Approach
A Scientific Advisory Committee composed of experts in (press) history was appointed for the selection of the titles. Digitization will be carried out using both microfilms and original newspapers from materials owned by the KB itself as well as other institutions within and outside of the Netherlands. New microfilms will not be generated for the purpose of the project. Prior to digitization an extensive analysis of the material will take place during which gaps will be noted, pages repaired and instructions for digitization made.
The digitization will be outsourced. An European invitation to tender will be issued in 2007. Prior to this a Request for Information (pdf) was released to investigate the current state of affairs in the area of newspaper digitization. It will be possible to search for individual articles within the Databank of Digital Daily newspapers. Additionally, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) will make it possible to fully search the entire text of the newspapers for individual words.
Pilot projects were carried out during the period 1999-2004 resulting in 350,000 pages from the period 1910-1945 . These pages are integrated into the Historical Newspapers website.
In 2007, Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) will itemake an inventory of the wishes of potential users of the service from different scientific disciplines. This inventory will also serve as the guideline for the development of the web service. The KB will develop this web service by making use of existing techniques and standards. This will make it possible to search several sources at once.
The KB staff will accomplish the project according to the project management method Prince2. A project manager will be accountable to a steering group.
Cooperation
During the project, staff will cooperate with representatives from various scientific disciplines, fellow institutions that conserve, film and/or digitize newspapers, the publishing sector and suppliers of hardware and software.
Costs
The project budget is €12.5 million. The project is being financed by the 'National Programme for Investments in Large-Scale Research Facilities', a one-off investment in large-scale research facilities, in response to the report ‘Knowledge aspirations and research infrastructure’ from the Innovation Platform ‘Kennisambitie & Researchinfrastructuur’.
Planning
More information
Jasper Faase (general programme manager)
Tel.: +3170_3140671
Koninklijke Bibliotheek
P.O. Box 90407
2509 LK The Hague
The Netherlands