Digitization and preservation in public libraries and archives

This article examines the relationship between access and preservation in digitization projects conducted by public libraries and archives in the UK. The main issues discussed are the impact of selection on access, the preservation of original material and digital objects, and the financial issues surrounding digitization projects. The article does not deal with the technical aspects of digitization. A questionnaire survey was conducted of 20 UK public libraries and archives to determine their experiences related to the above issues. It was found that few digitization projects realized their full potential in terms of preserving original material, and so little has been done to ensure the preservation of the digitized material. Although access is significantly increased, the range of material that has been digitized is very narrow and is driven largely by copyright restrictions rather than user demand. The survey also highlighted the disparity between funding for access to a very small portion of library holdings through digitization, and the funding of traditional preservation for the remainder of collections.