Purpose
The purpose of this document is to offer guidance and to provide recommended digital imaging recommendations for a variety of institutions and collections that are planning for or are involved in digitization projects. These best practices are not intended to be seen as the de facto standard for digital imaging, but rather as a guide for image capture, presentation, storage and preservation. Inherent and unique characteristics of different source materials necessitate different approaches to digitizing, and conversion requirements for digital projects should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
This document addresses text, photographs, maps and graphic materials and is written for institutions that have the equipment and expertise to digitize in-house. If you are planning to digitize oversize materials, bound materials or materials in nonstandard formats and sizes, you may want to consider outsourcing these materials to imaging vendors.
These guidelines have been developed in order to:
- Increase the interoperability and accessibility of digital collections across the cultural heritage community through the use of widely accepted standards and formats.
- Ensure a consistent, high level of image quality across collections.
- Decrease the likelihood of redigitizing in the future by promoting best practices for conversion of materials into digital format.
- Promote the long-term preservation of these digital resources.
Because technology and industry standards are constantly improving and changing, we view this as a continually evolving document. We welcome your comments and suggestions.
