Practical experiences of digitisation in the BUILDER Hybrid Library Project

The practical issues associated with digitisation in the hybrid library context are discussed, based on work undertaken by the BUILDER Project in delivering two products: a pilot Electronic Key Texts service and a digital back‐run of the scholarly journal Midland History from 1971‐1998. In analysing document attributes, digitisation options, archival and delivery formats and detailing specific costs, there are two key lessons identified. Firstly, that scanning is only one stage in a complex workflow of inter‐related activities involved in delivering a digital resource; and secondly that costs need to be monitored as these can accrue very quickly due to the intensive use of staff resource involved in developing digitisation products. It rests with library managers to define where digitisation fits into their institutions, if at all, based on local needs and the collections they manage.