Introduction to Digitisation

Workshop for the Africana Library Trust30-31 March 2010

Who died and made you expert?

Who died and made you expert?MSS & Archives since June 2000Digital Imaging Project of South Africa

(DISA) workshop on digitisation, September 2000

Digitising since 2001Digital imaging projectsScanning ‘on-demand’2009: Carnegie Project2010: Digital Initiatives Department

Talks/PapersDigitisation of glass plate negatives and lantern slides.

Presentation to SAPCON West, October 2003“Digitisation projects at the University of Cape Town

Libraries” (with Lesley Hart). Innovation, vol.30 2005: 32-42

Digitisation as a means of preservation: a look at South African archives. Presentation to the National SAPCON AGM, July 2005

The value of digitising archival material. Presentation to South African Society of Archivists, October 2006

Snapshots of digitisation experiences at the UCT Manuscripts and Archives Department: pitfalls and triumphs. Presentation to LIASA WCHELIG group, 15 November, 2007

Different routes, same destination. Presentation to LIASA WCHELIG group, 29 May, 2008.

I read therefore I am

I play, therefore I am2 Personal blogsProfessional blogFlickr AccountFacebook AccountTwitter AccountOnline writerLibrary newsletterEtc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc

Introduce yourself

• Name• Institution• Why are you here? • What do you hope to get out of the workshop?

What is digitisation?Conversion to machine-readable format of

documents, photographs, music, books…

Why do we digitise?

Why do you want to digitise?

Why do we digitise?Easier to send – via email/over the webMakes material accessible to remote usersEasier to manipulate/include in other

documents It’s what users want – it’s the ‘language

students are speaking now ’ Preserves the originalsIt’s a form of reformatting/backing up – think

photocopying/printing…