DCAPS facilitates digitization, publication, and preservation projects, large and small, through various programs, initiatives and services. Through these avenues, DCAPS aims to support the teaching, research, and preservation needs of the Library and Cornell community. If you have a project or need in mind that doesn’t match the descriptions below, please contact dcaps@cornell.edu. We’re here to help.
Cornell University Library Digital Collections Program
Why Digitize?
Digitization is essential for libraries because it expands access to rare and unique special collections while preserving the original materials. By creating high-quality digital assets, libraries make fragile or one-of-a-kind items available to a global audience, supporting research, teaching, and discovery while limiting physical damage. Digitized collections also enhance searchability, enable new forms of digital scholarship, and ensure long-term access through preservation in trusted digital repositories.
Digital Collections Program
The Digital Collections Program aims to support collaborative and creative use of resources through the creation of digital content of enduring value to the Cornell community and scholarship at large. The application process does not require any expertise — all you need is a good idea and the DCAPS team will guide you through the process. The resulting collections and resources are published either in our Digital Collections Portal (DCP) or in the case of books and bound materials, HathiTrust. See our project archive.
Digital collections projects involve scoping and budgeting, intellectual property review, digitization and imaging, metadata creation, accessibility considerations, and more. Proposed collections must be arranged and described before digitization can begin. This ensures an enduring resource for future use. There are different types of digital collections projects, based on the goals for the materials and proposed need.
Preservation Projects
Preservation is sometimes a reason to digitize, especially for materials that are fragile, deteriorating, or face a high barrier to access for use in teaching and research. Preservation and access are supported at CUL by HathiTrust and the Cornell University Archival Repository (CULAR).
Grants Projects
DCAPS supports external grant projects in several ways, including grant application support, scoping expertise, digital production services, and digital project management. Scope and timelines are determined in the grant application. DCAPS has participated in many different grants over the years with funders such as The Mellon Foundation, NEH, The Henry R. Luce Foundation, IMLS, and more.
Other Projects
Not all digitization and publication requests fit into the above. Library and other Cornell community members routinely collaborate on projects that are as small as the digitization of a single item or as large as an onsite, “in-the-field” imaging project. These non-standard digital projects may result in creative publishing or retention solutions for content. If you think you have one of these projects, please contact dcaps@cornell.edu.
Cornell University Library Audiovisual Preservation Initiative
Digital Consulting & Production Services, in partnership with CIT and other Cornell stakeholders, led an effort to determine audiovisual preservation needs campus-wide. Cornell University has vast holdings of unique audio and video assets vital to its mission “to discover, preserve, and disseminate knowledge…” These include lectures by luminary figures (Nobel laureates, heads of state, writers, artists and more) as well as original source recordings essential to research in biology, linguistics, art and beyond. The results can be found in the final report (PDF). If you have audiovisual collections and materials that need preservation support, please contact dcaps@cornell.edu.
For more information, please read the AV Initiative FAQ.
Digitization Services
Digital Consulting and Production Services (DCAPS) provides expert digitization of image, text and time-based media, as well as copyright and accessibility support. Using state-of-the-art equipment and tools, we provide support for a wide range of material types but specialize in the preservation and access of rare artifacts. For more information about submitting digitization requests please see our digitization request form. For detailed information about our time-based media services, please see our Audiovisual Digitization page.
Digitization is free for Cornell University faculty and instructors for use in the classroom, via the Teaching Digitization Service.