National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
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Digitizing Historical Records Projects

Frequently Asked Questions

How can we demonstrate that the project materials are nationally significant?

In general, remember that you will need to convince reviewers with varying historical knowledge of the significance of this material. Do not assume that because an event or debate is familiar to you that it will be familiar to others. Three approaches that you might want to consider are:

  1. Demonstrate that the materials or equivalent ones have been used in studies with a national audience. Try to provide specific citations to books, articles, web sites, or other publications.
  2. Demonstrate the connections between the materials and significant fields of study in American history. Be as specific as possible about how the materials document important events, trends, and fields. Indicate how they will be useful in ongoing debates or research.
  3. Demonstrate the uniqueness of the items in documenting aspects of American history that need more source materials to allow the public, including scholars, to understand the past. Explain why there are few other similar sources available.

Where can I find best practices for the digitizing of historical materials?

Here are some suggested resources. There are many other groups that also provide guidelines. Your own institution may have already developed standards, or you may consult with a vendor to develop your specifications.

In your proposal, it is important to explain why you picked particular standards and your experience with them. In addition, reviewers will want you to specify how you will apply to these standards to the specific types of materials you have. Explain, for example, how will you handle photographs, oversized materials, nitrate negatives, fragile materials or whatever kinds of documents apply to your project. Remember that if your project focuses on audiovisual materials and has complex permission issues, you may want to apply for funding in the NHPRC's Processing: Detailed Project category since those projects allow reformatting for preservation rather than access purposes.

Guidelines for Digitizing Manuscripts and Photos

Guidelines for Digitizing Audio Materials

Guidelines for Preserving and Digitizing Film

Guidelines for Preserving and Digitizing Videos

Does the Commission have a preference for outsourced digitizing, as compared to digitizing in-house

No. However, your proposal should explain your rationale in making this decision. Primary considerations may include total costs, schedule, logistics, your existing capacity to do the work in-house, and other considerations.

Do you have examples of the results of previously-funded projects?

In Fall 2006, the NHPRC funded three projects that applied under a similar announcement. Each of these projects has a web site, but none of them have completed the linking of digitized materials to finding aids.

  • The Aldo Leopold Foundation and the University of Wisconsin have started releasing scanned materials. Select Browse the Collection (http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/AldoLeopold/) to see what is available online. They will be adding materials as the scanning and quality control is completed. There are also links from the finding aid on the same page.

  • Troup County (Georgia) has project materials and reports at: Troup County Court Records Scanning Project (http://www.troupscanning.blogspot.com/).

  • The Archives of Michigan has materials at their partner's web site (the University of Michigan Digital Library): Online Finding Aids (http://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/archivemi/).

In addition, thanks to funding from the Terra Foundation for American Art, the Archives of American Art have been engaging in the practice of digitizing entire collections or series and has many examples of the results. Browse the Collections Online (http://www.aaa.si.edu/collectionsonline/).

We wish to digitize collections processed under a previous NHPRC-funded grant project. Is this collection eligible for a new grant?

Yes. Such collections are eligible to apply and compete for a new NHPRC grant.

We wish to submit a draft for review by NHPRC program staff. How should we do this?

Send as complete a draft as possible by e-mail to lucy.barber@nara.gov by April 1, 2009. You may attach the Grants.gov package or send individual documents. Drafts are easier to evaluate if they contain clear descriptions of the materials to be digitized as well as rough figures about project costs. Program staff will reply as promptly as possible to the drafts.

We have number of great collections, but they are all relatively small. Can we propose digitizing more than one collection?

Yes. The collections should be related, however, so that outreach plans can target similar audiences. You must ensure that you have enough materials to reach a cost-effective solution, and that the collections are nationally significant. If you think the cost of the entire project will be less than $40,000 (i.e. a grant request of $20,000), you should probably consider a different source of funding.

We have a great collection, but we do not think every series needs to be digitized. Can we select the most used or most important?

Yes. Explain why you are selecting the records and justify it with reference to usage records, fields of studies, or practical concerns (such as copyright issues or the cost of digitizing certain formats). However, within a series, all materials should be digitized. In addition, the materials that you will digitize must already have sufficient descriptive information at the series, folder or item level to be useful to researchers. Remember, you cannot use grant funds to create descriptive information as part of these projects.

Does every item need to be digitized. Can we exclude certain items that we do not think are interesting or valuable?

