“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.” –Greek proverb

Qatarchive.org - Collection Development Policy
Created by the Qatar Unified Imaging Project (QUIP)
(Note:)The Qatarchive.org collection development policy follows the Guidelines of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Section on Acquisition and Collection Development’s, Guidelines for a collection development policy using the conspectus model, published in 2001.[1]
In everyday terms...
We created this document to communicate the overall goals of the qatarchive.org collection, define the materials that are within the collection, identify materials that should be added to support the overall goals, define what elements of a complex digital object should be preserved, and provide a guide for decisions made in the future.

1. Introduction

Qatar Unified Imaging Project Mission: To preserve the unique character of Qatar by providing easy access to digitized primary source materials in an agile centralized collection carefully managed and preserved for a persistent, authentic and continually-growing resource; to promote awareness and understanding of Qatari history, culture, and heritage.
Policy purpose: The collection development policy for qatarchive.org supports the Qatar Unified Imaging Project mission and provides a sustainable framework for development and a channel of communication for contributing members.
Project partners should use this guide to structure relationships within the community for collection building and continued access to, and promotion of qatarchive.org
For content providers this policy guides the evaluation of the qatarchive.org collections to determine strengths and reveal gaps in the documentation. Ongoing evaluation is necessary to shape the collective goals for qatarchive.org. This document provides a framework for digital acquisition, processing for access, archiving, and collection development responsibilities.
For qatarchive.org users, this policy provides insight into the types of materials you will find and how those materials can be used for study and scholarship.
The permeation of technology in education and entertainment creates precedence for developing digital copies of primary sources and rare historical materials. The previous limitations of physical proximity to primary sources are no longer a reasonable obstacle. The value of information derived from primary sources in research, justifies open access for global users who are interested in expanding research on the history and heritage of the Arabian Gulf.
Collection purpose: Qatarchive.org is a continuously developing collection, cataloged according to international standards, captured, interpreted, and preserved with care and sensitivity. The aim is to provide access to primary source materials about Qatar and the surrounding region that would otherwise have limited or no access; to encourage scholarship and foster understanding of the communities of south-east Arabia during the 20th century with a particular focus on Qatar. 
Guiding Principles: As an aggregated resource to support learning and research the following principles apply.

• Each contributing institution is responsible for maintaining documentation of ownership
• Ownership remains with the institution or copyright holder unless otherwise expressed
• Qatarchive.org claims ownership to digital objects that have been created through the Qatar Unified Imaging Project digitization program. Metadata created through the Qatar Unified Imaging Project remains the property of QUIP, but may be copied and shared following the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
• Content contributors should aim for high quality digital surrogates by following the Qatar Unified Imaging Project digitization and metadata guidelines
• qatarchive.org is a tool for access and should not be seen as a means to replace original materials 
• Orphan works occur when the copyright holder is unknown or unreachable. Since many photos taken during the 20th century in Qatar have undetermined provenance, qatarchive.org will register orphan works to help restore connections between the photographer and the object.  Materials will be removed at the request of any legitimate copyright holder.
  

2. Scope and Context

The qatarchive.org collection presents complex digital objects created from the research findings of the Qatar Unified Imaging Project (QUIP). QUIP is the pilot project for digital heritage in Qatar. Materials in the collection document primary sources of and about Qatar and the surrounding Arabian Gulf. Priority is given to image and sound formats to provide illustrative and immersive resources for study. Representative objects of national identity are included to document the process of nation building during the 20th and 21st century. All forms of digital heritage are represented in the collection including moving and still images, audio recordings, text based objects and any potential 3D output.
The transformation of Qatar during the 20th century happened rapidly in an atmosphere devoid of systematic archiving technique. Primary sources were dispersed and often became part of private collections creating a deficit of accessible research materials in the 21st century.  The drastic transformation of physical space and the interrelationships of coastal settlements, the semi-settled tribes, travelers and traders, and transnational communities of the surrounding Gulf States provide the narrative for this period of change. Materials selected for qatarchive.org support research relating to the confluence of tradition, urban culture, and industrialization.  The materials shared through qatarchive.org illustrate this transformation from multiple perspectives.
The founding collection was created under the guidance of the Qatar Unified Imaging Project steering committee. The steering committee contributed local knowledge for planning, establishing priorities, and coordinating collection growth. The founding collection  includes primary sources from Qatar Museums Authority,  the Ministry of Culture Arts and Heritage, Department of Heritage, the Diwan Amiri, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Msheireb Properties, Msheireb Arts Center, Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Radio, Qatar Television, Al Jazeera Network, Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani’s Museum, Al Jasarah Club, Qatar News Agency, Qatar Postal Corporation, National Archives of France, Shell International, Sheraton of Doha, historic sites documented by the QUIP research team, a sampling of personal and family archives, and Qatar's orphaned works.

Selection Criteria
Content selected for digitization must have value for research to industries and intellectual disciplines which have sustained interest in the region, such as oil and gas, engineering, architecture, urban planning, culture and heritage, anthropology, history, archaeology, economics, business and trade, political science, media and journalism, etc. If the original is no longer accessible digital objects should be created from the best copy of the original.
Digital objects created by content providers may have different technical characteristics to evaluate for preservation issues before accessioning to the collection. Priority is given to digital objects with partial of accompanying metadata.  Materials that are selected for inclusion should maintain one or more of the following criteria:
The content...
...is of particular regional or local value
...is of high contextual value
...is rare or unique
...is an original document from the local government, visiting dignitaries, or protectorate government
...is at risk of being lost due to physical conditions or obsolete media format
...contributes to an existing digital collection
...helps unify materials previously held in discreet or isolated collections
...compliments and enriches previously isolated objects
...supports research areas that are under represented

3. General Collecting Guidelines

1. Languages: qatarchive.org collects in all languages that are relevant to the region.
2. Dates: 19th, 20th and 21st century
3. Formats:All primary source formats will be considered including original documents, oral history, autobiographies, diaries, e-mail, interviews, letters, minutes, news film footage, official records, photographs, raw research data, speeches, creative works, art, drama, films, music, novels, poetry, relics or artifacts, buildings, clothing, DNA, furniture, jewelry, and pottery.
4. Cooperative Collection Development: To develop a critical mass of primary source materials and to highlight institutions that collect materials on Qatar and the Arabian Gulf effort is focused on co-operative initiatives between local, regional, and international contributors. Having a network and registry in place will also help to minimize any duplication of effort when overlap occurs.
5. Gifts:Gifts are required to be unrestricted. Special circumstances may warrant exception and must be agreed upon by qatarchive.org and the donor. Acknowledgements of gifts are provided but no monetary appraisals can be offered. 

4. Subjects

• National Integration and Popular Culture
• Language and Ethnicity
• History and Mythology
• Tradition and Hierarchy
• Theater, Outdoor Events, and Holidays
• Film and Photography
• Televisions and Video
• Radio, Phonograph, Audio
• Lifestyles – Food Habits, Clothes, etc.
• Music
• Popular Literature (oral and written)
• Sports and Recreation
• Painting, Design, and Sculpture
• Architecture, Public and Private
• Religion and Pilgrimages
• Advertising and Propaganda
• Gender and Race
• Cultural Geography and Geopolitics
• Oral Folklore Tales
• Rituals and Rites of Passage