Digitization: A Practical Experience at the National Tuberculosis Institute, Bangalore

The objective of digitization is principally to create content of databases to facilitate access to, preservation and dissemination of information resources. This paper is based on the experience of digitization at the National Tuberculosis Institute, (NTI) Bangalore, a WHO-sponsored collaborative project: “Health InterNetwork India” Tuberculosis - India. The various aspects of conceptualization of the digitization project, measurement criteria for inputs and outputs, the ability to access and retrieve information are discussed in detail. An important dimension of digitization process is co-ordination between information technology expert and library professionals. The standards and guidelines followed and problems encountered are mentioned. The importance of securing consent for archiving and sharing resources globally from the concerned parties is pointed out. Efforts made in use digital library software operable in a network environment and the importance of metadata and vocabulary management tools in accessing, searching and retrieving; digitized documents are highlighted.