The National Archives digitisation service – Fact sheet 249
Digitisation of collection material has become an accepted practice of collecting institutions all around the world. The National Archives digitisation service makes our unique collection accessible to all at a time or place of their choosing. Importantly it also reduces handling of the collection, thereby helping preserve it for future generations.
The National Archives has been making digital copies of selected records available on its website since 2001. Now, over 23 million images of archival records are available for viewing through our online database RecordSearch. New images are made available each week.
The national digitisation service, launched in February 2007, provides online access to records held in the National Archives collection across Australia and features both on-demand and proactive digitising.
Digital images of records are linked to contextual information in RecordSearch. This information identifies the Commonwealth agency that created a particular record, and provides other information including the date range, access status and the location of the original record.
Generally digital images are presented in two sizes – a smaller viewing image and a larger image suitable for printing. Images are optimised for online viewing and provide an accurate representation of the original.
On-demand service
Through the on-demand digitisation service, researchers can request images of paper files up to A3 size that are available for public access and listed on RecordSearch. The service is not available for records larger than A3, boxes of cards, photographs, microfiche, audiovisual records and records in more specialised formats.
The service provides a scanned image of each page of the requested record. The digital image will be made available through RecordSearch. There the digital image can be viewed online, downloaded and printed.
We do not guarantee continued access to digital images, as very occasionally they are removed from RecordSearch for operational reasons. To ensure your continued access, we recommend you download, save and, if you wish, print the images once available.
Charges for requests are set according to the average size of files in the series to which they belong: AU$16.50 for standard-sized files and AU$38.50 for large-sized files (prices include GST).
We do not provide copies of records on CD through the on-demand service. To order a high-resolution digital copy, use the Imaging Services order form.
Ordering an online digital copy
Identify and order records you want digitised through RecordSearch. Use NameSearch if you are looking for records about an individual.
When you have located a record in RecordSearch, select the 'Request copy' button on the 'Item details' page in RecordSearch where you can select the type of copy you want (Online copy – images displayed on RecordSearch or a Colour print copy – mailed and image is displayed on RecordSearch) and pay for your order through the secure e-commerce facility. We will acknowledge receipt of your order by email.
Requests for online copies of records that have already been cleared for public access (ie Open and Open With Exception) will be available within 30 days. You will be notified by email when the online copy is available for viewing.
Some items (records with an access status of Not Yet Examined – NYE) will need to be cleared for public access before a copy can be requested. In such cases submit an application for access by selecting the 'Request copy' button on the 'Item details' page in RecordSearch and following the instructions on screen. Online copies of NYE items may take up to 90 days from the paid request being received by the National Archives.
Proactive digitisation service
Under the proactive digitisation service, the National Archives digitises collection material and makes it available for viewing through RecordSearch without cost. Through the proactive service the National Archives digitises every item in a series. For example, the whole series of those who served with the First AIF – series B2455 – has been digitised.
Researchers are welcome to nominate record series for proactive digitisation. To nominate a series, contact the National Reference Service with the series title and number. We assess all nominations against selection criteria to ensure that high-use, high-value or at-risk material is digitised first.
Printing images
We recommend that you download the images you require and print them from image software, rather than printing directly from your web browser. The print quality is dependent on the type of printer you use.
If you wish to reproduce material from our collection, you need to comply with the provisions of Australian copyright legislation.
Digitisation standards
Fujitsu fi-6770 document scanners are used to digitise the records. Bound and fragile items are scanned using an overhead digital camera system to ensure that these items are not damaged by the scanning process.
The National Archives display resolution is calculated in pixel dimensions. A standard of 1600 pixels along the longest edge for an A4 size sheet of paper is used. The pixel dimensions are then relatively larger or smaller depending on the size of the original. Images will display on our website at 72dpi regardless of the resolution at which they were captured.
