Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Phase 2 of its Digitisation Programme, which ran from 2007 to 2009,
learned from many of the mistakes of the past.
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Whereas earlier
programmes had given projects funding and then left them to get on
with it, JISC provided much more strategic direction, and funding was
conditional on teams addressing each aspect of the digital life cycle.
Thus, JISC insisted that each project have sustainability plans in place
so as to ensure longevity in the created resources; that each project
undertake user analysis and implement marketing and communication
plans; and, more generally, that each project be part of a larger
digitization community that could share with, advise and learn from the
others. The result has been a compelling set of digital resources that
seem to be providing a much more systematic return on the initial
funding. Time will tell if this approach actually delivers the benefits it
aims for. Despite the successes of Phase 2, the economic circumstances
of 2009 have meant that there has been no Phase 3 to the Programme;
however, JISC has continued its support in the area, providing funding
for projects to enhance its existing content or develop the necessary
infrastructure for institutions to undertake their own digitization.
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Whatever the long-term success or failure of the JISC programme, it
is clear that digitization involving public-sector funds requires a far
greater degree of high-level strategic implementation than has
previously been present. An article in the
Guardian
looking at
digitization in the broader context of all content on the internet
summarized it nicely with the headline 'Why a Wild West approach
just won't do'.
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Measures towards sustainability
There are encouraging signs, however, that the complexity of the
digitization jigsaw is being considered and pieced together, both in the
UK and abroad. The report
Shifting Gears
, produced by the American
library service OCLC, alerted the library and information world to the
need for changed thinking in the area, pushing forward a provocative
series of ideas that challenged previous practice (Erway and Schaffner,
2007). In the southern hemisphere, interesting work in both Australia
and New Zealand is taking these agendas forward. In particular, the
Digital NZ initiative is providing a strategic focus for all kinds of digital
content within New Zealand.
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And EU funding has also been directed
