Our method for the intake of digital collections

Just like analogue collections, our content partners’ digital collections can also vary greatly in size – which is one reason why we provide two different digital intake routes: continuous intake and batch intake. Content partners can use one of these two processes to send us their (moving and static) images and audio for sustainable storage in meemoo’s archive system.

We created this short video to show our content partners in just two minutes what digital intake is, and to explain the four stages required to set the process up.

Don't see a video? Please check your cookie settings so we can show this content to you too.

Edit your cookie preferences here

Can’t see the video? Please check that your cookie settings allow us to show you this content. You can change your cookie settings at the bottom of this page. Click on ‘Change your consent’ and select ‘Preferences’ and ‘Statistics’.

Continuous intake versus batch intake

The continuous intake route exists for organisations (such as broadcasters) whose collections grow on an almost daily basis. To enable a continuous intake process, partners need the right technical knowledge and infrastructure; organisations that are set up for this can use one of our APIs to regularly send us their digital collections (including metadata) in an automated flow.

With batch intake, parts of collections are supplied at scheduled times. This is useful for organisations whose digital collections only grow a limited amount. You also only need limited technical knowledge and resources to use batch intake; no infrastructure needs setting up on the content partner’s side.

We developed these methods in several pilot projects with content partners from different sectors: the Museum of Industry and the House of Alijn for batch intake, and Focus-WTV for continuous intake. These projects helped to shape the ultimate digital intake process which has been operational since 2018-2019.

Four stages to digital intake

Whereas we use mass digitisation in digitisation projects, digital intake routes are more customised. Twice a year, we launch a new round of digital intake projects to help several organisations set up their own sustainable digital intake operations. The content partners that take part in this process go through four stages over a period of six months – both for continuous intake and batch intake. We start by working together on three aspects: file inventory, metadata and the actual files themselves (essence).

How does the process work?

  1. We start with a general info session for interested content partners to attend before registering.

  2. Selected organisations will then each work on their own digital collection together with a meemoo employee in the preliminary process. This provides answers to questions such as: what’s actually in your digital collection? What do you want to achieve with this collection? What do you want to keep and not keep? We also look at practical issues such as the naming structure, other questions about metadata and selecting the archive masters.

  3. We then put our preparatory work to the test by validating the process in a test and pilot stage as we launch the operation.

  4. When this stage is all working correctly, we move on to operational monitoring. This means that the organisation in question can either send us their digital collection via an automated flow (continuous intake) or supply parts of their collections at agreed times (batch intake). The collections are sustainably archived in meemoo’s archive system upon receipt.

A digital intake process with meemoo has no end date because our content partners’ digital collections can always continue to grow, so they can always supply us with new content for archiving. Digital archiving is a continuous activity, which means our partners can store their content with us securely, without always needing to go through a new process each time.

Do you have a question?
Contact Lobke Vanden Eynden
Project Leader Digitisation and Digital Influx & Account Manager performing arts
This page is loading...