Addressing the areas of Collection Development, Collection Management and Collection Discovery and Delivery, the priorities below will inform the Digital Repository Board (DRB) when evaluating Project Proposals. Additionally, the DRB will complete a Project Evaluation Matrix, a tool designed for project proposal selection and prioritization.

PRIORITIES (STRATEGY BEHIND SELECTION):

Digital Repository Strategic Path

Projects that demonstrate the creation of a significant, usable body of digital materials in a given subject area in support of research, teaching and learning will be given priority. (This is the Value and Why of digitization)

Why do we digitize?
for greater access to unique materials
for preservation of materials at risk (regardless of level of access)
for use in research and teaching
for creating use copies
for open access

Impact

Projects that demonstrate a significant impact to the community will be ranked higher.
(Impact is measured by: the potential use (i.e. value to the user community) of the digital materials to be created, the long-lasting benefit of the content and alignment with campus research, teaching and learning objectives.)

Size, Complexity and Cost (weighed against a project's impact)

Large collections with heterogeneous materials (collections comprised of many different formats or items of various sizes) will require greater resources and will take more time. Generally, simpler, more cost effective projects will be ranked higher than more complex expensive projects with similar impact.

Partnerships

Projects where there is an identified or potential partner or collaborator who will help sponsor, contribute expertise or produce the project will be ranked higher.

Priority will be given to projects that deepen a relationship that the Library would like to further develop with a school, academic department, other university departments or other cultural heritage institutions.

Special Factors
(Answering, “No” to the following does not immediately remove a project proposal from selection, but should carefully consider “Impact” to the user community during review).

• If the materials are protected by copyright, does Boston College own the copyright or have permissions to digitize (i.e. change the format) the material? (Rights)
• Do we currently have the technical infrastructure (Infrastructure considerations: hardware, software, server space, network capacity …) needed to create, deliver, and maintain the digitized resource? (Technical / Preservation)
• Is there funding to support the project: budget line, grant, other university department cost sharing, donation (Funding)
• Do we have the knowledge and skills to accomplish the project alone and/or with a partner? (Expertise)

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