[padg] Mellon Grant Supports Expansion of NEDCC's Digitization Services

["Julie Martin Carlson" <jcarlson@xxxxxxxxx>]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 2008

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MELLON GRANT 
SUPPORTS EXPANSION OF 
NEDCC'S DIGITIZATION SERVICES
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THE NORTHEAST DOCUMENT CONSERVATION CENTER (NEDCC), in Andover,
Massachusetts, announces that it has received a three-year grant from the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to expand its digitization services.  The goals
of the initiative are to provide a broader range of digitizing capabilities
for libraries, archives, museums, and historical societies and to strengthen
NEDCC's position as a center for digital expertise.  The grant will help
support the costs of staff, equipment, and consultants to help with market
research and planning.  

IN KEEPING WITH ITS PRESERVATION MISSION, the focus of NEDCC's digitization
services is on the sustainability and preservation of digital collections.
It specializes in making high quality images of materials that require
special handling, such as oversize materials, art works, manuscripts,
scrapbooks, and photographs.  Scanning historic x-rays in museum
conservation labs has also been identified as an area of potential growth.
Digitization of historical materials at NEDCC is often performed in
conjunction with conservation treatment of the original materials.  The
addition of digital services will reinforce and realign the Center's
preservation services for the digital age.  

BY ADDING DIGITAL EXPERTISE TO ITS STAFF, NEDCC aims to integrate the
production services of its digitization lab with its conferences and
workshops as well as to develop further its consultations and surveys of the
digital preservation needs of institutions.  "NEDCC's clients have
historically benefited from our Center's one-stop-shopping opportunities,
including conservation treatment of original artifacts, film-based
reformatting, training, and consultations," commented NEDCC's Director Ann
Russell.  "Now we can begin to offer one-stop-shopping for building digital
collections."  While NEDCC does not intend to offer long-term storage
services, it plans to expand its one-on-one advisory services to help
clients navigate the array of standards and specifications for digital
reformatting and help them evaluate products and services for managing and
storing their digital files. 

AS A NON-PROFIT, COOPERATIVE PRESERVATION CENTER, NEDCC'S MISSION is to help
cultural institutions improve their preservation programs.  Its services
include paper, book, and photograph conservation; preservation microfilming,
photographic duplication, and digitization of visual materials; workshops,
conferences, disaster assistance, surveys, and consultations.  For more
information, visit NEDCC's Web site at www.nedcc.org. 

NEDCC IS EAGER TO HEAR FROM POTENTIAL USERS OF ITS SERVICES about their
unmet digitization needs.  

TO DISCUSS A DIGITIZATION PROJECT, contact:
Victoria Ellis, at vellis@xxxxxxxxx or 
David Joyall, at davidj@xxxxxxxxx, or call 978/470-1010.  

TO REQUEST INFORMATION ABOUT UPCOMING WORKSHOPS OR CONFERENCES contact:
Julie Martin Carlson at jcarlson@xxxxxxxxxx