We are that public library ideal of a people’s university and the way we are connecting with our public is changing, but I think the goals of that connection are no different.
—Eileen O’Connell, branch manager, Special Collections Library, Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Library, New Mexico
Library patrons continue to expect more online content, and libraries are attempting to meet these expectations with article databases and e-book collections. According to a 2011 survey by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), libraries had 35 million e-books available.1 Why should libraries invest additional time and funds to scan old paper documents, add metadata and store them in an accessible electronic collection when they are already providing access to databases? As your community accesses your collection online and uses more electronic content your collections can be hidden if they are not accessible online. Through digitization you can increase access and awareness of your unique collections, from fragile photographs to microfilm. The electronic versions act as surrogates, reducing handling of the originals, and can be used to preserve your valuable, tangible materials.
As digital technology becomes more ubiquitous in daily life it can be easy to forget that it was not always there. On library discussion lists such as Publibs, librarians often share head-scratching requests: people looking for film of Lincoln’s assassination, photographs of George Washington or Jesus.2 Technologies such as photography and film have existed for so long that people can forget that they have not always existed. Don’t be surprised when a patron asks for a digital copy of a World War II document with the expectation that it should have been originally created in an electronic format. These types of interactions will only increase over time. The Mindset List, published by Beloit College each year, provides insights into the experiences that have shaped incoming college freshmen. The class of 2015 has always had Internet access. The class of 2016 has always lived in cyberspace and prefers digital cameras, and the class of 2017 has always had access to the Global Positioning System (GPS). Soon there will be college freshmen who have always had access to e-books.
As more people are born into a world where most information is created digitally, the expectation for all library collections to be available electronically will continue to grow and users will expect that content to be available in a variety of formats and on multiple devices. The number of people with Internet access in the United States has increased significantly over the last ten years. In 2013 the U.S. Census estimated that 83.8 percent of households had a computer, and 73.4 percent had Internet access. In 2013 the Federal Communications Commission reported 86 million residential fixed-location Internet connections and 142 million mobile wireless service subscribers.3 More people are now able to access your library’s holdings from home or on a mobile device. Responding to the public’s interest in digital content, libraries have increased the number of databases in their collections. Libraries are meeting the growing demand for electronic materials with historic newspaper databases, genealogy resources, and e-books.4
The desire to access materials online is part of a trend in libraries toward digital inclusion and providing a range of digital content and access options. Digital inclusion is described as having three to four aspects. A Pew Research Study looked at access, adoption, and application while the Digital Inclusion survey considered public access, digital content, digital literacy, and domain-specific services and programs.5 According to the 2013 Digital Inclusion Survey, 100 percent of libraries offer public Internet access, 98 percent offer some form of technology training, and 62 percent report that they are the only source of free Internet access in their community.6 Public libraries strive to meet the technology needs of their users, and as more people become accustomed to accessing e-books and online articles they will expect to find other library materials online as well. It is a good strategy to engage users by including digital versions of a library’s unique holdings in addition to the latest best sellers or magazines.
Digital access redefines a library community from geographically-based to interest-based. Individuals who no longer live in their hometown are able to access digital versions of their high school yearbooks. People who have never lived near your library can find your collections online and even volunteer or donate relevant materials. Researchers, historians, and school children from all around the world will be able to find and use your library’s digitized collections. Users are already looking for information from their local and state governments. A Pew survey found that 35 percent of Internet users have used the Internet to research official government documents or statistics.7 Town reports, vital statistics, planning documents, committee minutes, and more can be made available through the library’s digital collections.
Online access can increase interest in your collections and the use of the tangible materials by increasing discovery and awareness of your holdings. According to librarian Julie Warren, images from the collection at Georgetown County Library have been used by ABC Nightly News and PBS for news programs and Antiques Roadshow. Library users value the ability to access digital collections and consider digitization to be an important service. Madison Library in New Hampshire surveyed the town to learn how the community ranked library services, including their digitization efforts. According to former director Mary Cronin, the results revealed that 78 percent of people felt it was important or very important for the library to continue to add to its digital collections. Online collections allow libraries to reach users outside of the physical library building and to meet user expectations for digital resources. Once a collection is online it is set free; it is available around the world at any time.
Preservation of original materials is another reason to digitize. Over time scrapbooks, photographs, audio, video, and other items can start to degrade. In some cases (consider deteriorating audiocassettes) digitization can prevent a total loss of content. For items such as photographs, digitization and subsequent digital restoration can help you make high-quality items available to your users without altering the original material. Some materials are more likely to be damaged by repeated physical use, such as brittle newspapers or yearbooks that have had photographs removed by former students. Digitization allows the materials to be used without the wear and tear of handling.
If you are digitizing purely for access, ask yourself what will happen if you lose your file. Will you be willing to re-create all the work? Will you still have access to the originals and will they be in a condition suitable for rescanning? Even if you are not considering using digitization to ensure continued access to material, you should consider best practices to protect the investment of time and money that goes into creating a digital collection. If you are concerned about keeping your collection available for future generations, there are resources which can guide your process.
Synopsis
The three main reasons why you should digitize are:
▪ Expectation: As more information becomes available electronically, your users will expect your unique collections to be available digitally.
▪ Access: Making your collections available online increases access within and outside of your community.
▪ Preservation: Some media like newspapers, photographs, and cassette tapes are already in a state of deterioration. Digitization can help preserve the content of these media for the future.
NOTES
1. Deanne W. Swan et al., Public Libraries in the United States Survey: Fiscal Year 2011 (Washington, DC: Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2014), 8, www.imls.gov/assets/1/workflow_staging/AssetManager/4487.PDF.
2. Robert Balliot, “Library One-Liners,” in The Best of Publib (blog), April 27, 2013, https://bestofpublib.wordpress.com/2013/05/26/library-one-liners.
3. Federal Communications Commission, Internet Access Services: Status as of June 30, 2013: Industry Analysis and Technology Division Wireline Competition Bureau. Federal Communications Commission, June 2014 (Washington, DC), www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-releases-new-data-internet-access-services-1.
4. Katherine Zickuhr, Lee Rainie, and Kristen Purcell, “Library Services in the Digital Age,” Pew Research Center, January 22, 2013, http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2013/01/22/library-services/.
5. “What Is Digital Inclusion?” Digital Inclusion Survey, http://digitalinclusion.umd.edu/content/what-digital-inclusion. John Carlo Bertot et al., “2013 Digital Inclusion Survey: Survey Findings and Results Executive Summary,” Information Policy & Access Center, July 21, 2014, http://digitalinclusion.umd.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/2013DigitalInclusionExecutiveSummary.pdf.
6. Bertot et al., “2013 Digital Inclusion Survey.”
7. Aaron Smith, “Government Online: The Internet Gives Citizens New Paths to Government Services and Information,” Pew Internet & American Life Project, April 27, 2010, www.pewinternet.org/files/old-media//Files/Reports/2010/PIP_Government_Online_2010_with_topline.pdf.