Digitization grants and how to get one: advice from the Director, Office of Library Services, Institute of Museum and Library Services
Digitization grants and how to get one: advice from the Director, Office of Library Services, Institute of Museum and Library Services
Keywords: Museums, Libraries, Grants, USA, Internet
This column is adapted, with permission, from an article at: RLG DigiNews,Vol. 4 No. 5 (October 15, 2000) www.rlg.org/preserv/diginews/diginews4-5.html
Introduction
With Internet access rapidly becoming ubiquitous, digital content is beginning to supersede connectivity as the hot-button issue. If the Internet is to realize its potential to transform the way society uses information, it must offer high-quality resources. Commercial and entertainment sites abound on the World Wide Web, but there is a great need for good educational content. The growth of educational resources has been slower than other sectors, but many libraries, museums, and archives are trying to change that. These institutions hold a wealth of materials spanning the whole spectrum of human knowledge, and documentation that was once available only to a small number of scholars may now be used by students, teachers, researchers, and the general public worldwide,without fear of theft or damage to fragile and valuable items. When a museum or library establishes a Web presence and makes its holdings available to the cyber-public, it is contributing educational content to the Internet and serving the public good as well as enhancing the institution's visibility.
Where are the costs?
Yet the creation of accessible digital content is expensive. It requires an investment in hardware and software, a trained labor force to prepare materials and scan them at the appropriate level of quality – while handling fragile items carefully – and catalogers and indexers to create the metadata that is needed to retrieve and manage the digital information. Even when the scanning is outsourced, the institution must develop conversion guidelines and requests for proposals, pay for vendor services, perform quality control checks, and create metadata. It is no wonder that most institutions turn to outside sources of funding – usually private foundations or government agencies – for some of the costs of digitization.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), in Washington, DC, was fortunate enough to benefit at its creation from the growing interest in digitization. This new US federal agency, established by an act of Congress in 1996, has statutory authority for the "preservation or digitization of library materials and resources". Since 1998, IMLS has been funding digitization projects through its National Leadership Grants program. Over the past three years, our understanding of what is required for a successful digitization project, and what reviewers want to see in a grant proposal, has improved. This knowledge is reflected in the increasing length of our guidelines. Potential applicants may find them a bit daunting at first, but the guidelines will provide even novices with the information resources and guidance they need to plan and carry out successful digitization projects. Guidelines,examples of funded digitization projects and copies of successful proposals can be found at: (http://www.imls.gov).
The key to writing a successful digitization proposal for IMLS is really the same as for writing any successful proposal. Applicants should always:
- 1.
establish a clear vision of what they hope to accomplish;
- 2.
read and follow the program guidelines; and
- 3.
consult with program staff throughout the proposal process.
National Leadership Grant proposals are evaluated by peer reviewers on a set of evaluation criteria described in the guidelines. Applicants should read all the evaluation criteria carefully and keep them in mind while preparing the application.
Evaluation criteria
National impact
National Leadership Grants are awarded for innovative model projects with potential national impact on library service and information access. For digitization projects, national impact could result from the significance of the material to be digitized; tools or methodologies to be developed or tested during the project; or the way the material is presented or used. Often,successful projects combine two or more of these elements. It is not necessary to have the largest collection of Lewis and Clark holdings in existence to get a digitization grant, but it will help if the materials have recognizable historical interest.
Applicants should start with a description of the material to be digitized,explain its significance (even if it seems obvious), and provide as much evidence as possible that there is a demand for this material in digital form. Letters of support from scholars or other potential users at a distance from the applicant will be more convincing than letters from nearby institutions. Although IMLS is looking for innovative projects and new models of operation, it is not necessary for every proposal to break new ground technologically. Innovation may be demonstrated by creative partnerships, for example, which may bring together complementary holdings or institutions that are geographically dispersed, or that promote use by new audiences. IMLS particularly encourages partnerships that include smaller institutions, so that they may benefit from and contribute to shared resources and expertise.
Adaptability
What is the potential value of the project as a model for others, either in terms of its processes or products? For example, a project with a well-described plan for developing a collaborative process to bring together topically related,but geographically dispersed collections in a digital library, would probably get high marks from reviewers, as an adaptable model process. A project that proposed to develop a project tracking software program to share with others would be a good example of an adaptable model product.
Design
What are the production goals of the project, and how will they be met, e.g. how many items will be digitized, how will they be selected, and how will access be provided? Applicants should provide all the technical information requested in the guidelines, including information about the hardware and software to be used, copyright issues, file formats, conversion requirements, quality control,various metadata standards, preservation and costs. Project staff will need to know these things if the proposal is funded, so it makes sense to plan up front. IMLS provides a form, "Specifications for projects involving digitization",for applicants to complete and submit with their proposal.
