Page 60 - Building Digital Libraries

Acquiring, Processing, Classifying, and Describing Digital Content

Some reformatting processes are inherently problematic and inevitably
result in a loss of functionality or usability. For example, if a spreadsheet
references cells in other documents or contains formulas, these need to be
converted to static values unless users will be expected to view the infor-
mation using particular versions of the spreadsheet software. If the data
are converted to static values, staff must ensure that the document can still
fulfill its original purpose.

Rights Management

Rights management must be built directly into the standard workflow
unless the same provisions apply for all resources. Even if all materials in
the repository may be freely used, this needs to be clearly communicated
to users and staff. Depending on what is needed, rights management can
be as simple as statements in the repository or within the metadata for the
objects themselves. However, special workflows or functionality might also
be needed to support rights management, requiring:

• Limiting access to authorized users
• Embargoing or expiring content
• Managing documents, releases, and other materials
associated with rights
• Allowing the use of digitally rights managed (DRM)
protected content
• Providing differential access

Users, content creators, and repository administrators benefit when rights
are standardized. The easiest solution is to follow your institution’s exist-
ing policy. If that does not exist or cannot be applied to your project, you’ll
need to work with users and content creators to see what rights manage-
ment is needed. If possible, use standard and widely used licenses such
as one of the Creative Commons licenses from https://creativecommons
.org/. Be prepared to address practical needs. For example, a communica-
tions unit funded on a cost recovery basis cannot be expected to donate
high-resolution materials for the library to give away for free. However,
they might be willing to provide lower-resolution or watermarked images
that may be useful for limited purposes if a mechanism that allows them
to continue to finance their operations through the sale of full-resolution
images is provided.
After identifying what rights management is needed, a collection policy
needs to define what types of rights it supports, make these statements clear
and obvious to users, and then the system can be adjusted to provide what-
ever support is needed. It is not recommended to allow content providers to
define rights themselves. The inevitable result will render some items useless

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