Digital Collections Internal Policy
https://files.sciencehistory.org/navigate/file/af13f7e8-fae3-4de8-9c04-b1063ca28fc4
Mission and Purpose
The Science History Institute’s Digital Collections collect, manage, preserve, and increase access to the Institute’s born-digital and digitized Library, Archives, Museum, and Oral History collections. The Digital Collections support Institute audiences including researchers, educators, and the scientifically curious public. The Digital Collections enable collections staff to manage and preserve digital objects and facilitate public engagement through open access whenever possible.
Scope
The Digital Collections is an online collection containing digitized and born-digital works dedicated to the history of science, medicine, technology, and industry. The collection aims to broaden and challenge historical perspectives in the history of science and reveal how developments in these fields are embedded in our daily lives. The Digital Collections draw from the Museum, Library, Archives, and Center for Oral History department collections. The scope of the Digital Collections is therefore dependent on the Institute’s existing Collections Policy governing acquisitions. Of the available inventory, the Digital Collections actively seek to include works that meet one or more of the following conditions:
Demand for Access
Popular, significant, rare, or unique items that would benefit from digital access and improved discoverability through cross-collection search and browse. Materials supporting the research of current Institute fellows or those with restricted physical access due to fragility of the work or ability of the patron may be prioritized.
Need of Preservation
If the physical object is fragile or deteriorating, digitization may reduce handling of the physical object. Audio/Visual files need bit-level preservation or transfer from obsolete media.
Application for Outreach
Strategic digitization of materials which support the Institute’s educational outreach and public programming or promote collaboration with other institutions and individuals who share the Institute’s mission may be prioritized.
Opportunity for Innovation and Development
Digitization projects should increase the technical knowledge of collections and Digital Collections’ staff. Priority may be given to projects that encourage collaboration with, or raise our profile among, peer institutions.
Selection Criteria
Priority for digitization must also satisfy at least three of the following criteria, but should strive to fulfill as many of the following criteria as possible, when relevant:
Significance of the Materials
Works with intellectual, cultural, and/or monetary value.
Unheard Voices
Works created by or related to underrepresented populations.
High Demand
Works that are heavily used and/or digital surrogates are frequently requested.
Cataloging and Metadata
Works must be cataloged, and archival collections must be processed and described prior to digitization.
Complementary to Other Collections
The item relates to other items being digitized within a single division, across other Institute collections, or at external organizations with whom the Institute may collaborate.
Visually Captivating
Works including highly graphic or visually appealing imagery.
Non-Duplication Effort
Works that are not already freely available online.
Unless a new digitization would improve upon the quality of the existing image or metadata.
Funding Sources
Works or collections that fulfill a grant or donor request.
Only if the scope of the materials is consistent with the rest of the Institute’s Digital Collections policy.
Copyright Clearance
Works in the public domain or with clear rights clearance.
Works with dubious rights will be considered on a case-by-case basis, keeping in mind a larger commitment to providing access whenever possible.
Condition of Materials
Works that can physically withstand digitization and which would produce good images (i.e. not books with tight bindings.) Curators may consider digitization as a preservation mechanism for fragile items in need of conservation.
NOTE: Complete works, including cover-to-cover digitized books and entire archival folders, are preferred. Thoughtful sampling determined by the collection’s manager or curator is permitted if item-level metadata would benefit plates in books, or if the entire archival folder is not intellectually or visually significant or relevant to project-based selection criteria.
Excluded Items
Excluded items may be revisited later for inclusion if capacity increases and priorities shift, but the following materials currently fall outside the scope of the Institute’s Digital Collections:
Institutional records or educational materials created by the Institute that are not part of the Library, Archives, Museum, or Oral History collections (documentary videos, magazine materials, etc.)
Websites created by the Institute or others
Datasets created by the Institute, researchers, or others
Rights and Reproductions requests that do not meet other selection criteria
Digital assets of poor quality (file too small, unprofessional crop, etc.)
Items that only require short-term use and management or which were never intended for a public audience or long-term preservation
Unprocessed or uncatalogued physical materials
Division of Roles
Selection of items for inclusion in the Digital Collections will be made by the curator or collection manager of the appropriate physical collection and the Digital Collections Librarian.
The Digital Collections Librarian is responsible for maintaining the repository and for quality assurance of images.
Metadata will be pulled from existing collections management systems if possible. Additional metadata will be created by the department responsible for the physical item in conjunction with the Digital Collections Librarian, who is also responsible for metadata quality assurance.
Standards
The Institute’s Digital Collections support FADGI four star compliant high-resolution archival-quality images and A/V files for long-term preservation. All metadata in the Digital Collections are consistent with national conventions, controlled vocabularies, Linked Data authorities, and ISO standards as described in detail in the Metadata Guidelines. Any requests for deviation from the Metadata Guidelines must involve the Digital Collections Librarian.
Deaccessioning
Individual objects or entire collections may need to be deaccessioned for reasons of violation of copyright or copyright dispute, inaccurate data or facts, collection weeding, storage concerns, or because the material no longer supports the Institute’s audience or goals. These decisions will be made in conjunction with the Digital Collections Librarian, the curator of the appropriate physical collection, and the director of the appropriate division, and will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
NOTE: All revisions to this policy must be approved by the Digital Collections Committee, which includes representatives from each of the Institute’s major collecting units.