Reformatting, Digitizing, and Digital Preservation
- How do I preserve my digital files?
- How do I digitize my print photographs?
- What resolution should I use when digitizing?
- What resources are available for managers of digitization projects?
- What equipment do I need for scanning/digitizing?
- Are there service providers that can digitize my collection for me?
- How do I digitize my old audio collections / home movies?
- Does the Library of Congress recommend microfilm or digitization for reformatting institutional collections?
- How do I make a preservation (long-lasting) photocopy / What is a preservation photocopy?
How do I preserve my digital files?
- Identify and select what to save
- Organize the files selected to be saved
- Save copies on at least two different storage media (e.g., USB drive and external hard drive) and keep these in separate physical locations
- Migrate saved copies to a current storage medium about every five years
See more at Digital Preservation. View the Library's webcasts on personal archiving.
How do I digitize my print photographs?
Institutions should refer to Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Cultural Heritage Materials, which covers all technical considerations, including equipment, process, image performance metrics, quality management, and metadata.
The guidelines above are also a useful reference for digitizing photographs at home. See sections starting on pp. 4, 38, 49, 67 and 79 for detailed information on different file formats, transmission scanning, specifications, and resolution.
What resolution should I use when digitizing?
Note that resolution is not the only consideration when digitizing. See Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Cultural Heritage Materials. In short, it depends on what is being digitized and the intended use of the digitized image. See pp. 49-67 of the guidelines above.
What resources are available for managers of digitization projects?
The Northeast Document Conservation Center has put together useful information on Digital Preservation 
, including a handbook and online planning tools.
What equipment do I need for scanning/digitizing?
Institutions should refer to Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Cultural Heritage Materials, which covers all technical considerations, including equipment, process, image performance metrics, quality management, and metadata. For digitizing with a digital single lens reflex camera, specifically, the AIC Guide to Digital Photography and Conservation Documentation discusses camera models and settings in detail.
Home users, refer to pp. 13-14 in the Technical Guidelines for an explanation of why no system is perfect and what the tradeoffs are with regular office and home scanners. However, if the primary objective of scanning personal collections is to share them more widely with family and friends, a carefully chosen home scanner is more than adequate. It can be helpful to look up reviews in technical/trade publications comparing various scanners to understand the limitations of the equipment.
Are there service providers that can digitize my collection for me?
Yes. Institutions should choose service providers that also provide preservation and conservation services, as stabilization of items is often necessary to acquire a good or complete image and the safe handling of the collections is equally important. Many members of the Regional Alliance for Preservation provide both conservation and imaging services and serve both institutional and individual clients.
A quick Internet search reveals a range of providers that can digitize/reformat personal home collections. If the original format is to be saved, choose a service provider that also provides preservation and conservation services (see link in above paragraph). If choosing a service provider without preservation expertise, choose a local provider to avoid shipping collections, especially overseas.
How do I digitize/reformat my old audio collections / home movies?
Institutions should refer to the relevant guidelines from Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative, which includes metric methods for analog-to-digital converters and metadata.
Look for a full service laboratory that specializes in reformatting/transfer to digital of the original medium and which serves, among others, archivists or cultural heritage organizations. Useful keyword searches could include several of the following suggested terms: recorded sound, moving image, motion picture, film, tape, archival, restoration, reformatting, transfer, and the technical term for the specific format to be transferred/reformatted (e.g., DAT, compact cassette, 8-track, Super-8, 16-mm, etc.).
The Library's published answer to the New York Times Ask An Expert on "Tips on Archiving Family History" includes a list of vendors.
See also:
- Audio Preservation & Restoration Directory
(Association for Recorded Sound Collections) - Video Preservation: Video Migration in the Preservation Laboratory (Stanford University)
- Vendors for Audio Digitization and Preservation [PDF: 214 KB / 1 p] (University of Michigan Library)
Does the Library of Congress recommend microfilming or digitization for reformatting institutional collections?
Microfilming and digitization are both measures for preserving the intellectual content of collections (neither is a solution for preserving the original item itself). The most important differences between the two are the infrastructure needed to maintain the reformat and the ongoing decline of microfilming as an option.
For a more complete discussion of digitization, see Recognizing Digitization as a Preservation Reformatting Method [PDF: 167 KB / 17 p] (Association of Research Libraries), Why Digitize? (Council on Library and Information Resources), and the Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative.
How do I make a preservation (long-lasting) photocopy / What is a preservation photocopy?
Use paper that meets the ANSI/NISO standard Z39.48 - 1992 (R2002) for permanent paper ("Selections from North American Permanent Papers," Abbey Newsletter), in an electrostatic photocopying machine with well-fusing toner containing carbon black as the pigment. See Archives: Preservation Through Photocopying [PDF: 891 KB / 4 p] (National Park Service) and Archival Copies of Thermofax, Verifax, and Other Unstable Records (National Archives and Records Administration).
A simple peel test can help determine whether the machine and toner produce a well-fused image ("Testing Electrostatic Copy Quality: The Peel Test," National Archives and Records Administration).
See also Preservation Facsimile.
