Federal Agencies
Digitization Guidelines Initiative

About This Initiative

Started in 2007, this is a collaborative effort by federal agencies to define common guidelines, methods, and practices for digitizing historical content.   As part of this, two working groups are studying issues specific to two major areas, Still Image and Audio Visual.

Learn more about the initiative

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

The goal for this working group is to identify, establish, and disseminate information about standards and practices for the digital reformatting of audio-visual materials.

Digitization Guidelines
  • Audio Analog-to-Digital Converter Performance
    Approved by Working Group  | August 20, 2012

    This guideline concerns metrics and measurement methods for analog-to-digital converters. Future performance-related documents will discuss the problem of interstitial errors, i.e., accidental loss or transformations of audio samples within the digitizing system before the data stream is written to file.

  • Embedding Metadata in Broadcast WAVE Files
    Approved by Working Group | April 23, 2012

    Version 2 of the guideline for metadata to be embedded in Broadcast WAVE files that reproduce historical and cultural heritage digital sound recordings.

  • Minimal Descriptive Embedded Metadata in Digital Still Images
    Reviewed and Recommended by Working Group  |  March 23, 2012

    Guidelines created by the EMDaWG (Embedded Metadata Working Group) of the Smithsonian Institution and recommended by the Still Image Working Group. This document defines the minimum proposed descriptive embedded metadata for digital still images.

  • Technical Guidelines for the Still Image Digitization of Cultural Heritage Materials
    Updated by Working Group | August 24, 2010

    Creation of Raster Image Master Files represents shared best practices followed by agencies participating in the Federal Agencies Digitization Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) Still Image Working Group for digitizing cultural heritage material.

  • MXF Application Specification for Moving Image and other Audio-Visual Content
    Draft under development

    The MXF Application Specification for Archiving and Preservation is a detailed specification for a file "wrapper" intended to serve reformatting programs in which an archive is making a digital-file copy of a videotape or motion picture film, as well as to serve as a container for born-digital content when the native encoded essence is judged suitable for retention for at least the medium term.

All digitization guidelines

Last Updated: 09/05/2012