UConn exploring digitization options

When an academic institution decides to move documents online with conversion services, it can benefit many people. The transfer can help researchers access information even if they're far from campus and can free up space that could be used for other purposes. Moreover, hosting information online can allows workers to preserve both the primary source document and the information within, ensuring that historical files remain intact should a disaster occur.

Leaders at the University of Connecticut recently decided to digitize issues of the school newspaper, the Daily Campus. All issues from its inception 116 years ago will be available for access online, according to UConn Today, after requests for back issues have been made for many years.

Also, the source explained, the microfilm that held old issues was starting to wear, and rather than risk losing articles from previous newspapers, University Archivist Betsy Pittman decided to digitize.

Administrators at the university have experience in transferring tangible documents online, so this effort should run smoothly. In 2011, library staffers moved a collection of Puerto Rican court documents dating to 1844 to online databases, the Arizona Daily Star reported.

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