Digital Imaging for Archival Preservation and Online Presentation: Best Practices

Executive Summary The following information aims to provide a general overview of digital imaging, specifically the presentation of visual images on the World Wide Web and the digital conversion of records for the purposes of Archival preservation. In terms of digital imaging for Libraries, Archives and Museums, web-access is obviously not the only major issue to be dealt with. The burgeoning field of digital preservation is becoming a vital area of expertise within these types of institutions. A central problem faced by those undertaking digitization projects has been lack of consistent or clear information regarding the best practices or standards for digital imaging. Nevertheless, recently institutions such as the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and working groups from the Colorado Digitization Project (CDP) and the California State Library (CSL) have suggested a series of recommendations for digitizing archival materials. This document has drawn from these sources in order to provide a condensed reference guide for those undertaking a digital imaging project.