Organization and logistics

• Channels and operators
• Transaction monitoring - Providers
• Quality control

Digitization at BnF: transaction monitoring – service providers

They are then placed in cases which are sent to digitization service providers.

Transactions are monitored using a five-step process, split into two parts:

• Items

• The items to be digitized are dispatched by the sponsor: sealed cases, accompanied by a shipping document detailing the number of cases and their weight for insurance purposes, are sent by BnF to service providers, together with an electronic covering note detailing, for each item, its bibliographic description, physical condition, and the type of service requested (e.g. high-quality OCR, digitization of items with a 90° opening angle, etc.).

• Receipt: the service provider opens the cases and checks that their contents match the description in the electronic covering note. A receipt note is sent to BnF confirming the receipt or non-receipt of each individual item. This receipt note is sent within one week of receipt.

• Return and processing: the day before cases are returned, a note is sent to BnF detailing whether each individual item has been processed or rejected. Where items have been rejected, the reason must be indicated for arbitration purposes.

• Digital documents

• Delivery: documents are delivered either on hard disk or via FTP. Each time digital documents are made available, the service provider sends an electronic delivery note to BnF setting out a list of the documents being delivered together with an identifier for each document. Each digital document has a unique identifier; this identifier is unrelated to the original document, which is identified by a unique bar code. The delivery note is used to check that the number of digital documents actually delivered matches the number reported as being delivered.

• Delivery approval: BnF checks the structure and quality of deliveries, and of each file delivered that forms part of a digital document (for example, it checks that each document described matches its catalog data and is fit to be displayed within the Gallica digital library, and that any TIFF images and XML files are compliant). The service provider is notified of any rejected documents by way of an electronic checklist within two weeks of delivery. Any such documents must be re-delivered.