2. Policy Statement
This policy outlines how we determine what will be digitised and when according to policy drivers and a set of guiding principles. Due to the extensive resources involved in digitisation, a large percentage of Libraries Tasmania’s physical archive and heritage collection items are yet to be digitised.
Digitised parts of the collection represent highly valued resources that are used by various groups for different purposes. These groups range from government agencies, higher education providers, and schools to the research community, business and creative industries, and individuals investigating their family history.
Through digitisation, we open and encourage the use of previously difficult to access archive and heritage content. Examples of this content include the convict records and related nineteenth-century court records, Tasmanian wills, records of births, deaths and marriages, images of Tasmanians who served in WWI, records relating to health and welfare, education, immigration, land and property, as well as a range of unique Tasmanian ephemera, photographic and audio-visual collections such as the iconic footage of the thylacine, Tasman Bridge disaster and Royal visits to Tasmania.
Our policy drivers for digitisation include:
- Collecting the documentary history of Tasmania and making this accessible as per requirements under the Libraries Act 1984.
- Preserving and providing access to the State archives as per responsibilities assigned to the State Archivist in the Archives Act 1983.
- Meeting the needs of current and future researchers and other users of our collections.
The above drivers are supported by Libraries Tasmania’s Strategic Directions and priority actions to: Enable universal access to our collections and to Drive the digitisation of our heritage collection.
This policy is implemented through an annual digitisation program and client copy requests, as well as through collaborations with the National and State Libraries Australasia (NSLA) and Council of Australasian Archives and Records Authorities (CAARA) and other organisations to accelerate digitisation of critical collections.