United States Copyright Office (www.copyright.gov)
The United States Copyright Office has a database of registered and renewed works created after 1978.
Catalog of Copyright Entries (http://archive.org/details/copyrightrecords)
Useful for researching the rights holder for an item created prior to 1978. Currently the Internet Archive has volumes going back to 1891.
ASCAP and BMI (https://www.ascap.com/Home/ace-title-search/index.aspx) and (http://repertoire.bmi.com/artistSearch.asp)
These two organizations are related to composers and musicians. Both are collective licensing organizations where you can contact one or the other to seek permission—or a license—to use a musical score.
Recording Industry Association of America (www.riaa.com/) and Harry Fox Agency (https://www.harryfox.com)
The two organizations listed above can be helpful for locating the rights holders of a sound recording.
Copyright Clearance Center (www.copyright.com)
The Copyright Clearance Center is another collective licensing organization that works mainly with book and journal article content. If the copyright holder works with CCC it will be relatively easy to request a license to use the work.
Artists’ Rights Society (www.arsny.com/) and Visual Artists and Galleries Association (http://vagarights.com)
These two organizations are the main collective licensing organizations for visual artists.
Well-Intentioned Practice for Putting Digitized Collections of Unpublished Materials Online (www.oclc.org/content/dam/research/activities/rights/practice.pdf)
This guide provides helpful suggestions for determining the copyright for unpublished, archival materials.
Association for Library Collections and Technical Services: Minimum Digitization Capture Recommendations, 2013. (www.ala.org/alcts/resources/preserv/minimum-digitization-capture-recommendations)
A good, basic guide for those considering a digitization project. Covers different formats, scanning quality, metadata, storage, file-naming protocols.
Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) (www.digitizationguidelines.gov)
Blogs, news, and resources make this site a great place to start for both guidelines and information related to specific issues including equipment, preservation of audio materials, and comparisons of file formats.
Library of Congress: Building Digital Collections: Technical Information about American Memory Collections. (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/techdocs/digcols.html)
Protocols for Native American Archival Materials. (www2.nau.edu/libnap-p/protocols.html)
The Protocols were written for librarians and archivists and has information on rights, culturally sensitive information, access and treatment of Native American materials. This is a good resource for those with collections containing materials relating to Native American peoples.
“Selecting Materials for Digitization,” North Carolina Digital Heritage Center. (www.digitalnc.org/about/participate/select)
This website contains good advice on selecting materials for digitization and provides links to example collections.
State Digital Resources: Memory Projects, Online Encyclopedias, Historical & Cultural Materials Collections. (https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/statememory)
A list of digital collections compiled by the Library of Congress. Contents are arranged by state. A good resource for finding possible partners, finding example collections, or verifying the uniqueness of your own collection before starting a project.
Library of Congress National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). (www.loc.gov/ndnp)
This site provides a listing of organizations which have received awards as part of the NDNP. Many of these organization may offer support for public libraries. The site includes a link to Chronicling America, an extensive collection of digitized newspapers.
IMLS. (www.imls.gov)
A source for information on available grants for libraries and museums. Deadlines, detailed requirements for those seeking grants, and times for webinars are provided.
Grants to State Library Administrative Agencies. IMLS. (www.imls.gov/programs)
Provides information on the state administrative agencies that provide LSTA funding.
Foundation Center Directory.(http://foundationcenter.org/fin/index.html)
The Foundation Directory is a searchable database designed to help people find grants. A network of libraries around the county provides access to this database and to print resources.
Northeast Document Conservation Center (NDCC). (https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/digital-preservation)
This NDCC site contains guides, policy templates, planning tools, questionnaires, and information on training resources for those involved in digital preservation.
Library of Congress Digital Preservation Resources. (www.digitalpreservation.gov/about/resources.html)
Some sections of this site are no longer being maintained, but information on preservation is available at basic to advanced levels. A great source for guides, standards, best practices, and tools.
Tony Gill, Anne J. Gilliland, Maureen Whalen, and Mary S. Woodley, ed. Murtha Baca, Introduction to Metadata. Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute, 2008. www.getty.edu/research/publications/electronic_publications/intrometadata.
“An online publication devoted to metadata, its types and uses, and how it can improve access to digital resources.”
National Information Standards Organization (U.S.), (2007). A Framework of Guidance for Building Good Digital Collections: A NISO Recommended Practice. Baltimore, MD: National Information Standards Organization, 2007. www.niso.org/publications/rp/framework3.pdf.
This framework provides an overview for creating digital collections, identifies resources and practices, and encourages community participation in further development of best practices.
Anne R. Kenney, Oya Rieger, and Research Libraries Group, Moving Theory into Practice: Digital Imaging for Libraries and Archives. Mountain View, CA: Research Libraries Group tutorial, 2000. https://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/tutorial.
“This tutorial offers base-level information on the use of digital imaging to convert and make accessible cultural heritage materials.”
“Sustainability of Digital Formats,” Library of Congress website. (www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats)
A growing compilation of information on digital content formats and a great resource for determining the best file format for your project.
Digital POWRR project. (http://digitalpowrr.niu.edu)
Preserving Digital Objects with Restricted Resources (POWRR) provides workshops, papers, recommendations, and links to other resources.