Digital Conversion and Preservation of old Ph.D. Theses: A Study at Central Library, IIT Kharagpur

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe how rare library materials and documents are being preserved for long-term usage and archived at the Central Library, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) and focused on the technical requirements, guidelines for digitization, and digital preservation of old library materials. The paper explains levels of the digitization process and levels of the digital preservation of old Ph.D. theses submitted at the library, also to discuss the digitization infrastructure and software used. The paper shows that the workflow and steps involved in the conducting digitization and digital preservation project at the library. The information contained in the library materials such as rare documents, theses, and other similar old documents can be lost forever unless there are alternative arrangements for digitally converting and or digitizing them. The technological advancement is providing suitable alternatives for digitization and its preservation for the library materials. Before starting up a digitization project, the library should have sufficient funds to acquire infrastructures such as a high-end scanner, computer hardware, other related software, and trained computer-human resources. It can also be noted that for the successful completion of this project, must train the administrator and staff involved in the project. Digital preservation of rare and old documents in an Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) can provide an immediate response to a search, getting information on time, and search enhances the researchers’ efficiencies. The IDR supports mechanisms to store, retrieve and manage the digital assets.