National Digital Newspaper Program

Are there any restrictions on the reuse or repurposing of digital files that have been created through a NDNP cooperative agreement? There are no restrictions on the subsequent use of digital files created as part of the cooperative agreement with NEH for NDNP. However, any costs related to local reuse or enhancement of these files will not be eligible for support in the agreement.

If a reel contains more titles than the one selected for scanning, should the issues for the extra titles also be scanned? Alternatively, if a reel for a selected title contains issues outside of the target date span (1860-1922), may the issues outside that span be scanned under the cooperative agreement? Only materials that meet NDNP selection criteria and that are proposed and approved for funding as part of the cooperative agreement should be digitized and described with NEH funds. Awardees should deliver only these materials to LC.

How may we deliver digital content to LC? Several options exist for delivery of digital content. LC will accept delivery by hard disk. Alternative methods of delivery can be discussed at a meeting of award recipients that will be convened shortly after the cooperative agreements are announced.

May we scan from paper instead of microfilm? NDNP will be primarily concerned with conversion of newspapers from second generation duplicate negative microfilm. Minor gaps in issues or pages on microfilm may be filled by scanning original issues. NDNP criteria favor the selection of complete titles from the 1860-1922 period. A request may be made for support to scan from paper a highly significant title for which microfilm is not available.

How may we obtain further information about the application process?

Questions about the process of applying to this competition may be addressed to NEH staff at preservation@neh.gov or (202)606-8570.

To whom may I address questions about the technical guidelines of NDNP? All questions relating to technical guidelines should be directed to LC staff at ndnptech@loc.gov.

How do we determine if the quality of our microfilm is good enough for successful digitization? The technical guidelines indicate how to evaluate the overall quality of individual microfilm reels. Selection preference should be given to microfilm that meets all of these characteristics.

How do we differentiate between multiple titles or editions appearing on the same reel for scanning? LC's technical guidelines specify that every scanned page be assigned a corresponding LCCN in the associated metadata file. This provides a direct link from the page image to the correct title through an existing CONSER bibliographic record. In situations where pages of multiple titles appear on a reel to be scanned, corresponding LCCNs must be supplied for each title. Likewise, when pages from more than one edition of a title appear on a reel for scanning, it will be necessary to supply the correct LCCN for the different editions on the film.

What resources are already available in digital form to assist in selecting newspapers for digitization? The United States Newspaper Program (USNP) produced over 150,000 newspaper catalog records and more than 450,000 local holdings records. These records are accessible through the OCLC Union Lists or OCLC's WorldCat. The Library of Congress will provide digital access to N.W. Ayer's American Newspaper Annual, as available, for the 1869-1920 selection period.