CFParticipation: Unhidden Collections (CLIR)

The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) has announced the end of its “Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives” program as it shifts instead towards considering the issue of digitization:

The input of our constituents will be invaluable in informing our next steps. We are keenly interested in hearing your thoughts about the place of digitization among your institution’s priorities. It would be particularly helpful to have responses to the following:

1. What level of intellectual control over a collection is necessary before you can plan a digitization project involving unique collections of high interest and usefulness to scholars? In other words, to what degree must a collection be “un-hidden” before you can digitize?
2. What is “cutting edge” or “innovative” when it comes to the digitization of cultural heritage collections?
3. What measures for cost-effectiveness and sustainability make an investment in digitization worthwhile?
4. What might be the value of cooperative/coordinated approaches to digitization of rare and unique materials? How can institutions work together to create broader and easier access to scholars, students, and the general public?

Comments may be submitted to HCComments [at] clir [dot] org.