Managing Digitization Projects for Museums
Introductory information on designing and doing digitization projects.
COST: Free
Smithsonian Institution Archives Digitizing Collections Guidelines
Recommended digitization settings, based on federal guidelines.
COST: Free
Library of Congress Preservation Guidelines for Digitizing Library Materials
Guidelines for how to prepare your scanning area, how to handle fragile materials, and the types of materials that may be too fragile to scan.
COST: Free
Dublin Core Quick Start: An Intro Guide to Creating Metadata
An overview of metadata and the Dublin Core elements. Dublin Core is a common set of standard categories for describing digital materials.
COST: Free
Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
DACS is a system-neutral set of rules for describing archival material. It provides core elements that should be present in the description of every collection as well as guidance on additional description. User friendly and pdf versions are available at the right side of the page under the header "STANDARD."
| DACS Element | Description of Element |
|---|---|
| Reference Code Element (2.1) | Unique number for the collection |
| Name and Location of Repository Element (2.2) | Name and location of organization owning the materials |
| Title Element (2.3) | A title for the collection |
| Date Element (2.4) | Dates associated with the collection. Most commonly, archivists indicate the dates of the materials themselves. |
| Extent Element (2.5) | How much material there is. Most commonly, this may refer to number of boxes, the number of feet the collection takes up on a shelf, or an item count. |
| Name of Creator(s) Element (2.6) (if known) | If known, the people, companies, organizations, or families responsible for creating or assembling the collection. |
| Scope and Content Element (3.1) | A description that enables researchers to judge the collection's relevance to their research interests. Most commonly, this includes subject matter, geographic area, the form of the materials, and the dates covered by the materials. If the collection is the result of a collector collecting items from different sources, that would also be indicated here. |
| Conditions Governing Access Element (4.1) | Information on restrictions that impact how people can access the collection. This most commonly includes donor restrictions, legal restrictions, or safety or preservation concerns. |
| Languages and Scripts of the Material Element (4.5) | The language (e.g. English) and/or scripts (e.g. Kanji) of the materials in the collection. |
| Rights Statements for Archival Description (8.2) | Information about how people can re-use your description of the materials. Commonly, this may be a copyright statement, a creative commons license, or a release of the description into the public domain. |
COST: Free
