Digitizing Your Collection on a Budget

What's wrong with just scanning or photographing the item as is? All cameras and scanners are the same, aren't they? Why should I follow guidelines? Does the distinction between photographing an item in your collection and digitizing materials at an archival standard confuse you? Do you only have a basic flatbed office scanner? Then join MAM for a day of learning about digitization at the Osher Map Library - one of Maine’s leading sources of high-quality digital images!

Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiatives (FADGI) is a set of federal guidelines for best practices intended for government agencies, as well as museums, libraries, archives, and historical societies, for digitizing materials that meets consistent imaging/scanning metrics, accessibility and long-term storage for both digitized and born digital materials.

This workshop is designed for smaller institutions with little to no resources to help achieve a high quality of digitization with a basic flat-bed scanner. We will go over the basic steps, cost effective color charts, and software that can help achieve minimal FADGI compliance. Explanation of the development of FADGI guidelines and the FADGI scale will also be provided.

This is not a one-size-fits-all solution but by adopting FADGI guidelines not only will this help ensure qualified consistency for your images but create incentives for potential grants to further investments in better digitization projects and potential equipment.

Additionally, participants will get to tour the Osher Map Library and see their world class imaging facilities. 

Lunch and discounted on-campus parking will be provided.  

MAM members receive a discount on registration for this event. Not a member yet? Join here.