Kate Boyd Digital Initiatives Coordinator University of South Carolina ASERL Meeting November 19 th, 2014 Reasons to Digitize Special Collections

Internet Use Today ?

American Research Libraries are changing in a digital world Reference Circulation ILL Cataloging Special Collections??? How are Special Collections changing in a digital world? What is the roll of modern American Research Libraries special collections? Are your special collections as well organized and available as your general collections?

Why Digitize - For the Patrons? 24 hour access from anywhere in the world New resources for the classroom More access points through full text searching New connections to other collections – SCDL and DPLA No more microfilm readers

For the Library? New patrons from around the world and all ages (k-12 = future users) Better access to materials, including AV New Promotional materials Faculty and students working on new projects with your materials Some physical collection preservation Additional cataloging and organizing for repurposing metadata Funding opportunities for accessibility Should every library digitize their collections? What are the costs?

For the Donors? More access and use of the collections they donate Ability to give them a copy of their originals Naming opportunities with online collections

More Questions Can we share assessments and publicity strategies? Can we share usage statistics and usage in general? Can we share storage needs? Digital preservation?