Outsourcing Digitization Projects in Saudi Arabia: An Overview of Current Practices

This study reports on a survey conducted regarding the outsourcing of digitization projects in Saudi libraries in order to determine the extent of outsourcing being done in such projects. The survey instrument included a questionnaire about the reasons that might affect the decision to outsource, the steps involved in the outsourcing process, the obstacles encountered by digitization projects during outsourcing, the materials being outsourced, and the criteria for choosing vendors. Digitization projects were also asked about contracting and quality control. The results indicate that outsourcing is a trend in Saudi digitization projects, as five out of nine major digitization projects that responded have outsourced. There also seems to be a correlation between better quality output and the experience levels of staff and the decision to outsource.