In general, no. The NHPRC is interested in supporting projects that provide researchers on the internet with access to the same materials that researchers at your facility would use. Excluding items requires you to edit the existing metadata and suggests that the collection requires further appraisal. Both issues are likely to raise serious concerns for reviewers and the Commission.

We have already digitized a few items from the collection for exhibits or other purposes. Can we apply to digitize the entire collection now?

Yes, especially in the number of digitized items is small in comparison to the size of the whole collection. Most likely, it will be more cost-efficient to simply re-scan the materials in their original order as part of the project rather than try to incorporate the earlier scans into the workflow.

The announcement requires that funded-project maintain public web site describing the process of digitizing the materials as well as an access point for the digitized materials. Are there any further requirements about these sites, such as they must be built with open-source tools or be located in the same web site?

No. The NHPRC expects applicants to explain what software and hardware they will use for these web sites and to justify those choices, but there are no preconceived notions of what is the best method.

We plan to work with another repository or vendor which has more expertise in digitizing or digital presentations. Is this permissible?

Absolutely. Partnerships are often an essential part of these projects. Provide sufficient information about the process of selecting the partner and their expertise so that reviewers and the Commission can understand the choice. Selection of vendors should be based on your institutions' normal practices and involve comparative bids when possible.

There are several smaller repositories in my area that would like to work together on a digitizing project. Can we propose such a project?

It depends. Such a project might involve more training and developing of effective processes that would take away from the goal of cost-effective digitization of entire collections. Depending on the scale of the project, it might be a more effective proposal in the NHPRC's Strategies and Tools category or as a state-based initiative in the State and National Archival Partnership Grants.

The descriptive information for our materials is not in an EAD finding aid. Instead, it is a hard-copy finding aid, a word processing document, or a database. Can we apply?

Yes, but you will have to include reformatting of the finding aid into EAD in your project costs. If possible, you may want to do the reformatting before the start of the proposed grant period.

You may also make the case that an EAD finding aid is not an effective access tool for your materials. However, in order to link the digitized images with the existing descriptive information, you will need to have it in a structured format. The reformatting process should be routine and not result in rewriting of the descriptive material.

The finding aid for our collection does not include enough descriptive information. Can we update it as part of this project?

No. You will have to find other resources for such a project.

Many of the materials in our collection are typewritten. Can we use optical character recognition (OCR) software to create rough transcripts of these materials?

Yes, but there should be little effort involved in the creation of these rough versions. The use of the software and the attaching of the rough versions to your scans of the original should be a simple step in your workflow. The OCR results should not be proofread or compared to the original. Remember, in general, the Commission does not fund the creation of transcripts of archival materials.

Our collection is largely unprocessed. Can we receive funds to digitize this material as part of a larger project to arrange and describe it?

No. Institutions must have basic intellectual control over the collections the wish to digitize prior to applying for this grant. Applicants in this situation may wish to consider the Archives - Basic Processing grant (http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/announcement/basic.html).

We have a collection of published materials that is rare and that we know researchers would like to access on the web. Can we apply?

The NHPRC does not support projects that "catalog, acquire, or preserve books, periodicals, or other library materials." We do not award grants for collections of published materials, and you may wish to seek funding through the National Endowment for the Humanities, Institute of Museum and Library Services, or other funding sources, depending upon the nature of your collection.

How do we demonstrate in our application that we "have the permission of all relevant copyright holders, where possible?"

Explain the dates and possible copyright issues relating to the materials. If the materials are likely to be covered by copyright, explain your contact with the copyright holders and why that gives you confidence that the materials can be posted online for public use. If there are agreements that specify the arrangements, include them in the supplemental materials.

The announcement emphasizes the need for cost-effective approaches. How will the Commission evaluate this standard?

The Commission is aware that costs for digitizing will vary depending on the collection and its condition. In the application, provide enough details so that reviewers and the Commission can evaluate the per-item cost for the project. While these considerations differ from collection to collection, a total cost of $1 - $2 per page is feasible in many cases. For large-format items and photographs, per-item costs may be higher, but the focus should be on access rather the preservation or reproduction-quality reformatting. Remember the work plan needs to present the costs for each stage of the project.

Can you provide us with a sample proposal?

Yes, please e-mail Lucy Barber at lucy.barber@nara.gov with a few details about the type of project you are planning. We have several scanned proposals that we can send to you.

My state does not have an active State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB). Can my institution apply for this grant?

Yes. If your institution is part of the state government, however, the NHPRC cannot award money to your institution until your SHRAB is reinstated.

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