The Digitisation Centre of Western Australia (DCWA) is an important infrastructure that aims to digitise, to global archival standards, cultural and significant research collections held in Western Australia. The Centre is currently capable of digitising common paper-based, photographic, audio and audio-visual formats. 

What is digitisation and why should we digitise?

Digitisation is copying or extracting information stored in physical or analog formats to digital formats that can be stored, shared and accessed through modern digital devices.

Through digitisation, we can make collections more accessible apart from those who can visit them in situ and realise the collections' cultural and research values. Moreover, we can preserve collections that are at risk of loss either through degradation of the items themselves or through format obsolescence. Finally having a local digitisation facility in Western Australia reduces the risks and costs involved in transporting collection items to the major facilities in the eastern states.

In light of this, a partnership consisting of all 5 Universities, the State Library of WA, and the WA Museum applied for and received a Linkage, Infrastructure, Equipment, and Facilities (LIEF) grant in 2019 to establish the Digitisation Centre of Western Australia (DCWA). In 2020 the project received $1.1 million in funding from the Australian Research Council and $425,000 in direct cash contribution from the partners. In 2022, the Centre became fully operational and now we offer fee-for-service to the wider cultural heritage community in WA.