Digitization at UVic Libraries
Digitization at UVic Libraries
When we are scanning, things generally go pretty smoothly but once in a while, they don’t. Whether the imperfections are part of the object in-hand or are introduced by human or equipment error, the results can still be interesting.
While the majority of the material we digitize is in English, a significant number of items are not. The language used makes no difference in the image capturing and editing stages but it may require different decisions to direct the rest of the process. A translation can offer much greater access to a resource, it may also mean coordinating with scholars or language experts outside the library.
The Anarchist Archive contains plenty of guides and instructions on various forms of protest, from the most civil to the most disruptive. While the distribution of this information may be controversial, it offers considerable value to scholars.
What is it like to handle so many historical documents and artifacts? It’s a privilege and while I do sometimes discount the “newer” old items I handle, there are always things that take me by surprise.
One of our bigger projects was the conversion of hundreds of Graduate and Doctoral theses and dissertations. We subcontracted a portion of the backlog and did the rest in-house.
Learn more about one of our earliest digital collections: Victoria’s Early History which is made up of a little bit of everything from all corners of our Libraries holdings.