LofT Committees - 2001

University of Virginia Library
Digital Content Production and Standards Planning Team

1. Background

As the Library adds digital formats to its collections, the same level of quality control needs to be applied to the creation of digital works as the Library has in place for traditional formats. Many of the Library's original formats will be converted to digital form for wider user access, but initial content production, delivery, and archive standards must be developed to ensure access to digital works over time much in the same way the Library preserves traditional formats. However, the impermanent nature of digital media and technologies requires new approaches. The Library of Tomorrow's success in delivering digitial content is dependent on the application of consistent, but flexible, standards throughout the digitization chain and on the consideration of the full life-cycle of the data resource.

2. Charge

The Digital Content Production and Standards Planning Team will study the process by which the Library creates digital content and will make recommendations on policies and processes to enhance the creation of digital content. The underlying principle is integration of digital content, whether purchased or non-purchased, into the UVA Library collections for uniform delivery to users.

The team will:

• Identify all creation activities of permanent digital content under the auspices of the University of Virginia Library and identify any digital files not created under the University Library's auspices such as electronic theses and dissertations and files created for information communities for which the Library of Tomorrow will have delivery, access, and archive responsibility.
• Recommend digital content file format creation standards for all originals regardless of format. Include all acceptable conversion and archive file formats for each type of creation file.
• Determine best archive strategy for each file format and project associated hardware and software costs.
• Recommend an implementation process for integrating standards into mainstream library practices and procedures and suggest any necessary changes in current policies or new policy development.
• Prepare an implementation plan that addresses technical, educational (staff and user), workflow, resource, and staffing implications.

3. Leader

Lynda Clendenning

4. Members

• Adam Soroka
• Annette Stalnaker
• Felicia Johnson
• Jennifer Gunter
• Mary Prendergast
• Michael Tuite
• Perry Roland
• Sachiko Iwabuchi
• Vicki Coleman
• Wei Wang