Right from the Start: The Digitization Program at the Smithsonian's Nat. Museum of African American History and Culture

Abstract

Before opening, the Smithsonian's NMAAHC established a program to create digital collection records and surrogates, which play a critical role in collection care, collection accessibility, and enhancing the meaning of collections. The program is off to a good start because it supports the museum's mission, the museum has an established "Digi Team," the program has buy-in and financial support, and other Smithsonian units have been generous with time and expertise. Also explored in this article are the digitization program activities and results, the impact of digitization, and plans for the future.