Joint RLG and NPO Preservation Conference

Guidelines for Digital Imaging
28 - 30 September 1998

University of Warwick
Scarman House

Effective use of digital imaging technology for preservation and access represents one of the greatest challenges to libraries and archives in the final years of the century. Five years ago, very few institutions had begun to grapple with this challenge; today, virtually every major academic, research, and teaching institution in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia is making use of the technology for preservation or improved access or both. Stunning and rapid shifts in available hardware, software and networking environments force librarians and archivists to constantly renew and upgrade their technical understanding of this brave new world. Despite the continual trend toward technical improvements, managers must sustain responsible oversight of their collections. Staff must approach digital imaging with the same concerns about selection, preparation, and end-product quality that they bring to any reformatting project.

The Research Libraries Group (RLG) and the National Preservation Office (NPO) share a fundamental commitment to assisting the international preservation community in managing digital imaging projects. Further, the two organizations act on behalf of their constituencies to establish uniform best practices and to disseminate widely the results of consensus-based working groups. RLG and NPO joined forces in 1997 to plan a conference in which draft guidelines could be presented and vetted by the individuals most directly involved in producing and applying them.

RLG and NPO hosted the joint conference 28-30 September 1998 at Scarman House, The University of Warwick. With over 75 participants from around the world, the conference had several objectives:

• To provide a venue where preservation specialists and digital project managers may gain an understanding of the several US and UK efforts related to imaging for preservation, particularly those efforts that are resulting in the development of guidelines;
• To create an opportunity for exchange of ideas on the content and focus of the guidelines;
• To reach consensus on purpose, scope, and practical implementation implications of the guidelines and evolving best practices.

The conference addressed five specific issues:

• guidelines for the selection of collections;
• guidelines for the preparation of materials;
• guidelines for digital image capture;
• issues and approaches to preservation metadata;
• progress toward evolving best practices in digital preservation.

The conference combined plenary sessions with smaller group discussions focused around each of the three guidelines topics. Additionally, updates were provided on the topics of preservation metadata and digital preservation. Conference participants joined one of the three guidelines groups: selection, preparation, or image capture, for intensive discussion and work to outline common practices and reach consensus on draft guidelines. In areas where consensus could not yet be reached, a series of issues were identified and recorded to help shape the ongoing research agenda related to the digitization of library, archival and research collections.

The conference papers are now available through the link below. The web version of the full conference proceedings -- including discussion period questions and answers, as well as the issues and research items identified by the discussion groups -- will be available within the next week. A print version of the conference proceedings will be available from the National Preservation Office in the coming months.

If you have questions about the Joint Conference or the conference proceedings, please contact Robin Dale.