88 · Representative Documents: Digital Project Selection Criteria
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Selection Criteria for Digital Library Projects
Selection Criteria, page 2
Copyright: Copyright-­‐free materials or materials for which Northwestern holds the copyright are
clearly at an advantage for inclusion into our digitization program. Copyrighted material can
sometimes be licensed for digital projects, but frequently at great expense or with unacceptable
restrictions. Project proposals must address copyright concerns. Digital Collections staff and the
Director of the Center for Scholarly Communication and Digital Curation can provide prospective
proposers with initial advice on addressing these concerns.
Experts: Digital library projects can gain by incorporating the expertise of Northwestern faculty,
library staff, or advanced students. At the same time, expertise can and often must be brought in
from elsewhere. We may require the use of outside consultants, especially for large and complex
projects.
Preservation and Access: Preservation-­‐based digital reformatting projects for books, documents,
audio, images, and other library materials can form the basis of exciting digital library projects.
Digitizing collections can enhance access, both locally and universally, to rare, fragile, and
endangered library collections. In this way, digitizing collections becomes an important tool to
achieve both preservation and access goals.
Special Opportunity: A particular project may have greater appeal if it is matched with a special
occasion (anniversary, university program, etc.) or if there is a special funding opportunity.
Summary
Even the best proposals can founder if certain formal requirements are not met. These begin with
copyright concerns, but include careful checking for duplication of efforts being undertaken
elsewhere. Workload within affected departments can also enhance or detract from the desirability
of a project proposal. These and other possible operational issues should be addressed all along the
proposal review process, preferably prior to approving and embarking on a project. Digital
Collections staff will work with prospective proposers to identify and, if possible, remove possible
roadblocks to project realization.
Digital Projects Subcommittee, Northwestern University Library, ver. November 1, 2009
Revised: October 31, 2012 (JBP)
Revised: November 28, 2012 (JBP)
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