Metamorfoze in transition for prioritizing digitization archives

Abstract

Since 1997, Metamorfoze has developed into a mature subsidy program which is financed on a structural basis by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. It is still the programme that safeguards the preservation of important paper collections that suffer from accelerated self-destruction. The main threats to the Dutch paper heritage are identified as acidification in wood pulp papers, and ink corrosion.Metamorfoze has been based on selection and prioritization. Existing inventories and prioritization models have remained in effect until 2009. In addition to this, a selection model for archives was developed in 2005.The new track Archives and Special Collections focuses on archival materials and special collections. Within this track the emphasis lies on the conservation of the original sources, which calls for extremely high quality digital scans (Metamorfoze Preservation Imaging Guidelines).The projects in the Archives and Special Collections are now funded 70%, with the idea that institutions have a responsibility for the preservation of their collections.In the near future, more and more of the available resources of Metamorfoze will be applied for the permanent storage of the master scans, consequently and there will be less money available for the preservation and digitization of the Archives and Special Collections. This raises the question whether the truly most important archives of the Netherlands have yet been preserved and digitized. The desire is therefore that from 2013 onwards, the ABC program will be rearranged according to a thematic classification, to be imposed by an Advisory Committee, so that instead of a more or less demand-driven approach there will be a more structured approach.Partly because of the ensemble value or multidisciplinary nature, the projects within this approach should be fully (100%) subsidized.