DIGITIZATION PARTNERSHIPS
The National Archives and Records Administration
National Archives and Records Administration
Digitization Strategy
NARA’s Strategic Plan, 2006-2016
Strategic Goal 4: We will provide prompt, easy, and secure access to our holdings anywhere, anytime. By 2012, 1 percent of archival holdings
are available online.
Strategy Two: NARA will establish partnerships with organizations from a variety of sectors to accomplish this.
NARA Principles forDigitization Partnerships
Partners will digitize full series or file segments of records, not just selected documents: To provide for full access and effective
preservation. To retain an “archival view” of the records.
Online access to the products of the partnerships will always remain free in NARA research rooms.
NARA Principles forDigitization Partnerships
After an agreed-upon period of time, NARA gains unrestricted rights to the digital copies.
The partner shall pay all direct costs associated with the digitizing partnerships.
National Archives and Records Administration
Current Status
Current Digitization Partners
iArchives, operating Footnote.com website
Family Search (formerly known as Genealogical Society of Utah)
The Generations Network, operating Ancestry.com website
Current Digitization Partners
Digitized NARA holdings now online:
Footnote.com - 50 million images
Ancestry.com - 70 million images
Digitization Partnerships for Archival Institutions
Issues&
Challenges
Issues and Challenges: Start-up
Issue: Start-up of a partnership and each subsequent project requires significant resources: Development of the initial partnership agreement Selection of projects Development of project plans
Challenge: Institutions must develop and use standard practices to the extent possible but remain flexible to adjust to unique circumstances.
Issues and Challenges: Start-up (2)
NARA is committed to “non-exclusive partnerships”: We will have multiple partnerships but any original records series will be digitized only once. For any institution that follows suit, bear in mind: Issue: Partners are competitors. Issue: All records are not equal. Issue: Partners are not equal.
Challenge: Institutions must develop a fair and equitable way of assigning records to be digitized by partners.
Issues and Challenges: Start-up (3)
Selected NARA Partnership Project Plan Elements Information about records to be digitized Work plan (equipment, formats, image sizes, etc) Description metadata required to be delivered to NARA Partner personnel for project NARA personnel for project Document preparation issues Estimated NARA costs to be paid by partner Special issues
Issues and Challenges: Capture
The vast majority of the online images were obtained from NARA microfilm publications. Issue: Digitizing original records is enormously
more time-consuming for both partners and the archival institution, especially with older, less standardized records.
Challenge: Institutions should continuously strive to find appropriate ways to achieve greater efficiency in digitizing original records.
Issues and Challenges: Capture
Issue: Many archival series will include records that require some specialized effort, such as those that are oversize or require treatment before imaging.
Challenge: Institutions must develop efficient and cost-effective ways to address special issues that arise during the capture process.
Issues and Challenges: Capture
Issue: Partnerships bring certain costs to archival institutions in the areas of management, coordination, training, space requirements, and follow-up quality assurance and storage.
Challenge: An institution must realistically assess the impact partnerships will have on resources and work plans.
Digitization Partnerships for Archival Institutions
A Balanced View
A Balanced View: Benefits
Institutions may gain from a partnership: Increased understanding of digitization Opportunities to see effect of different digitization
and presentation strategies Vast increase in numbers of documents digitized Development of additional descriptive metadata Enhanced public access to holdings Preservation benefits as documents are retired from
the research room
A Balanced View: Cautionary Notes
Institutions entering into a partnership should be prepared for: Significant coordination and management efforts Less control than with an in-house project Slower progress than anticipated Ongoing discussions with the partner to overcome
unexpected developments and ensure that the results match the promise
National Archives and Records Administration
Web addresses for resources
NARA Strategic plan:
http://www.archives.gov/about/plans-reports/strategic-plan/2007/nara-strategic-plan-2006-2016.pdf
NARA Digitization Strategy:
http://www.archives.gov/digitization/strategy.html
NARA Digitization Partnerships:
http://www.archives.gov/digitization/partnerships.html
