System
1. Background and purpose of the project
Introduction.
The Manuscript Digitization Demonstration Project was sponsored by the Library of Congress Preservation Office in cooperation with the National Digital Library Program (NDLP). This report includes copies of sample images created during the project's Phase I, which extended through 1995.1 During 1996, Phase II of the project created a testbed of 10,000 images of manuscript items from the Federal Theatre Project collection in the Library's Music Division. These images are now online as a part of that collection; selected examples have been referenced and made accessible in later sections of this report.
Background. The Library of Congress is developing its capabilities for providing computerized access to its collections. In part, this means wrestling with practicalities of production and identifying and testing a broad range of tools and techniques. In part, it also means investigating the ramifications of digitization as it pertains to preservation, understood to include both the conservation of the original item and the conversion of originals through preservation reformatting.
Preservation reformatting refers to the copying of items as a safeguard against loss or damage, i.e., insurance that the world's heritage will be kept alive for future generations. Today, most preservation reformatting consists of microfilming, although other types of copies are also made. Two features are of special concern to those responsible for carrying out preservation reformatting: the faithfulness of the copy and its longevity. This demonstration project was concerned with the former, i.e., image quality. Other parallel projects are investigating longevity issues.2
The Library commissioned the Manuscript Digitization Demonstration Project because it believes that certain classes of manuscript documents lend themselves to the creation of digital copies that are faithful to the originals in a reasonably efficient manner. The
Introduction.
The Manuscript Digitization Demonstration Project was sponsored by the Library of Congress Preservation Office in cooperation with the National Digital Library Program (NDLP). This report includes copies of sample images created during the project's Phase I, which extended through 1995.1 During 1996, Phase II of the project created a testbed of 10,000 images of manuscript items from the Federal Theatre Project collection in the Library's Music Division. These images are now online as a part of that collection; selected examples have been referenced and made accessible in later sections of this report.
Background. The Library of Congress is developing its capabilities for providing computerized access to its collections. In part, this means wrestling with practicalities of production and identifying and testing a broad range of tools and techniques. In part, it also means investigating the ramifications of digitization as it pertains to preservation, understood to include both the conservation of the original item and the conversion of originals through preservation reformatting.
Preservation reformatting refers to the copying of items as a safeguard against loss or damage, i.e., insurance that the world's heritage will be kept alive for future generations. Today, most preservation reformatting consists of microfilming, although other types of copies are also made. Two features are of special concern to those responsible for carrying out preservation reformatting: the faithfulness of the copy and its longevity. This demonstration project was concerned with the former, i.e., image quality. Other parallel projects are investigating longevity issues.2
The Library commissioned the Manuscript Digitization Demonstration Project because it believes that certain classes of manuscript documents lend themselves to the creation of digital copies that are faithful to the originals in a reasonably efficient manner. The