The goal of the Digital Production Center (DPC) is to develop the highest level of technical infrastructure and human resource capabilities for the comprehensive digital reformatting of original source materials from UNC Library's special collections and other cultural resource institutions. The Digital Production Center combines highly skilled and knowledgeable personnel with state-of-the-art hardware and software to provide the highest possible quality of digitization services through a combination of industry "best practices," quality control standards, and workflow management.
The DPC was formed in 2007 as part of the Carolina Digital Library and Archives in support of the UNC Library's mission to provide access to its materials and thereby support inquiry and learning at the University and for the people of the state of North Carolina.
In the mid-1950s, the University Library created an operational unit called the Library Photoduplication Service. Its purpose was to make the holdings of the University Library more readily available to scholars and researchers. The Photoduplication Service specialized in photographic processes (copy negatives and photo prints), microfilm and microfilm duplication, and a relatively new technical process called "xerography."
Through the end of the 20th century, the Photoduplication Service stayed on the cutting edge of reprographic technologies and served scholars and researchers across the globe in providing a wide range of high-quality copying options. Through the 1970s and 80s, one of the primary services of the department was the duplication and printing of duplicate library catalog cards.
Near the end of the 1990s, digital imaging techniques were being introduced and accepted as industry best practices within libraries. With this increase in digital technology and an industry trend that was moving away from conventional analog processes, the Library Photoduplication Services upgraded its name to Imaging & Photographic Services.
By 2006, the Library phased out all of its previous "analog" photoduplication methods (including conventional photographic processes) and created the Digital Production Center.
Despite the quantum evolutionary changes in the technology, the Digital Production Center's goal is to support the University Library in its mission of providing access to its materials and supporting learning and discovery.
| Fred Stipe | Head, Digital Production Center | fstipe at email dot unc dot edu | (919) 962-1334 |
| Kerry Bannen | Digitization Support Technician - Workflow | kabannen at email dot unc dot edu | (919) 962-1334 |
| Jay Mangum | Digitization Support Technician | jmangum1 at email dot unc dot edu | (919) 962-1334 |
