This resource, from Culture24, considers choosing which collections, sub-collections or items to digitise may mean considering significance, risk of deterioration, popularity or planned use for exhibitions or projects. Whatever criteria you decide to use, it is important to take a structured approach to prioritising digitisation.
Managing and documenting any formal assessment of your collections that follows a stated methodology.
The scope of such reviews might range from a few items to the whole collection. They might be carried out in-house, or involve working across museum networks, sometimes with the input of your local stakeholders or subject specialists.
This resource aims to help collecting organisations, collections professionals and the broader public to determine the significance of cultural and heritage objects.
Reviewing Significance 3.0 provides analytical tools to aid museums, archives and libraries of all sizes to assess the significance of their collection to assist in prioritising resource allocation and when seeking external funding or support.
This resource from the Victoria and Albert Museum explores how the museum tackled the need to structure ‘eclectic’ collections of 2.3 million objects on its website to make them easier for users to navigate and explore.
This resource from Tate shares experience gained over a five-year digitisation project funded by HLF and Tate. It includes a section on selecting archive material for digitisation and avoiding unintended consequences such as cultural bias.
This step-by-step guide covers all aspects of digitising collections – from planning your project, to purchasing equipment and choosing software.