On Digitisation as a Preservation Measure |
| |
| Authors: | Sarah VanSnick Kostos Ntanos |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Collection Care Department, The National Archives, Surrey, UKsarah.vansnick@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk;3. Collection Care Department, The National Archives, Surrey, UK |
| |
| Abstract: | ABSTRACTWhile access and engagement are usually the primary objectives of digitisation projects, they often also claim to benefit the long-term preservation of collection items due to reducing handling, one of the main risks to archival and library collections, making this a persuasive additional argument to invest in digitising a collection. Conservation intervention prior to digitisation, if done, is kept to minimum repair, cleaning and flattening of documents in order to achieve high-quality images, facilitate safe handling and ensure efficient workflow. Such preservation improvements may be negated by continued access to the physical records after digitisation has occurred. There is also a risk of damage during the digitisation process, especially for very fragile items, for which digitisation may nonetheless be the only way to provide future access. This paper assesses archival document request data before and after digitisation, and online access options, for a selection of digitisation projects from The National Archives, UK, in order to review of the effectiveness of a number of digitisation programmes in reducing demand for handling of originals. It identifies procedural improvements post-digitisation that would further reduce access to original documents. |
| |
| Keywords: | Data access handling of archival collections audiences preservation digital copies |
|
|