Management plan
Are there sufficient resources in terms of staffing and equipment at every stage in the process to ensure that the proposed schedule of completion can be met? Is the quality control plan adequate? IMLS encourages applicants to develop a digitization plan before beginning to write a grant proposal. This plan should document what the institution hopes to accomplish with a digitization program,what collections it proposes to digitize and their priority, and how it plans to ensure the preservation and continued use of the digital resources. Reviewers will expect the digitization plan to include a commitment to preservation, and will be more convinced of this commitment if the institution makes a significant investment in the project through cost sharing.
Budget
Is the budget reasonable (neither too high nor too low to accomplish the project)? Applicants who are unsure of how to develop a budget for a digitization project should seek help from a consultant or professional colleagues with expertise in digitization. Reviewing the budgets of successful proposals that are posted on the IMLS Web site will also be useful.
Personnel
Are the key personnel (project director and other regular staff who will work on the project) qualified to contribute to the project as proposed? Are new temporary positions well-described and appropriate? Reviewers generally look for technical expertise in digitization, whether hired for the project or on staff,as well as other appropriate skills, such as cataloging and project management.
Evaluation
Applicants frequently neglect this criterion, yet evaluation is critical to a leadership proposal. IMLS encourages the use of outcome-based evaluation wherever appropriate and provides information about it on the IMLS Web site(located under Publications & Resources). Proposals should address the following questions: "Whose lives will be improved by having access to these resources in digital form, and how will you know whether or not the desired impact is achieved?" IMLS now provides a two-day training course in outcome-based evaluation for new grantees, but a proposal will be stronger if the applicants have already developed a good evaluation plan. Is it possible to identify a target audience to use the new digital information, and to test improved knowledge, skills, or abilities? The target population could also help to provide feedback to improve the Web site. The evaluation component of a project provides an opportunity for the applicant to think creatively about enhancing and measuring the benefits of library services. What about a partnership with a state penitentiary to use the digital resources in distance education classes, or a project with a school to develop and evaluate applications for children with learning disabilities? Remember that the best proposals reflect a continuum of planning, from needs assessments through evaluation, and that the best evaluation plans tie evaluation directly to specific project goals.
Dissemination
This is another important, yet frequently overlooked, criterion. Dissemination plans should include efforts to increase awareness of the digital content, as well as to share lessons learned about the project. It is common for applicants to plan to make information available on a Web site and to give presentations at professional conferences. Fresh ideas for reaching new audiences, and forming liaisons with potential future collaborators and supporters, will increase a proposal's attractiveness.
Finally, the criteria for contributions and sustainability are critical for digitization projects. When investing funds in a digitization project, reviewers and funders want to know that the institution places a high value on that investment, and is committed to maintaining the resources after the end of the grant period.
Contributions
Institutional commitment is best demonstrated by the amount of investment the institution itself is making in the project through its own contributions, as well as through any third-party funding or partners' contributions. For this reason, IMLS generally expects grantees to pay at least half the cost of any equipment purchased for the project and to contribute a substantial share of personnel costs. In addition, cost sharing of one-to-one is required for digitization projects when the applicant requests more than $250,000 from IMLS.
Sustainability
Is the institution making a commitment to maintain the digital resources and continue making them available, either through its own Web site or through another source? Does it have the financial stability to carry through on a commitment? Reviewers will be more impressed with a proposal that demonstrates long-term institutional commitment to sustaining digital resources, through a sound digitization plan and letters of support from high-level officials, than one that appears to be an isolated project proposed by one enthusiastic staff member.
Conclusion
In addition to addressing all of these criteria, successful proposal writers will inspire readers with a sense of excitement and even urgency about the project. They convey the message "This is important work, and it should be done as soon as possible!" A good way to find out if a proposal is clear,convincing, and exciting is to ask a colleague, who understands the professional issues involved but who knows nothing about the project itself, to read the proposal. If important information is omitted or details are not clear, it is better to hear it from a colleague while there is still time for revision.
Finally, the more planning that has gone into a proposal, the better reviewers will respond to it. There are many opportunities for applicants to get help in crafting a digitization project plan and grant proposal. IMLS provides a list of resources in its National Leadership Grant guidelines (under "All About Grants and Awards" on the Web site). A variety of training courses and conferences are available nationwide, and experienced institutions are frequently willing to help others in their region as advisers or project partners. We are unfortunately unable to read drafts of proposals. We have a full-time staff of less than 40, but our small size does enable us to respond to constituents with a minimum amount of bureaucratic red tape. We urge prospective applicants to contact the appropriate program officer early in the process to discuss ideas and questions.
Joyce RayDirector, Office of Library Services, Institute of Museum and Library Services
