In 1996 the KB started digitizing collections. In the planning phase 1998-2001 it became one of the three focal points of the policy. Digitization makes library collections accessible; the openness of the internet causes cultural heritage to be available to a wide audience. Digital collections also enhance the efficiency of scientific research (sophisticated search-and-retrieval tools, interoperability of collections) and facilitate new research questions. Digitization also plays an important role in preserving library materials over time. By providing on line access to digitized materials for researchers and the general public the originals are protected from use. Subsequently digitization is also part of the preservation policy.
In the beginning small collections, or highlights from collections, were digitized and made available. These were predominantly visually attractive collections meant for a wide audience. One of the first digitization projects was ‘100 highlights’ of the KB collection. In 2000 Memory of the Netherlands - the national programme for digitization of Dutch cultural heritage
In the policy period 2006-2009 the focus is on large-scale digitization of text corpora for study and research in the humanities. In 2003 a project took off to provide on line access to the complete run of Dutch parliamentary papers. Consisting of 2.3 million pages this is a so far unprecedented quantity in the Netherlands. In 2006 – with support of the national programme ‘Investeringen in Grootschalige Onderzoeksfaciliteiten’ the KB was rewarded a second mass digitization project: the Databank of Digital Daily Newspapers project. This project will digitize Dutch newspapers from 1618.
From 2008 the preservation programme Metamorfoze has applied digitization as a preservation method. Previously library and archive materials were microfilmed, but after extensive research by Metamorfoze it was decided to switch to preservation imaging. Digitization – in this particular case – contributes fundamentally to the accessibility and long-term preservation of national cultural heritage.