Digitisation program - current priorities

In 2008-09 the Library will digitise approximately 14,000 collection items. Below is an overview of the Library's planned digitisation program for each collection area. The digitised items can be accessed through the Library's catalogue or the Digital Collections webpages. For detailed information about what has been digitised in the previous years see Digitisation - overview and Pictures, Maps, Sheet Music, Manuscripts, Books and Serials and Oral History for information on progress with digitisation of the individual collections.

Pictures Collection – target 9,750 items

The Pictures material to be digitised in 2008-09 includes both recent and previously acquired collection materials. It is anticipated that digitisation of the following Pictures collections will be completed in their entirety this year:

In addition a selection of items from the following collections will be digitised:

Maps Collection – target 1,540 items

In 2008-09 work will continue on cataloguing and digitising the Library’s Map collections, in particular the Rare Map collection and selected other maps including:

Printed music collection – target 860 items

Printed music in the following categories will be digitised in 2008-09:

  • sheet music with Australian content published between 1900-1940
  • albums from pre 1900 to 1940s
  • Australian music series (anthologies) published between 1900-1939

Overseas Books and Serials Collection – target 150 items

London Missionary Society Collection, which totals 683 rare and fragile items, will continue to be digitised for long term preservation.

Oral History and Folklore collection – target 1,400 item

A selection of analogue recordings from the Oral History and Folklore Collection will be digitised under the Library's long term plan to convert the whole of its audio collection into digital format.

Newspapers – target 1,000,000 pages

A selection of newspapers will be digitised under the Australian Newspaper Digitisation Program. For more details see http://www.nla.gov.au/ndp/selected_newspapers/.

Treasures Gallery

In addition, a number of items from the Rare Books and Manuscript collections will be digitised in 2008-09 in preparation for being exhibited in the Library’s Treasures Gallery, currently under development.

Back to the top