This study looks at how major libraries and museums are tackling the issue of digitizing some of their most difficult to digitize materials, ancient manuscripts, fragments of documents and other difficult to digitize materials. The study provides detailed data on the types of equipment considered most valuable, personnel training budgets and practices, insurance and transport issues, and much more. The study also looks at outsourcing vs. in-house digitization, as well as defining what and how much institutions intend to digitize in the near future. The study helps to answer questions such as: how much do libraries plan to digitize? How are they digitizing their most sensitive materials? Which technologies are they using and which are considered critical?
Just a few of this comprehensive 112 page report’s many findings are that:
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No special collections librarian in the sample reported that more than 30% of their stock of ancient, rare or fragile materials had been digitized.
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16% of respondents were sure that their institutions had insurance that would cover accidents during digitization.
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60% of respondents in institutions with more than 23,000 students FTE had an in -house training program in digitization skills.
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Respondents from schools in higher tuition ranges were much likelier than others to plan to digitize most of all of their ancient or fragile items.
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40% of respondents believed that flatbed scanners were almost always important in their digitization efforts
The data and commentary in the report is from 25 academic libraries and museums from the USA, Canada, Europe and the developing world involved in digitization efforts of particularly ancient or fragile materials. Data in the report is broken out by type and size of college or university, by public and private status, and by the personal characteristics of the respondent, such as work title and age.