Digitization Grants

Digitization Grants

Funder: South Central Regional Library Council (SCRLC)

Geographic Scope: South Central region of New York State

Overview:
SCRLC routinely supports creative proposals to improve regional access and resource sharing through technology. Digitization projects allow materials to be accessed regionally through New York Heritage, New York State Historic Newspapers, the Empire Archival Discovery Cooperative, and the Empire State Immersive Experiences projects.

Funding Available: SCRLC tries to make between $20,000 and $30,000 of grant funds available annually to members, depending on the council's budget circumstances.

Award Amounts:

Eligibility

• SCRLC Governing Members and Affiliate Members are eligible to apply
• Library systems may apply on behalf of their component members (up to the grant award limit)

Eligible Activities

Digitization grant funding can be used for:
• Digitization projects of archival and historical materials
• Metadata projects to improve resource discovery and description
• Any information technology project that will help share and improve access to resources regionally

Priorities for 2026-2027

Applications are especially encouraged for:
• Community partnership projects that increase representation of and with communities that have been historically and systematically oppressed
• Geographically underrepresented communities in the SCRLC region
• Creative approaches to availing digitized collections and making them more discoverable, including:
- Wikipedia edit-a-thons to add links to New York Heritage collections - Developing walking tours and virtual tours - Participation in the 360-degree Empire State Immersive Experience project - HistoryForge participation

Support Services

SCRLC provides consultation and training including:
• Evaluation of collections for digitization
• Digitization project planning
• Assistance in applying for digitization grants
• Development of workflows for member staff
• Consultation on digital preservation
• Training on digitization and description using best practices and standards
• Recommended technical specifications
• Equipment setup assistance
• Training in cataloging, metadata, and digital asset management software

Web Hosting: Hosting digital collections in New York Heritage Digital Collections is provided with no charge for SCRLC members.

Digital Preservation: Digital preservation is available for SCRLC members in the Digital Dark Archive, with costs of $1 per 1 gigabyte of storage. SCRLC members' NYHeritage collections are added to the Digital Dark Archive for free as a courtesy.

Equipment Lending: SCRLC will lend out digitization equipment to members and provide custom training, including:

Contact Information

Claire Lovell - SCRLC Digital Services Librarian
• Email: Available at scrlc.org
• Phone: 607-273-9106
• Office: 1300 Dryden Road, Ithaca, NY 14850
• Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 am - 4:00pm

Mary-Carol Lindbloom - For membership inquiries

Background

The SCRLC digitization program was developed with funds from:
• South Central Regional Library Council operating budget
• New York State Regional Bibliographic Databases Program
• Senator George Winner, 53rd Senate District
• Friends of the Tompkins County Public Library
• Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton, 125th Assembly District