Council on Library Resources
Commission on Preservation and Access
Digital Collections Inventory Report
Preliminary Results
By Patricia A. McClungFebruary 1996
National Agricultural Library (NAL) Projects
Early on the NAL embraced the concept of replacing its traditional collections with a digital one. To that end it has sponsored a host of digitization projects– many of them in collaboration with other research libraries housing complementary materials; and its staff has played a leadership role in standards development, training, and public awareness of the potential that online resources have to support research. Noteworthy are the NAL Text Digitizing Program and the NAL Photo Image Project. Digitizing projects underway as part of the text program include 100,000 pages of mostly unpublished research material on Food Irradiation and 6500 pages (155 titles) on AquacuIture, consisting of frequently requested reference materials. Approximately half of the 131 reel microfilm set of the Papers of George Washington Carver have been digitized as well (and the remaining reels await additional funding).
Contact: Judith Zidar, NATDP Coordinator, 301/504-6813;jzidar@nalusda.gov
