An early JISC project from 1996 stated that “Digitisation is a key mechanism by which libraries with important research collections can fulfil their responsibilities by providing improved access to users in other UK higher education institutions and internationally”
Following on from this pioneering work, JISC has made a committed investment in the digitisation of journals, newspapers, music, historical records, moving images and other scholarly materials – and a full browseable list has now been made available by JISC.
But since that early journals project in 1996, the impact of digitised resources has swollen far beyond simply improving access.
A new report, Inspiring Research, Inspiring Scholarship, (link to pdf file) has just been released. Written by Simon Tanner of King’s College London, it looks at four broad areas in which the creation of digital resources has has significant impact.
Digitised resources not only improves access but enable new types of research to be asked, such as the Data Mining with Criminal Intent project that is based on the Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913
The digitisation of journals, such as the Wellcome Trust Medical Journal Backfiles project, provides free and immediate access for scientists. One digitised journal, the Biochemical Journal, receives over 300,000 uses a month.
Resources such as Great War Archive, gathering digitised memorabilia from World War One, not only provide new material for scholars, but enable new communities and expertise to be developed outside the campus walls.
Digitising some of Britain’s special collections not only provides new data for educators and learners around the world, but also for a greater appreciation of the nation’s ‘prize jewels’; examples include the Freeze Frame collection of polar photographs, or the Old Weather resource for measuring and transcribing weather reports in Naval logbooks.