South Carolina goes digital: The creation and development of the University of South Carolina's Digital Activities Department

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the University of South Carolina's Digital Activities Department's history and development.

Design/methodology/approach

This article recounts the development of the Digital Activities Department and examines local policies and procedures. In addition, the article discusses the fundamental issues of choosing a digital repository, creating metadata, and scanning images. The authors take a practical, in‐depth approach in discussing their experiences.

Findings

After just a few years, the Library has launched the department and successfully provided online access to a growing number of digital collections. Collaboration has been the key element in the department's success.

Originality/value

The lessons learned will help other institutions develop digital activities departments and provide online access to digital archives and collections.

Citation

Boyd, K. and King, D. (2006), "South Carolina goes digital: The creation and development of the University of South Carolina's Digital Activities Department", OCLC Systems & Services: International digital library perspectives, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 179-191. https://doi.org/10.1108/10650750610686757