Digitization

The technical process of creating digital surrogates of physical objects by photographic capture, flatbed or large‑format scanning, or other imaging methods, accompanied by descriptive and technical metadata, intended to improve access, enable documentation, and support preservation workflows while recognizing that a surrogate is not equivalent to the original physical object.

The process of converting physical collection items (documents, images, objects, audio, video) into digital surrogates through scanning, photography, or other digital capture methods, producing digital representations intended for access, analysis, or preservation workflows. Digitization outcomes vary by capture quality, metadata, and intended use.