Guidelines: Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Cultural Heritage Materials
Still Image Working Group

The Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Cultural Heritage Materials: Third Edition (linked below) were developed by the Still Image Working Group in 2022-2023. This document is an update of the 2016 Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Cultural Heritage Materials: Creation of Raster Image Master Files. The latest revision of the guidelines expands on earlier works and incorporates new material reflecting the advances in imaging science and cultural heritage imaging best practice. The Guidelines include shared best practices for still image materials (e.g., textual content, maps, and photographic prints and negatives) followed by agencies participating in the Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI).These guidelines are intended to be used in conjunction with digital image conformance evaluation targets and software. Together, these guidelines and appropriate testing and monitoring systems provide the foundation for a FADGI-conforming digitization program. Please see the Still Image Guidelines Resources page linked below for additional documentation and software resources.

2023 Revised Guidelines - Third Edition

FADGI Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Cultural Heritage Materials - 3rd Edition (2023). (PDF)

Comments and Revisions to the Third Edition

A draft version of the Third Edition was published in June 2022 for public comment. Please view the comments submitted through formal channels, and a record of the Still Image Working Group responses to those comments here. Please send any questions about final version of the Third Edition to [email protected].

A Change Log listing the updates from the 2022 draft version to the final 2023 Third Edition can be downloaded here: Revision Change Log (PDF).

A version of the final Third Edition with changes from the 2022 draft highlighted can be downloaded here: Technical Guidelines Third Edition: Highlighted (PDF).

Resources

Still Image Guidelines Resources page

Download OpenDice and AutoSFR software and manuals.

FADGI General Resources Page

Previous Versions of the Guidelines

2016 Approved Version

Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Cultural Heritage Materials (2016) (PDF, 2.78 MB)

2015 Draft Document

DRAFT Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Cultural Heritage Materials (2015) (PDF, 1.05 MB)

2010 Document

The 2010 version of the Guidelines drew substantially on the National Archives and Records Administration’s Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Archival Records for Electronic Access: Creation of Production Master Files – Raster Images (June 2004), but included additional recommendations of the working group, particularly with regard to equipment and image performance metrics, quality management, and metadata.

Technical Guidelines for Digitizing Cultural Heritage Materials (2010)  (PDF, 5.43 MB)

Working Groups

Still Image Working Group
This group is involved in a cooperative effort to develop common digitization guidelines for still image materials.

Audio-Visual Working Group
This group works collaboratively on common and sustainable technical guidelines, methods, and practices for digitized and born digital sound recordings and moving images.