The Digitization of Historical Artifacts in a Hospital Library.

Creating digital archives for a hospital library can be a rewarding, but daunting task. Establishing a digital archive of historical artifacts is one way that libraries can add value to their institutions. This type of preservation can also bring together communities, increase the visibility of the library, and help library staff learn new skills (1–3). The decision to begin a digital archive is not one to take lightly. Librarians need to consider the guidelines they will use, the technology and equipment involved, intellectual property rights, who will maintain the collection, and what artifacts will go into the collection (Figure 1) (4–7).This article looks at a project taken on by the Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) Health Sciences and Resource Center Library and the technology used to create a digital archives collection (Figure 2) The library had limited funds and staff, but worked with others within and outside of the organization to create the online collection. The main piece of technology used was Omeka, which served as the backbone of the project, but other components, including funding, guidelines, software, and marketing, will be discussed. Figure 1 Hall School of Nursing student Figure 2 Hall School of Nursing librarian and students FUNDING The beginning of any project starts with funding. How will technology, equipment, and other items be purchased? Blais and Lamont stated that funding is a basic need for an archives (8). For many archival projects, items to be included in the collection should be owned by the library, either through direct ownership or donations. To digitize these items, libraries will need to purchase the technology and equipment or see if additional donations can be given to the library. The project for the NGHS Library involved having items donated from other departments and seeking funding through awards or grants from outside sources. The Media Services Department within the hospital donated a copy stand for the library to photograph over-sized items. Other departments brought in items that they wished to add to the digital collection (Figure 3). Additional funding was provided by the National Networks of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) Southeastern/Atlantic Region through the Express Library Digitization Award (9). There are many other funding opportunities available to libraries for digitization projects, including funding from other NN/LM Regional Medical Libraries, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Library Association. Figure 3 Page from 1960s Hall School of Nursing scrapbook GUIDELINES Another factor to consider is the guidelines you will use to create this online archival collection. The NGHS Library used guidelines from the Digital Library of Georgia, Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to guide their decisions and establish what practices would be best for their budget, time, and staff (10–12)). There are, of course, other guidelines to use and consider. Some are from professional organizations, while others are present in articles. Many articles discuss not only the digitization aspect of this type of project, but how to preserve the actual historical object (6, 13). In the article Digital Imaging and Conservation: Model Guidelines, Dean points out that every digital imaging project concerned with the capture of artifacts must involve the preservation of the digital image and the original artifact and, at the very least, digitization should do no harm to the original source document (13). When creating a digital archive will you need to conserve the original piece? Will you be able to store it? What equipment will you have or need to request to meet certain guidelines and standards? What education will staff need to receive? These are all questions that can be brought to your attention through reading different guidelines and best practices. It will also help determine which will be best for your library to abide by.