Putting It All Together: How to Score and Rank Collections

Summary of Key Points

Sources

V. OVERVIEW OF COPYRIGHT ISSUES

Melissa Smith Levine, National Digital Library Project

Introduction

Copyright

What is Fair Use?

Other Considerations

How to Proceed

References for Information About Law and the Online World

Sources

VI. TECHNICAL PRIMER

Stephen Puglia, National Archives and Records Administration

Introduction

The Digital Image

Basic Image Measures

Digital Image Processing

Reformatting Comparison

Sources

VII. DEVELOPING BEST PRACTICES: GUIDELINES FROM CASE STUDIES

Introduction

1. Working with Printed Text and Manuscripts

Stephen Chapman, Harvard University Library

2. Working with Photographs

Franziska Frey, Image Permanence Institute

3. An OCR Case Study

Eileen Gifford Fenton, JSTOR, University of Michigan

4. Digitization of Maps and Other Oversize Documents

Janet Gertz, Columbia University Libraries

5. Working with Microfilm

Paul Conway, Yale University Library

6. Cooperative Imaging: Scans Well with Others

Steven D. Smith, Amigos Library Services, Inc.

VIII. VENDOR RELATIONS

Janet Gertz, Columbia University Libraries

Introduction

Why Digitize In-House

Why Use Vendors

How to Choose Services and Vendors

What are the Project Goals?

The RFI ­ Request for Information

The Request for Proposal (RFP)

Evaluating Responses from Vendors

The Contract

Working and Communicating with Vendors

Working with Vendors: Quality Control and Handling Corrections

Sources

IX. DIGITAL LONGEVITY

Howard Besser, University of California, Los Angeles
School of Education & Information Studies

The Short Life of Digital Information

The Viewing Problem

The Scrambling Problem

The Inter-relation Problem

The Custodial Problem

The Translation Problem

Paths to Improving Digital Longevity

Sources

X. SCHOLAR COMMENTARY: AN END-USER SPEAKS UP

Charles Rhyne, Reed College

Most Digital Materials Are Unreliable as Evidence

Few Scholar-Teachers Are Involved

Leading Prototypes

Photographic Images

Traditional Standards of Evidence

Supposed Defects Can Be Turned into Assets

A Fully Participatory Society

Northeast Document Conservation Center
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Last Modified: January 21, 2003

Copyright 2000. Northeast Document Conservation Center