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Digitizing Collections: Processing Files

A guide for digitizing collections for access and preservation.

Workflow

  1. Planning 
  2. Selection
  3. Digitizing materials
  4. Processing files, creating master and access files
  5. Metadata creation or re-purposing
  6. Digital preservation of master files
  7. Presentation of access files in an online content management platform

Processing Files Workflow

Processing files workflow

This workflow will depend on what you are using to digitize your items, what features the capture software does for you vs what you need to do after capture. Below is an example for digitizing using a copy stand and camera.

  • Load RAW camera files into Adobe Bridge
  • Batch rename files
  • Basic image exposure adjustments (if lighting is consistent this should be the same for all files)
  • Crop image files (do you want to include the color bar in the final image or crop to the edge of the item)
  • Saving master files and access files

 

Resources for Processing Files

Software

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.