Right from the Start: The Digitization Program at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture

Before opening, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture established a program to create digital collection records and surrogates, which play a critical role in collection care, collection accessibility, and enhancing the meaning of collections. The program is off to a good start because it supports the museum’s mission, the museum has established a dedicated “Digi Team,” the program has leadership buy-in and financial support, and other Smithsonian units have been generous with time and expertise. Also explored in this article are digitization program activities and results, the impact of digitization, and plans for the future.