Digitization means acquiring, converting, storing and providing information in a computer format that is standardized, organized and available on demand from common system. With specialized scanner's, documents are converted into compressed digital signals and stored systematically for future reference.
 
The listed advantages offered by digitization tend to come under the headings of increasing access, preservation, and meeting strategic goals. The first allowing increased access to the document is the most-often-cited benefit of digitization. An electronic facsimile of a page, for example, can be theoretically copied and distributed without any degradation in quality. More importantly, a single copy can be mounted on a server, and this can be viewed and downloaded by a large number of users , simultaneously, and from any location in the world.

The clear advantage of such a system is that it liberates the document from the constraints of traditional access methods. Traditionally users may only be allowed access to the original item if they have an appropriate reader's card, and a good and validated reason. Most importantly they would have to physically go to the document itself, which may involve travel, time, and/or money. However if a digital facsimile of the folio was mounted on the Web, for example, and made freely accessible, suddenly everyone can look at the image from the comfort of his own home, office, or school. This example also leads us to the second-cited advantage of digitization, namely preservation. Although the preservation of digital objects is a discussion in itself, the above scenario does imply that the original item might be handled less, or at least that the curators would have an extra reason for restricting access to the print document. On average, 2500 "D" size drawings can be stored on a single CD-ROM. Considering that the average vertical file unit can hold 2500-3000 drawings, this can add up to significant savings in leasehold cost over time. The savings of course, depend on the volume of your drawing and or document inventory. More importantly, time saved in accessing your files is where the real cost savings are. Depending on the volume and the use of the data these savings more often cost-justify the digitization process itself. Once the scans are indexed and integrated into our document management system, information can be retrieved and distributed within minutes over your internal network or through an Internet portal.

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