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Digital Collections and Archives

Overview

Products and services that enable institutions to host digital collections, publish scholarly journals, provide discovery of collections, and more.

FALSC Member Guidance

Things to think about when starting digitization or digital preservation services:

1. Staffing

Dedicated, permanent staff can be a critical first piece of a new program.  Temporary or student staffing should be used to support and not manage this type of service.  If you must rely on temporary staffing it is crucial to document the workflow and decisions, including where digital files are stored, which type of file you created (i.e. master, access, edited), content rights, use permissions, and all contracts/paperwork.

Can we use existing facilities/staff, or do we need to hire?

2. Equipment

Equipment is an obvious and important part of digitization.  Please reach out to members to discuss their experience with equipment before making a new purchase.

  • What are the minimum quality standards for finished digital items (e.g. do they need to be FADGI-compliant or will a lower set of internal standards do)?
  • Is vended scanning a plausible component of the project? (could be all or partial depending on legal status, condition, and rarity)
  • Do you need to arrange for new space and equipment?

3. Digital Asset Management System (DAMS)

A digital asset management system (DAMS) will provide discovery and access to your digital collections and archives.  Public post secondary institutions in Florida may set up one FL-Islandora site per institution, contact help@flvc.org for assistance.

4. Strategy

A good first step is to set strategic direction for your services by answering these questions:

  • Who are the stakeholders?
  • What are the scope, scale, and expectations?
  • What is the level and duration of funding?

​Look around at what others are doing.  Digital projects and programs that impress you are a great resource for strategic planning.  Contact them to talk and found out: What did they do? What do they recommend? What didn’t work for them? ​

It's okay to build digital collections project by project.  You do not have to have a full program planned out to begin.  Start with what's important, has funding, and/or is in a deteriorating state.  You can find webinars on digital project selection and planning here from FSU: https://swfln.org/recorded-webinars/