This is the second article in our “Digitization 101” series, which aims to answer questions the archival team regularly receives about digitizing and providing online access to historical records. This month, we confront digitization’s reputation as the panacea for all historical records challenges.

Problems, problems, problems. We’ve all got them, and we’d all like realistic, achievable solutions that ideally require as little time, money, and effort as possible. Lay and ordained leaders of Disciples congregations and ministries frequently reach out to the Disciples of Christ Historical Society archivists for advice on their historical records problems, especially digitization. Many of our conversations begin at the same point: “We need to digitize our records, and we’re not sure how to get started.” 

Contrary to expectations, we do not immediately offer digitization instructions. The complexity of digitization demands that we take a step back and first clarify a fundamental question: why should these historical records be digitized? To ask the same question in the context of Disciples records and collections, what problem(s) will the digitization of these historical records solve for the congregation or ministry?

Rather than diving headfirst into digitization, we need precise answers to these questions and a well-defined project scope and workflow that serve specific needs. Without these answers and thoughtful planning, the digitization process and products soon become problems in their own right. Problems like…

• We bought a high-quality scanner, but scanning is taking longer than we expected. Will we be able to finish this project on deadline – or at all?
• Our volunteers didn’t use the same settings when scanning. As a result, we have a mix of PDFs, JPGs, and TIFFs. What’s the best file format, and how do we convert from one format to another?
• We surpassed our cloud storage capacity and now have to pay a monthly fee to store our scanned materials. Isn’t there a cheaper way to store them?
• We scanned all of our records. Now, how do we make them searchable and findable?

Additionally, when we examine the why behind the proposed digitization project, we sometimes find that digitization is not the only, or even the best, solution to a historical records problem. Below, we share the most common reasons Disciples organizations want to digitize their records and evaluate whether digitization is a good solution in each case.

Problem 1: We don’t know very much about our historical records or our history. We’d like to digitize our records to better understand our past and the contents of our archives.

We are always thrilled when congregations and ministries seek information about their origins and the records documenting them! A digitization project, however, is not the best solution to this problem. In fact, planning a digitization project without knowing the amount, condition, and context of the records to be digitized would be futile. What’s needed in this situation is a thorough inventory of the records compiled by someone curious about history and willing to report their findings to the congregation or ministry. In the future, a digitization project might arise from those findings.

Problem 2: We are celebrating a significant anniversary and getting our archives in order. We’d like to digitize selected records and photographs to make them more accessible to past and present congregational members by posting them on our website, publishing them in our new congregational history, and using them to create a digital slideshow for our anniversary banquet.

Digitization is a great way to improve access to historical records, and the images will be shared on existing platforms (the website) and technologies (presentation software). The intention to digitize “selected records and photographs” suggests that specific materials have been or will be chosen, and there is little danger of launching a large-scale digitization project that overwhelms the organization. Digitize away, and be sure to return the original materials to your archives.

Problem 3: We’re selling our building/renting out part of our building, and our archives take up a lot of space. We need to digitize our archives to continue stewarding our historical records.

Digitizing historical records when they cannot remain in their current location is tempting, but risky. Your digitization project will be one of many urgent, time-bound projects to complete as you clean up and vacate the space. Will you have the time and attention to plan and execute a successful digitization project? Probably not.

In this case, digitization translates a space problem into a records problem. When you digitize to free up space previously occupied by analog records storage, you commit your congregation or ministry to the care and management of digital records forever. If stewarding digital historical records becomes too complex or too expensive for your organization, there are very few exit strategies that do not result in the loss of historical records. Instead of digitizing, we suggest donating historical records to an appropriate historical society or archive — it could be us or your local historical society, depending on the records. If ongoing access to the historical records is a priority, donate to a local collecting institution. 

Problem 4: We’d like to donate our historical records to an archival repository. We have to digitize the records first, so they’ll be accessible to us and to researchers through the archives website. Archives and historical societies prefer to receive digitized records, right?

This is a common misconception! Most repositories prefer to receive records in their original format. Most sets of records donated today are hybrid, containing both analog and born-digital material. Records donors are neither expected nor encouraged to convert analog records to digital formats, largely because repositories digitize in accordance with national and internal standards. 

Digitization is all too often presented as the answer to historical records woes. In the right circumstances, it can support our desire to share what we value about our past with our congregational communities and ministries and to preserve it for posterity. At the same time, we must be cognizant of the new complications and responsibilities that come with committing to a digitization project and consider whether such an endeavor will help or hinder our goals. 

The key work is not simply deciding to digitize, but fully understanding why we digitize, what we digitize, and how we digitize long before the first page meets the scanner bed. Answering these questions is a journey in itself. In the next article of our Digitization 101 series, Your Goals, Your Digitization Project: Planning to Meet Your Needs, we will explore the practical questions and considerations that transform preservation and organization aspirations into an actionable, sustainable digitization project.