NATIONAL PRESERVATION OFFICE

GUIDELINES FOR DIGITAL IMAGING.

Papers given at the Joint National Preservation Office and Research Libraries Group

Preservation Conference in Warwick 281h- 301h September 1998

Organised by the National Preservation Office, the Research Libraries Group, the Joint Information Systems Committee and the United Kingdom Office for Library

and Information Networking

NPO is supported by TheBritish Library, The Public Record Office,

The National Library of Scotland, Trinity College Library Dublin, The Consortium of University Research Libraries,

Cambridge University Library, The National Library of Wales, The Bodleian Library, Oxford University

The Contributors 1998

First Published 1998 by The National Preservation Office The British Library 96 Euston Road London NW12DB

ISBN 0-7123-4655-4 All website addresses correct as of September 1999

NATIONAL PRESERVATION OFFICE

RESEAR

The Contributors 1998

First Published 1998 by The National Preservation Office The British Library 96 Euston Road London NWI2DB

ISBN 0-7123-4655-4 All website addresses correct as of September 1999

GUIDELINES FOR DIGITAL IMAGING

Papers given at the Joint National Preservation Office and Research Libraries Group

Preservation Conference in Warwick 28th- 30th September 1998

Joint NPO and RLG Preservation Conference

Guidelines for Digital Imaging th th 28 -30 September 1998

Introduction to Joint Conference Publication

Keynote Address Guidelines Versus Guidance for Digital Imaging: The Opportunities Before Us

Conference Papers Guidelines for Selection

Selection Guidelines for Preservation Guidance for Selecting Materials for Digitisation

Conference Papers- Guidelines for Preparation Preparation of Materials for Digitisation Protecting the Physical Form

Conference Papers Guidelines for Image Capture Guidelines for Image Capture Guidelines for Image Capture: a UK Perspective Issues and Approaches to Preservation Metadata Issues and Approaches to Digital Archiving

Conference Papers- International Reaction Canadian Overview An Australian Perspective

Closing Address Weaving the Threads

Appendices Appendix 1 - Supporting documents Appendix 2 - Responses to preparation questionnaire Appendix 3 -Participants list Appendix 4 - Conference report

Robin L. Dale

Anne R.Kenney

Janet Gertz Paul Ayris

Ann Swartzell John Mcintyre

Stephen Chapman Jane Williams Michael Day Margaret Hedstrom

Karen Turko Colin Webb

Peter Fox

Nancy Elkington & Neil Beagrie

1

11 21

29 33

39 61 73 85

89 95

103

Introduction to Joint Conference Publication Robin L. Dale

Research Libraries Group

Digital imaging has been a part of libraries, archives and museums for more than ten years. Groundbreaking research completed in the early- to mid-1990s has led to greater understanding, increasingly better imaging, and has contributed to the emergence of digital collections around the world. Yet because of the breathtaking speed of technological change, there has been little time to develop consensus on the "best practices" institutions should follow to create high quality images which can meet the demands of their respective user populations over the long-term. What materials should be selected for digitisation? Are some collections and/or source documents better suited to digital imaging than others? How should the materials be digitised? And to what level of quality? How much metadata is appropriate? Can these new electronic resources be maintained and remain accessible over time?

In September 1998, the Research Libraries Group (RLG) and the National Preservation Office (NPO) joined forces to address those very questions. The result was the NPO and RLG Joint Preservation Conference: Guidelines for Digital Imaging, a joint effort between two organisations with remits related to preservation and digital imaging. Designed to be a working conference, the event created a forum for the discussion of current practices related to digital imaging for cultural heritage institutions with an eye toward documenting the lessons learned from the collective experience.

Representatives from Australia, North America, and nearly a dozen European nations attended and participated in the conference. Most of the delegates had extensive experience with different types of imaging projects. Attendees represented a broad spectrum of interests and included librarians, archivists, imaging specialists, corporate/vendor representatives, preservation consultants, and academic researchers. There was clearly international interest in comparing notes, practices, and strategies.

Three plenary sessions addressed issues of selection for digital imaging, preparation of materials for digitisation, and digital image capture. Following presentations by a UK and US speaker on each of the three main topics, participants selected one of the three topics for intensive discussion. The group discussions were the heart of the conference, where participants' experience and expertise were brought together in focused dialogues. Can best practice be agreed upon or should guidance be offered instead of prescriptive guidelines? Can international agreement on basic technical requirements for high-quality digital images be reached?

In the end, participants endorsed the recommendation highlighted by Anne R. Kenney in her keynote address- when dealing with the technical tools which are likely to evolve, and when considering the range of cultural heritage materials which repositories will want to digitise, it is much better to offer guidance than construct generalised guidelines. To quote Kenney,

" ... guidelines are contextual - they are specific to institutional settings, and may not scale beyond those constraints or to other environments ... Guidance, on the other hand, can be developed to enable an institution to step through a process with the end result leading to the creation of their own 'pecific set of guidelines. Guidelines should be a by-product of this process, not the starting point. Deciding on a course of action, what to do and what not to do, should be based on the reasons for digitising, the nature of the source documents, the institutional mission, available resources, the technical infrastructure, and users requirements and capabilities. Guidance begins with understanding the context, provides a process for data gathering and decision-making,

points to available guidelines and a means for assessing their applicability, and finally leads to the development of guidelines that are specific to institutional needs. "

Conference speakers and participants were able to agree on many basic requirements related to selection, preparation of materials for digitisation and for digital imaging. At the same time, participants identified the numerous challenges that remain on the digital imaging front. These issues, and others such as digital preservation - the long term retention of and access to digital information - continue to be addressed by those working in concert with the Research Libraries Group and the National Preservation Office.

Research Libraries Group and National Preservation Office wish to thank the speakers and discussion leaders who inspired and challenged participants throughout the two-day conference. Particular thanks are extended to the Joint Information Systems Committee's Committee on Electronic Information and Kodak for their financial support which enabled both the international and the UK-based speakers costs to be met. Finally, our collective gratitude to Hazel Gott (UK Office for Library and Information Networking) for organising such an effective and rewarding event.

The electronic version of the papers, delivered at the conference are also available on the following websites:

RLG (UK): RLG (non-UK): UKOLN: NPO:

http://www.rlg.ac.uk/preserv/joint/ http://www.rlg.org/preserv/joint/ http://www. uko In .a c. ukl events/ sept -conf9 8/ http://www.bl.uk/services/preservation

Guidelines for Digital Iinaging September 1998

Guidelines vs. Guidance for Digital Imaging: The Opportunity before Us Anne R. Kenney

Associate Director for Preservation Cornell University

We have an unprecedented opportunity for action here in the next several days. This conference offers us the means to codify, on an international basis, issues associated with the use of digital imaging technology to retrospectively convert to digital form paper and film based sources. I believe that we are here to act, not just listen, and that it is an opportune time to act - the stars are indeed aligned. Some of those stars are here in the audience. Look to your left and to your right- the level of experience and expertise assembled is impressive. In fact it strikes me that we couldn't have had this conference much earlier because there were too few institutions working in this area- so the timing is right.

I'm also struck by the collaborative nature of the conference. This assemblage represents a powerful combination of players. We have an international representation, with delegates from thirteen countries. Institutional perspectives are well represented, as are critical consortia and organisations. It is fitting that this conference is co-sponsored by RLG and NPO. RLG brings a stellar reputation in laying down guidelines in image reformatting and collaborative action; and the NPO, as RLG, is committed to act on behalf of its constituencies to establish best practices and disseminate widely the results of consensus-based