About UIUC Preservation Reformatting

The Preservation Reformatting department at the University Library has evolved considerably over the years, with its beginnings overseeing the creation of facsimiles and microfilm to its current form of providing continued physical reformatting and also general collections digitization. In conjunction with the Library’s mission, our staff work to provide preservation and access for a wide range of collections materials including newspapers, monographs, and microforms, and materials deemed brittle and/or damaged. This is made possible through partnerships with Library staff, including the Library’s own Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections, and outside organizations Internet Archive, and HathiTrust.

While our current focus is devoted to project-based and patron-driven digitization initiatives, our goal is to provide patrons with multifarious access to the Library’s collection through digital reformatting. Here, “digital reformatting”, “preservation reformatting”, “reformatting”, and “digitization” are all synonymous: the reformatting process results in the creation of digital file surrogates that are uploaded online for patron use. This protects the original items from future damage and allows for more access to patrons.

Brittle Newspaper Example – The Russian Evening Post

 

Visit our Services page for further information on Preservation Reformatting services.