Ready to Read: The Digital Decisive Moment—Transformative Digitization Practices

I am pleased to announce that my new book, The Digital Decisive Moment: Transformative Digitization Practices, is now available from Lucidea Press. 

Archivists have entered the digital decisive moment, where digitized and born-digital images have substantially departed from the legacy of analog materials. As with primary sources themselves, archival management begins with understanding context. There is no right way to manage collections, only best practices that inform decisions on collections, resources, requirements, and infrastructure.

The Digital Decisive Moment: Transformative Digitization Practices provides a foundation related to digitizing historical materials. It intends to be a reference for institutions converting resources to digital form while maintaining both analog and digital collections. The book advocates integrated initiatives, from selection to access to preservation, emphasizing the intersection of objectives and applications. Readers will learn to define their project needs, evaluate their options, and manage the digitization process.

Chapters are: 

• Why Digitize?
• Digital Image Fundamentals
• Selection
• Digitization
• Description
• Access

I have also included Appendices covering Digitization Considerations (e.g., questions to explore before commencing a digitization initiative), a Glossary, and Further Readings.

Managing archival collections and digitizing holdings requires decision-making to apply limited resources toward maximum usability and accessibility for years to come. Each institution must strategize to serve its own unique needs. However, understanding the rudiments of digitization may make management easier for archivists charged with preserving heritage. I hope this book will inspire archivists embarking on digitization projects, while sharing proven practices and offering guidance.

The print version is available for purchase at Amazon.com, but you can get a free PDF copy courtesy of Lucidea, here.