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About Digital Collections

Vision for Digital Initiatives

As the University of Idaho's Digital Initiatives department within the library, we will support and encourage scholarly and creative activity throughout the university by actively providing access to rare, archival and scholarly materials, keeping abreast on latest technologies, and actively providing strong and innovative services to members of the University of Idaho community and beyond.

Mission for Digital Initiatives

The Digital Initiatives department seeks to create digital collections and make them available to enhance scholarship and research both within the university and its external partners; to increase access to the libraries holdings, within the scope of Copyright Law; to support the teaching and learning activities of the university's faculty and students; to promote innovation to enhance learning; and to maintain and preserve these collections for future use.

Collection Development Policy

New projects are currently considered by the Digital Initiatives Team. Projects are often determined by frequency of requests within a specific collection, special requests by professors,the physical condition of the materials, and through collaboration among departments across campus. There are several questions of viability and significance are considered before digitizing a collection.

    Viability
  • Projects considered should not replicate already accessible material on the web;
  • Materials are not subject to restrictions by the donor;
  • Materials are either in public domain or permissions have been obtained from copyright holder, and other protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act have been satisfied.

      • Significance
  • Does the project support current or emerging research or instruction in one or more specific subject area or support the academic work of one or more defined user groups or information communities?
  • Does the project enhance the value and/or the preservation of existing collections by making them more accessible, better integrated, and/or more likely to be used?
  • Does the project contribute to the holdings of materials relating to the history and culture of the University, the region, the nation or international community's?
  • Are the materials rare or of some other self-evident value, that the project would contribute to the reputation of the University library?
  • Does the project promote internal collaboration between or among units of the library, between the library and other University units, and/or external collaboration with other universities or institutions?
  • Does the project promote a specific developmental or stewardship initiative?
  • Does the project serve users beyond the immediate University community?