General considerations

Material older than 1850, as well as rare and unique materials MUST be assessed by the Preservation Librarian whether the material is suitable for digitization.

Material that is damaged due to for instance mold or bug infestation MUST be quarantined and, if necessary, undergo remediation before it can be considered for digitization.

NITRATE FILM: Health hazard, risk of fire and explosion

Photographic or motion picture film material produced before 1950 could use nitrocellulose as a carrier material (nitrate film).

Nitrocellulose is HIGHLY FLAMMABLE. It burns vigorously and its flame cannot be extinguished with water. A fire may produce irritating, corrosive and/or toxic gases.

The material may EXPLODE under exposure to heat or fire.

Nitrocellulose is chemically unstable and decomposes irreversibly over time. The material can give off Nitrate Gases, which are DANGEROUS TO HEALTH.

→ Contact the Preservation Librarian immediately if you encounter suspected nitrate film!

Nitrocellulose-based carriers can be considered for digitization if the carrier is assessed to be stable by the Preservation Librarian.

Book, paper, transparency material

Bound volumes

Suitability for scanning might be limited by binding (stability, opening angle). In rare cases, disbinding of material can be considered.

Unbound documents

Requires special handling to preserve orginial order of papers.

Newspapers

Newsprint is prone to acidic degradation, suitability for scanning may be limited by stability of the carrier material.

Prints and photographs

Photographic transparencies

NITRATE FILM: Health hazard, risk of fire and explosion

Photographic or motion picture film material produced before 1950 could use nitrocellulose as a carrier material (nitrate film).

Nitrocellulose is HIGHLY FLAMMABLE. It burns vigorously and its flame cannot be extinguished with water. A fire may produce irritating, corrosive and/or toxic gases.

The material may EXPLODE under exposure to heat or fire.

Nitrocellulose is chemically unstable and decomposes irreversibly over time. The material can give off Nitrate Gases, which are DANGEROUS TO HEALTH.

→ Contact the Preservation Librarian immediately if you encounter suspected nitrate film!

Oversize items

Oversized items might require multiple images to be stitched together to create a production master.

Audiovisual and sound carriers

(Motion picture) film

E.g. 8/16/35-mm film

Not supported for in-house capture, reach out to Digitization Services for consultation about outsourcing options.

Outsourced digitization of motion picture film is typically priced based on the length of the film strip in linear foot. Additional charges can apply if film material is damaged, or if additional post-processing of the captured movie is necessary/desired. Estimating runtime/length in linear foot of 8/16-mm film based on reel size: https://web.archive.org/web/20230412143052/https://www.paulivester.com/films/runtimes.htm

NITRATE FILM: Health hazard, risk of fire and explosion

Photographic or motion picture film material produced before 1950 could use nitrocellulose as a carrier material (nitrate film).

Nitrocellulose is HIGHLY FLAMMABLE. It burns vigorously and its flame cannot be extinguished with water. A fire may produce irritating, corrosive and/or toxic gases.

The material may EXPLODE under exposure to heat or fire.

Nitrocellulose is chemically unstable and decomposes irreversibly over time. The material can give off Nitrate Gases, which are DANGEROUS TO HEALTH.

→ Contact the Preservation Librarian immediately if you encounter suspected nitrate film!