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New Guide to Creating Digital Resources from Historical Documents The History Data Service is pleased to announce the web publication of Digitising History, a new guide to creating, documenting and preserving digital resources derived from historical documents. The guide is available at http://hds.essex.ac.uk/g2gp/digitising_history/index.html and will also be published by Oxbow Books later in the year. For more information, please contact Oxbow Books, email: [log in to unmask], +44 (0) 1865) 241249, fax: ++44 (0) 1865) 794449, URL: http://www.oxbowbooks.com/ The guide is intended as a reference work for individuals and organisations involved with, or planning, the computerisation of historical source documents. It aims to recommend good practice and standards that are generic and relevant to a range of data creation situations, from student projects through to large-scale research projects. The guide focuses on the creation of tabular data which can be used in databases, spreadsheets or statistics packages. Many of the guidelines are, however, more widely applicable. The guide includes a glossary and a bibliography of recommended reading, and offers guidance about: Effectively designing and managing a data creation project. Transferring historical source documents into digital form and designing a database. Choosing appropriate data formats and ensuring that a digital resource can be preserved without significant information loss. Documenting a data creation project. The guide is one of three commissioned by the History Data Service as part of the Arts and Humanities Data Service publication series Guides to Good Practice in the Creation and Use of Digital Resources http://ahds.ac.uk/public/guides.html. The series aims to provide guidance about applying recognised good practice and standards to the creation and use of digital resources in the arts and humanities. Cressida Chappell, Acting Head, History Data Service, Data Archive, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, Phone +44 (0)1206 873984, Fax +44 (0)1206 872003, email [log in to unmask], http://hds.essex.ac.uk/ %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%