Staffing with students: Digitizing campus newspapers with student volunteers at the University of Minnesota, Morris
ISSN: 2059-5816
Article publication date: 7 December 2017
Issue publication date: 3 January 2018
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the advantages and disadvantages to primarily utilizing undergraduate student volunteers for a long-term digitization project and to discuss methods to mitigate the disadvantages of student volunteer work.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a case study of the use of student volunteers for the Historical Campus Newspaper Digitization Project at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
Findings
This paper describes the process of recruiting, training and managing student volunteers for a digitization project. Both advantages and disadvantages to student volunteer work are discussed, including possible steps to mitigate the disadvantages of student volunteers.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is limited to one institution’s experience utilizing student volunteers on one digitization project.
Practical implications
Librarians and archivists interested in new staffing methods for digitization projects can utilize this paper to better understand the benefits and costs to student volunteer labor before putting volunteer projects into practice.
Originality/value
This paper presents a unique case study of a digitization project staffed primarily with undergraduate student volunteers in an American academic library and archive.
Keywords
Citation
Skulan, N. (2018), "Staffing with students: Digitizing campus newspapers with student volunteers at the University of Minnesota, Morris", Digital Library Perspectives, Vol. 34 No. 1, pp. 32-44. https://doi.org/10.1108/DLP-07-2017-0024
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited