About the Digital Program

564,470 items online

History

The Utah State Archives has provided scanned images of sample records and documents online since at least 1999. With the widespread increase of all types of information online, it was clear that a more comprehensive program was needed. Former Governor Michael Leavitt provided one impetus upon leaving office in 2003, with his strong ideas of making large portions of the records from his administration available online for public viewing.

Standards and Best Practices

The Archives believes in using nationally recognized standards and best practices for optimum quality, usability, and interoperability with other organizations and applications.

Documents are currently being created to reflect how the Archives has implemented these standards. In the meantime, some initial reference is provided.

NISO Framework for Building Good Digital Collections, 3^rd edition, http://www.niso.org/publications/rp/framework3.pdf
Handbook for Digital Projects: A Management Tool for Preservation and Access, http://www.nedcc.org/digital/dman.pdf
National Archives and Records Administration Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Archival Materials for Electronic Access: Creation of Production Master Files - Raster Images, http://archives.gov/preservation/technical/guidelines.html

Metadata

Mountain West Digital Library Metadata Guidelines, http://www.mwdl.org/public/mwdl/metadata_MWDL2006.pdf
Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Terms, http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Imaging

BCR Digital Imaging Best Practices 2.0, http://www.bcr.org/cdp/best/digital-imaging-bp.pdf
BCR Digital Audio Best Practices, http://www.bcr.org/cdp/best/digital-audio-bp.pdf

Equipment Used

It is often helpful to share what has worked and what has not.

For more information, contact:
Gina Strack, Digital Coordinator
(801) 531-3843
gmstrack@utah.gov

This page was last updated December 31, 2008.