Important sources, although they sadly have not been updated in
recent years, were the book and accompanying website, “Moving
Theory into Practice,” and the Making of Modern Michigan project.
Moving Theory into Practice: Digital Imaging for Libraries and
Archives by Anne R. Kenney and Oya Y. Rieger (Mountain View, CA:
Research Libraries Group, 2000) provided a good grounding in what
to consider when planning a digitization project, as well as minimum
standards for use and long-term preservation. An online tutorial of
housed at Cornell University Library (2010) offered step-by-step
instructions for taking a project successfully through to completion.
The Making of Modern Michigan was an IMLS-funded joint effort by
the Michigan State University Library, the Library of Michigan, the
Michigan Library Consortium, and others (Michigan State University
Libraries, 2005). Although its heyday had already passed by the time
Chelsea embarked project, the website provided helpful background
information on the structure of digitization projects and, especially,
scanning equipment that had been vetted. The scanner models in the
Making of Modern Michigan are no longer produced and libraries may
have moved to higher minimum DPIs for scanning, but the advice
offered at both sites remains sound.