Creating Digital Collections

Libraries recognize the importance of digitizing archival material to improve access to and preservation of their special collections. This book provides a step-by-step guide for creating digital collections, including examples and practical tips that have never been published before. Key Features Illustrates concepts with an ongoing case study at the end of each chapter Provides detailed technical information and practical experience Discusses practitioners' insight in digitization Can be used as a guide for creating digital collections. Readership Librarians, archivists, and museum/special collection curators, and digital library developers and managers; students. Contents Introduction What are digital collections? - why create digital collections?; infrastructure and processes for producing digital collections Selecting digital library system and digitization equipment - outline organizational needs and resources; develop selection criteria: budget; research currently available: systems and equipment; open-source vs commercial software; evaluation and testing; digitization equipment; case study: Digital Collections Production Center (DCPC) Planning digitization projects - selecting materials; developing a project plan; case study: DCPC Metadata strategy - metadata standards; metadata strategies; design structural metadata; standard metadata schemas; digital object content model; administrative metadata; case study: DCPC; content model for linking metadata and content files Digitizing materials - scanning; image processing; case study: DCPC Creating metadata - standards vs local decisions; tools; authority control; automatically creating metadata records from file names; data mapping; case study: DCPC Design user interface - configure system; graphic design; function design; stylesheet; case study: DCPC Storage repository implementation - storage requirements; backup strategies; managing digital content; preserving digital content; case study: DCPC Documentation and statistics - project plan; documentation; work statistics; usage statistics, case study: DCPC Staff knowledge and skills The complete digitization process and workflow - the process; workflow.