28 - 30 September 1998
University of Warwick, Scarman House

Background

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. Funding and support were generously provided by the UK Office for Library and Information Networking (UKOLN) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). 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.

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

Agenda: Monday, 28 September

Conference opening and welcome
—Vanessa Marshall, Director, National Preservation Office, UK

Keynote Address: "Guidelines Versus Guidance for Digital Imaging: the Opportunity Before Us"
—Anne R. Kenney, Associate Director for Preservation, Cornell University, US

Conference scope and objectives
—Robin Dale, Program Officer, Research Libraries Group, US

Guidelines for Selection
—Program Moderator Julia Walworth, Special Collections/Rare Books, University of London, UK

• "Selection Guidelines for Preservation"
  —Janet Gertz, Director for Preservation, Columbia University, US
• "Guidance for Selecting Materials for Digitisation"
  —Paul Ayris, Director of Library Services, University College, London, UK

Guidelines for Preparation
—Program Moderator Alison Horsburgh, Head of Preservation Services, National Archives of Scotland, UK

• "Preparation of Materials for Digitization"
  —Ann Swartzell, Senior Preservation Program Officer, Harvard University, US
• "Protecting the Physical Form"
  —John McIntyre, Head of Preservation, National Library of Scotland, UK

Guidelines for Image Capture
—Program Moderator Robin Dale

• "Guidelines for Image Capture""
  —Stephen Chapman, Preservation Librarian for Digital Initiatives, Harvard University, US
• "Guidelines for Image Capture: A UK Perspective"
  —Jane Williams, Technical Advisory Service for Images, UK

Agenda: Wednesday, 30 September

"Issues and Approaches to Preservation Metadata"
—Michael Day, Research Officer (Metadata), UKOLN, University of Bath, UK

"Issues and Approaches to Digital Archiving"
—Margaret Hedstrom, Associate Professor, School of Information, University of Michigan

"International Reaction Panel: Responding to the Challenges and Opportunities"
—Seamus Ross, Director of Humanities, Computing & Information Management, University of Glasgow

"Canadian Overview"
—Karen Turko, Head of Preservation Services, University of Toronto, Canada

"Closing International Reaction Panel Address: an Australian Perspective""
—Colin Webb, Manager of Information Preservation, National Library of Australia

""Closing: Weaving the Threads"
—Peter Fox, University Librarian, University of Cambridge, UK