DLPS Text Digitizing Services

for Selectors, Special Collections, RMDS, Preservation, and Patrons

Digital Library Production Services provides text digitizing services for the Library for the purpose of collection-building. We ask that you observe the following parameters when making your request:

Keyboarding Services

Should be in English or other non-Cyrillic European languages
Should have been published in 18th-21st century or have a common, easily-readable typeface
Should be of one of the following genres: Prose, poetry, plays, dictionaries, encyclopedias, letters, diaries.
Texts will first have page images created by DLPS, and are therefore also subject to all parameters under Page Imaging Services.
Further, the page images created (bitonal or color) will be available alongside the searchable text in the Digital Library delivery interface.
Manuscripts, if handwritten, must be transcribed before DLPS can accept them.
Few special characters in the texts can be examined or fixed.
Texts, when finished, will parse against the DLPS DTD.

Page Imaging Services

Book bindings must be able to be opened to at least 120° (to be scanned on DLPS equipment). Further, Special Collections material will be scanned in DLPS at the discretion of the Head of Collections Services. If request is denied, other arrangements may be possible through Rare Materials Digitizing Service (RMDS).
600dpi bitonal TIFF page images with 600dpi color TIFF figure images will be created for selector and patron requests.
600dpi color or greyscale TIFF page images will be created for Special Collections, RMDS, and Preservation materials.
Color and greyscale TIFFs will have standard jpeg derivatives created for use in the Digital Library delivery interface.
Color and greyscale page images may or may not have searchable text in the Digital Library delivery interface.
Bitonal page images will always have searchable text in the Digital Library delivery interface.
Only whole books or typed manuscripts will be digitized; no sections, parts, or articles.
A VIRGO or OCLC record for the text must exist (for TEI header creation).

Additional Parameters for Digitizing Out-of-Print Texts Published After 1923 (texts not in the public domain)

Permission to digitize an out-of-print text may be granted by the publisher. A requestor should write to the publisher (sample letter provided) to request permission to digitize. If no response is received after 4 weeks, the requestor should follow up with a second letter to the publisher indicating the assumption that permission is granted, after which DLPS will proceed with digitizing.
If the text is out of print, AND the publisher is out of business, AND the author is deceased, DLPS will proceed with digitizing.
The requestor must be willing to do all research and provide all required documentation to DLPS before digitization can begin.
Unless universal access is expressly granted by the publisher, all texts published after 1923 and digitized by DLPS will be restricted to on-Grounds use.

General Guidelines

All requests will be queued; DLPS cannot accommodate Rush Requests.
All texts must be approved by the Library selector for that subject area.
DLPS does prep for delivery via the standard Digital Library text interface; no tailored services are available.
The Electronic Text Center may be able to provide specialized services such as enhanced markup or the building of new tools and interfaces, but should be contacted separately.
All works will be made available to at least the UVA community, but preferably without any access restrictions.
The Library will archive the text and make the content available as long as is reasonably possible, providing the text can be migrated to new technologies as necessary. Migration may affect the look, feel, and functionality of the text.
Copies of all text and image files will be burned to CD or DVD for requestors (if desired).

Exceptions will be made at the discretion of the Director of Digital Library Production Services.

DLPS is located on the first floor of Alderman Library. DLPS does not accommodate direct-to-user digitizing services; DLPS only provides central digitizing services for the Library.

Review an updated list of our Completed and In-Progress Texts