How to Build a Digital Library

Digital libraries make it possible for patrons around the world to read or research a collection via the Web. Some libraries offer PDF versions of out-of-copyright novels, while others collect scholarly journals. By building one, you can provide information to thousands of people you may never meet.

Things You'll Need

• Optical scanner

Instructions

1. Decide what sort of information you want to digitize and who your patrons will be. Helping doctoral students research their dissertation will require different books than if you're building a digital library of modern poetry.

2. Choose a format for storing data that will be easy for patrons to use-PDS, for instance, or Web pages. The format should be one that will be usable for a long time, despite future changes to hardware and software.

3. Decide how patrons will access your library. Will it be open to the web? Accessible with registration? Only available to students at your college? Talk to your IT person about what the different set ups will require.

4. Select the material that needs digitizing first, then begin. The top priority may be old, deteriorating documents, or the material that your analog library receives the most requests for.

5. Check your digital library for errors that may have cropped up in scanning. Then check to make sure the systems for accessing the material work the way you intend them to.

Tips & Warnings

• Install whatever security precautions you need to make sure your library can't be altered by someone without authorization.

• Make sure you have backup copies of everything in your library so you don't have to digitize the original documents again.

• If you're working with fragile original documents, check that converting them to digital form won't cause any further damage.

Resources

• Basic guidelines on digitization from Cornell University.
• The National Information Standards Organization.