The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Libraries Digital Collections was established in 2001 to provide remote (online) access to the library's unique resources. It serves the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee academic community as well as the general public.
In May 2010 the UWM Libraries Digital Collections began working in conjunction with the American Geographical Society Library on a preservation project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The project, entitled Saving and Sharing the AGS Library's Historic Nitrate Negative Images, encompasses "the digitization and rehousing of 56,000 nitrate photographic negatives that document landscapes, streetscapes, and human cultures around the world."[1]
A project proposal for a new collection is submitted to the Digitization Unit and then reviewed by the UWM Libraries Digitization Oversight Committee.
Materials for approved projects are carefully selected by collection curators and subject specialists in the libraries and departments housing the source collections. UWM Libraries Digitization Unit is responsible for digitizing the selected materials according to established digitization standards and best practices. The digitized resources are researched and described to provide additional access points and to facilitate their discovery and use. CONTENTdm digital media management software is used to build online collections. Digital master files are stored at UWM Libraries digital repository to ensure their accessibility in the future. High resolution digital images can be ordered.[2]
The UWM Libraries Digital Collections contain over 50,000 digital objects including photographic images, maps, and books drawn from the holdings of the American Geographical Society Library, the Archives, Special Collections, and the Curriculum Library.[3]
All UWM Libraries Digital Collections are published by the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Libraries. Copyright © 2010 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. All rights reserved.
UWM Libraries Digital Collections images published on Wikipedia are under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
The low-resolution images available from the UWM Libraries Digital Collections website may be copied by individuals or libraries for personal use, research, teaching or any "fair use" as defined by copyright law.
Use fees are charged in addition to reproduction fees when images are published or redistributed. Use fees are negotiated on an individual basis. Requests to publish, exhibit, or redistribute the images included in the UWM Libraries Digital Collections must be obtained in writing.[4]