Digitization on-demand

UM students, faculty, and staff, and members of the public can submit a request for photographs, textual records, slides and negatives to be digitized by the Libraries Digitization Centre, provided the request does not violate terms of use, access, or copyright. 

Submit a digitization request

Prior to submitting a digitization request, users of the service should:

• Review whether content being requested has already been digitized. The Libraries UM Digital Collections site hosts most materials already digitized and publicly available.
• Ensure you can access and use the materials as intended. Licenses, copyright, or other restrictions on use and access may apply to some materials. Prior to submitting a request, be sure you will be able to use your digitized items as intended and review our Digitization Copyright and Terms of Use.
• Ensure materials can be accessed by the Libraries Digitization Centre. If you are requesting digitization of your own materials, you will need to coordinate pick-up (Fort Garry campus locations only) or drop-off of your materials with Centre staff.

The Digitization Centre charges fees for some services to help maintain its operations. 

Digitization fees are determined based on: 

• The equipment required for digitization
• The volume of materials being requested for digitization
• Request-specific requirements

Prior to beginning digitization, clients will be informed of any fees that might apply and be provided with a quote if applicable. Where fees apply, payment will be requested prior to making the digitized materials available for access.

Fee exemptions and discounts

As a UM service, the Libraries Digitization Centre prioritizes digitization services for UM students, faculty and staff, and offers some of its services for free or at discounted rates to better support learning and education at UM. The following services will be provided free of charge or at a discounted rate:

• Small digitization requests for UM coursework and teaching
  • UM students, faculty and staff requesting up to 10 scans to support UM coursework, or teaching will not be charged. The request must be submitted through a UM email to qualify.
  • Larger requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine whether fees may apply.
• Small digitization requests for UM related work
  • UM faculty or staff requesting up to 10 scans to support their UM departmental or faculty work will not be charged. The request must be submitted through a UM email to qualify.
  • Larger requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine whether fees may apply.
• Alternate format requests
  • Users with a print disability will not be charged for alternate format digitization requests where applicable. Learn more about alternate format requests.
• Other digitization requests by UM students, staff, and faculty
  • Digitization requests for UM students, staff, and faculty other than those previously referenced above will be provided at a discounted rate. 
• UM Alumni
  • Digitization requests for clients with a UM Alumni Library card will be provided at a discounted rate. 

Types of fees

• Digitization set-up fee: This one-time fee covers the cost of retrieving and reshelving items for digitization, reviewing requests to ensure the materials can be digitized safely and without violating existing terms or licenses, and other administrative costs of digitization
• Number of scans: This fee is charged based on the number of pages requested for digitization and is applicable to photos, textual records, books, slides, and negatives. Per page fees vary in pricing depending on the equipment needed to scan the items.
• Commercial usage fee: This fee is applied to requests where digitized items will be used for profit. The fee does not apply to items in the public domain.
• Rush charge: The Libraries Digitization Centre aims to fulfil small digitization requests within 10 business days. A rush charge may be applied to small digitization orders required within 1-5 business days, depending on the amount of scans requested. Timelines for larger digitization requests will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
• Cancellation fees: If a request to cancel the order is submitted after digitization is already underway, a cancellation fee to cover the costs of work done so far may be applied.