Athletic Archive Vendor Due Diligence Checklist: Vet Digitization and Storage Partners
An athletic archive vendor due diligence checklist is a structured set of questions and evidence requests that a school uses before signing any contract with a scanning service, digital storage provider, or archive migration partner — covering how the vendor handles original physical materials, what file formats and metadata standards it delivers, who retains rights to the digitized content, how it secures custody of irreplaceable items, what the exit path looks like, and what proof it can offer of its preservation standards. The direct answer: do not select a digitization or storage vendor on price alone. Require written answers to each category in this checklist, request sample deliverables and client references from comparable athletic archive projects, and confirm that your school’s IT, legal, and records management staff have reviewed any contract that involves transferring custody of original materials or locking archive files into a proprietary platform. This guide covers every major evaluation category, a vendor scorecard table, a red-flags reference, and a full FAQ — written for athletic directors, school administrators, alumni and archives staff, booster leaders, facilities teams, and school IT.
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