Digitization initiatives require strategic planning because they are interrelated tasks in which each decision influences the next. 

Digitization has changed how collections are used and accessed.

Research can make digital surrogates more amendable to interpretation, such as via full-text searching and indexing, as well as comparison of materials for multiple sources. Nonetheless, there may be times when no digital surrogate is adequate for scholarship. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate whether digitization is worthwhile before undertaking an initiative. Many factors come into play when assessing the value of digital files. These factors may help access when digitizing collections can be cost-effective. Valuable digital resources, which bring prestige to the institutions that create and maintain them, are those that support scholarship without losing the benefits of working with the originals. 

Reading rooms are secure spaces used by the public to review archival materials. They are designed so that the records are always protected.

Archives are the foundation of our collective memory. Physical and digital artifacts document our history, culture, and identity. 

However, too often, archives are overlooked by decision-makers who fail to recognize their importance. Therefore, talking about archives to decision-makers is crucial to help preserve our history and shape our future.

A processing room provides a workspace, separate from storage areas, where archivists may examine, sort, arrange, describe, and rehouse archival materials. 

Archival storage rooms must be limited to the storage of archival collections; they should incorporate only materials necessary to house collections.

Materials typically used in storage rooms include shelving, cabinets, boxes or containers housing the collections, and book trucks and carts used to move and transport records.

Metadata is structured data about data that facilitates information management and use. Metadata provides users with a standardized means of intellectual access to digitized materials. 

Metadata standards can assist by streamlining the information transfer between hardware and software platforms as technologies evolve. Resources encoded using open standards have a greater chance of remaining accessible after an extended period than resources encoded with proprietary standards. 

Digitizing materials requires an investment in describing them to aid users in discovering them. What makes description challenging is the level of detail required. 

Understanding description requires knowledge of recognized standards and the ability to apply them. In addition, description requires multitasking, toggling between high-level philosophical issues such as the inclusiveness of subject terms and a focused eye for detail to troubleshoot data entry issues.

Archivists should increase the number of access points to their materials to help users navigate their collections. 

Description combines traditional archival practices with visual resource communities’ more focused descriptive methods.