When digitized, your archives can be used in innovative research methods.
Archivists not only preserve artifacts but also make them accessible—a difficult balance that digitalization can support. Digitizing makes documents and records accessible to the public while minimizing physical interaction. Furthermore, digitizing archives can help save space and money.
When your archives are digitized, they can be used in innovative ways:
- To preserve fragile and high-use materials
- To enable re-use in new contexts
- To allow full-text searching
- To regroup scattered collections
- To give access to material that may not be physically accessible
- To facilitate collaboration
To preserve fragile and high-use materials
Digitizing materials is not simple and requires expertise to find the perfect solution to the preservation and access equation. Sometimes, digitization is the best way to preserve fragile documents, provide access to materials without damaging them, and make them available for regular consultation. Documents that often require consultation can also benefit from data digitization. In these cases, digital surrogates could be printed or digitized so they can be used in place of the original document when damaged or fragile.
To enable re-use in new contexts
Let's say you have a collection of photographs. By digitizing them, you can make them available for publication. Historians and researchers might be interested in studying them. You could also use them on your website or social media platforms in a digital exhibit. Digitizing archival materials brings order and permits one to search the entire collection. Sometimes, the digitization process opens up an unexpected revenue stream for the archive.
To allow full-text searching
Anyone who has used a search engine knows that the ability to search for keywords or phrases is invaluable. This ability can also be a critical tool for researchers and students. Digitization sometimes uses OCR technology — optical Character Recognition — to make text searchable. This is usually best for published items like historical books, newspapers, and scientific papers. In these cases, data digitization makes the text more accessible than the physical copy, enabling researchers to analyze it with techniques such as text mining.
To regroup scattered collections
In an ideal situation, an institution would keep all the documents related to a case, family, individual, or another organization together. But this usually is not the case. Correspondence with various receivers and senders, emigration, family break-up, or business acquisition are some causes of scatter. Digitizing archival materials is an excellent solution for bringing these archives together in one place, creating more research environments and opportunities that physical documents couldn't provide.
To give access to material that may not be physically accessible
Digitization can provide access to material that may not be physically accessible, such as rare books or old documents. It also enables people to access community archives and records that were previously inaccessible because they were too remote or too expensive to procure. It is logical if a community, a family, or an institution wants to keep a vital part of their identity — such as their archives — close. But thinking about bringing access and data digitization is something we can do to ensure the availability of these files. So, it is about getting the material online and making sure it is available for those needing it.
To facilitate collaboration
The digitization process can be a collaborative strategy by itself, bringing together an ongoing effort that involves diverse factors. It connects researchers with the resources they need to make their work more efficient, making digitizing archival materials an interdisciplinary approach. Furthermore, researchers from different fields can collaborate to improve this process. Working together towards a common goal becomes much easier when everyone is on the same page. If you're looking for ways to make your archives more accessible and valuable, consider digitizing them. It's a great way to ensure they'll be preserved and used for years.