Volunteerscan

Volunteerscan is a term used to describe a community-driven initiative that coordinates volunteers to carry out scanning tasks for digitization projects. It covers programs that convert physical materials—such as manuscripts, photographs, maps, and newspapers—into searchable digital formats, with the aim of expanding public access while preserving originals.

Typically, volunteers use modest scanners or mobile devices and follow defined workflows. An online platform assigns items to volunteers, records provenance and conditions, and provides checklists, image capture standards, and quality control steps. Supervisors review submissions for readability, completeness, and metadata accuracy.

Outputs are stored in standard digital formats and accompanied by metadata following library and archival practices. Common outcomes include high-resolution TIFF or JPEG images, OCR-text, and descriptive metadata aligned with guidelines such as Dublin Core or METS. Rights and licensing arrangements are clarified to determine reuse.

Organizing bodies are usually nonprofit or community groups that rely on volunteers, donations, and partnerships with libraries, archives, and schools. Governance emphasizes accessibility, privacy, informed consent when handling sensitive materials, and open-access objectives. Training and ongoing support help maintain consistency across volunteers.

Volunteerscan programs face challenges in maintaining consistent quality, ensuring legal compliance, and sustaining engagement. Critics point to potential inequities in access to digitized materials and to the need for robust data governance. The concept also appears as a general term for any crowdsourced scanning effort.