Since 1996 the Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text and Image (SCETI) has been enhancing the research and scholarly use of rare books, manuscripts, and other primary source materials by making them easily accessible to the worldwide community through digitization.
The goal of most digitization projects at the Penn Libraries is to represent the original physical item accurately. In order to achieve accurate representations with consistency, SCETI has developed a set of preferences to guide their work.
All images produced by SCETI meet standards developed by the Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI). We digitize books and manuscripts at a resolution of 400 or 600 PPI, and TIFF serves as our master file format. Other material types and image specifications can be accommodated.
SCETI uses Phase One digital sensors and Schneider-Kreuznach lenses mounted on several single-camera copystands (RG3040s and DT Elements) and a dual-camera system (BC100) by Digital Transitions. Our capture and processing software is the Cultural Heritage edition of Capture One Pro.
For small image requests consisting of no more than five library items and producing no more than 1,000 images, email the following library staff directly:
For larger image requests:
The following documents lay out the Library's policy for digitization of our collections and the process for the submission and review of digitization project ideas.
Policy for Collection Digitization - This policy is intended to establish a consistent and structured approach to evaluating digitization projects. It defines the intended mission and scope of collections digitization projects and the criteria used to evaluate project proposals.
Collection Digitization Project Proposal Workflow - This document provides an overview and details of the steps for submitting a digitization project and the evaluation process.
Collection Digitization Project Proposal Form - This is a copy of the proposal form in Word that you can use for reference as you work on developing the proposal for your project. To formally submit the proposal for review please use the online form linked below.
Online Collection Digitization Project Proposal Form - Please use this online form to submit your proposal for review by the CDC. Be sure to discuss the proposal with your Coordinator before submitting it.
For audio and moving image reformatting of up to 10 items, please contact the Head of SCETI, Mick Overgard, at overgard@pobox.upenn.edu. For audio and moving image reformatting of 11 items or more, a Collection Digitization Project Proposal Form will need to be submitted.
