Digitization projects

The Digitization Centre is currently taking proposals for digitization projects from University of Manitoba students, faculty, and staff.

By submitting a project proposal to the Centre, members of the UM community will help to:

• Enhance access to diverse collections that are reflective of the UM community's research interests and values
• Reduce accessibility barriers by making physical items more discoverable and keyword searchable online
• Develop more open resources to further research and education at UM and beyond

Prior to submitting a project, we recommend that applicants review the information on this page to familiarize themselves with the submission criteria, and review process. 

Proposals must be submitted to the Digitization Centre by Monday, June 30, 2025.

Submit a project proposal

Criteria

Any UM student, faculty or staff may submit a project proposal to digitize content that meet the following criteria: 

• The materials are part of the Libraries' collections or complement existing collections.
• Digitized materials must be able to be uploaded to a public facing online repository hosted or supported by the Libraries, such as UM Digital Collections, UML GIS Hub, or eScholarship.
  • Note: Projects proposing digitization of materials about Indigenous peoples or subjects will be exempt from this requirement to ensure ethical access based on community consultation, consent, and cultural protocols.
• Digitizing and making the materials accessible must not violate any terms of use or access, including copyright, licenses, IP and other possible restrictions.
• The materials must be in stable physical condition so that they can be safely transported to the Digitization Centre, handled, and digitized without damaging the original records.
• The Digitization Centre has the equipment needed to digitize the proposed materials. Learn more about the formats we digitize.

Value

Projects submitted for consideration to the Digitization Centre should be able to communicate the value of the project for the University of Manitoba community and broader audiences. Good candidates for digitization may include:

• Unique materials currently unavailable online
• Historically or culturally significant materials
• Materials that are relevant to the University of Manitoba community and its research interests
• Materials that are relevant to Manitoba

Learn more about what we digitize

Long-term management of collections

The Libraries will maintain the digitized collection for approved digitization projects. Within this role, the Libraries may:

• Create or edit metadata to enhance access to collections
• Reformat digitized files over time
• Migrate content to a different repository
• Preserve files to ensure long-term access
• Update terms of access and use as needed
• Respond to questions and inquiries about the content from library patrons
• Respond to take-down requests

Once project proposals are submitted, the following steps will be applied to review, approve, and prioritize projects: 

1. Feasibility assessment: All projects will be reviewed to ensure they meet the minimum criteria to be eligible for consideration.
2. Clarification: If more information is needed to make a decision, the Digitization Centre will seek clarification from the project sponsor before submitting the project for a final review.
3. Final selection: The Libraries will determine which projects will go forward and notify project sponsors.
4. Stakeholder engagement: The Libraries will work with project stakeholders to scope the project and discuss details as applicable.
5. Digitization: The Libraries' Digitization Centre will begin digitizing, processing, and describing materials and make them accessible to relevant communities.
6. Access: The Libraries will work with project stakeholders to promote the project and make it accessible to broader communities as applicable.