7 Focus Area 7: Evaluate
As you move through the Digital Readiness Levels, take time to review and reflect on your work on a regular basis. Evaluation is both outward-looking — how is our work making a difference for our users and our community? and inward-looking — what have we learned? How can we improve or evolve our work?
As you move towards a new level in any of the focus areas, consider the following questions:
Is it documented?
- Are new directions and decisions represented in existing policies, such as a collection development policy or a rights and reproductions policy? Do policies need to be revised or do new policies need to be created?
- Are new procedures or processes written down, such as steps for using a scanner or standards for how to describe content? Is there enough information provided that someone new to the organization would be able to carry out these processes on their own?
- Are partnerships or arrangements with other parties, such as a digitization vendor or a content contributor, documented in some way, like a contract, Memorandum of Understanding, or letter of commitment?
Is it sustainable?
- Is there a plan for how this work will continue to be supported by staff and/or volunteers from year to year?
- What work needs to be done to maintain relationships with partners or collaborators?
- Is funding committed for any recurring costs, such as a cloud storage service?
- Are best practices and widely-adopted standards being used, so that digital work is “future proof”–that is, it’s compatible with commonly-used platforms and systems?
- Is there an exit strategy for any tools or partnerships? For instance, can content be removed from a platform if necessary?
Is it appropriate, relevant and/or accessible?
- Are new digital initiatives in line with the organization’s mission and values? Do digital initiatives reflect community needs and respect community priorities?
- If information is available publicly, is it violating any privacy, copyright or ethical considerations?
- Can all potential users access the content? What can be done to improve accessibility for people with disabilities?
Is it working?
- Are we doing what we set out to do? What were our goals and have we achieved them, partially or fully?
- What have we learned and what will we do differently next time?
- What lessons learned would be helpful to other organizations?
- Have we communicated our project decisions and progress to stakeholders and partners, including any funders?
| Key Activities |
|---|
| - Define user groups and their information needs. |
| - Develop outreach ideas, plans, or strategies. |
| - Revisit original project goals and determine if project goals were reached. |
EVALUATE: BRONZE LEVEL
Identifying Audiences
Who are the people your digitization projects will reach? “Everyone!” is a good umbrella goal, but taking steps to define specific user groups and their needs will help you connect with them more effectively. Start by brainstorming a lis