Institutions are often required to or voluntarily cover some of the costs associated with imaging projects, such as all or part of indirects. Cost-share is a real expense and should be calculated. Institutions typically support imaging projects out of other projects or programs. Under-reporting such contributions conveys a false sense of project costs. There is no consensus on what it costs to create digital image files, much less maintain them and make them accessible.
Some institutions provide cost figures, percentage breakdowns, and future estimates.
Note, however, that their cost assessments will differ. Specific costs must be calculated based on local conditions. RLG maintains a Worksheet for Estimating Digital Reformatting Costs that details various components to include in estimating budgets for image creation. See Additional Reading for reports and articles on costing.