Collections Digitization Framework: A Service-oriented Approach to Digitization in Academic Libraries

With advances in information technologies, academic libraries are now in a position to offer collections digitization services beyond campus communities. By mobilizing digitization to off-campus communities, academic libraries can reposition themselves as responsive and relevant in the face of a changing digital services landscape. This will also help academic libraries create unique opportunities to access and share hidden knowledge embedded within local and remote communities with rich intellectual traditions. This article proposes a service-oriented framework for academic libraries to reimagine and mobilize collections digitization as part of broader library services. The proposed Collections Digitization Framework is based on the Service Framework for Digital Libraries developed by the Digital Library Federation, whereby digitization activities have been formalized into discrete processes and functions. The issues and challenges that academic libraries may face in mobilizing digitization services are also discussed in the context of a collaborative community digitization initiative undertaken by two Canadian academic libraries