Thursday, September 17, 2009

Success Factors and Strategic Planning: Rebuilding an Academic Library Digitization Program, by Cory Lampert, et al

This paper discusses a dual approach of case study and research  survey  to  investigate  the  complex  factors  in sustaining academic library digitization programs. The case study involves the background of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Libraries’ digitization program and elaborates on the authors’ efforts to gain staff support for this program. A related survey was administered  to  all  Association  of  Research  Libraries  (ARL) members, seeking to collect baseline data on their digital collections,  understand  their  respective  administrative frameworks,  and  to  gather  feedback  on  both  negative obstacles  and  positive  inputs  affecting  their  success. Results  from  the  survey,  combined  with  the  authors’ local  experience,  point  to  several  potential  success  factors  including  staff  skill  sets,  funding,  and  strategic planning.