Digitizing Workhorse Collections: The Benefits and Obstacles of Digitizing Heavily Used Collections
Most Institutions have at least one “workhorse” collection, meaning that it is heavily used, and needs to be readily accessible to the public. These collections are often large and digitization can be expensive and more complex. A “workhorse” collection might not be the most visually appealing or unique but it is the most useful to a larger population, and gets the most use. For example, “The Brooklyn Daily Eagle” Newspaper Collection is a widely used historic newspaper collection in Brooklyn. The newspaper is only digitized from 1841- 1902, and the newspaper collection runs until 1955. The funds for digitization were received from grant money and the digitization was outsourced. Newspaper digitizing is also more complex, but highly beneficial when accomplished because it is widely used.
This session will focus on the challenges and benefits of digitizing a “workhorse” collection, including the various types of formats, the more complex digitization processes, the costs, and how to secure more grants funding for the project.
