URSA Digitization Specifications

When digitizing items it is important to think about which file formats will be able provide continued access in the future. Or to put it another way, we must consider which formats are able to be used regardless of which type of software program an individual has.  For example, Word and Excel documents work best in those respective programs, but PDF or text files can be opened and used by many programs. URSA works best with files that are unencrypted, uncompressed, and saved in non-proprietary software programs.

Preferred file types for URSA submissions:

Mercer University Archives may convert file formats or reduce a file’s size to ensure that all submissions are compatible with end-user needs on URSA.

See below for our medium-specific file standards and file naming conventions for your digitization needs.

If you have questions about digitizing your file for URSA, please contact an archivist.

File Naming Conventions

Below are some general guidelines for creating file names for your digital objects.

• Choose unique file names. File names should be unique as possible, including placing a _1 after the name to distinguish between files.
• UNIX characters only. File and directory names must use only characters allowed by the UNIX operating system. Allowable characters are: a-z A-Z 0-9 . _ –
• Do not use special characters, such as, . \ / ( ) : * ? ” & |, except for dashes or underscores. These characters are often reserved for use by the operating system.
• Do not use spaces in the file name, use underscores or dashes instead.  Browsers and some older operating systems do not handle spaces well.
• Use leading zeros. If the file name includes numbers use zeros as placeholders. For example, a collection with 999 items should be numbered: mac001.tif, mac002.tif … mac011.tif, mac012.tif, etc. (NOT mac1.tif, mac2.tif …). This practice facilitates sorting and file management.