Best practice photographic digitalization in the cultural heritage

The digital revolution has involved the Fratelli Alinari in a complex transformation of its archives from the traditional approach of consultation and usage to on-line access that is differentiated according to the user: internal or external, business or educational. The most difficult task for Alinari has been the long and complex work of inventorying, cataloging and digitizing its wealth of images. This paper is about the best practice experience developed at Alinari during the past 10 years of European based EC projects, and through the knowledge raised for the commercial and educational exploitation and retrieval of the famous Florentine photographic archive.