Ithaka S+R Announces a New IMLS Funded Research Project: “Exploring the Effectiveness and Durability of Digital Preservation and Curation Services”

From an Ithaka S+R Blog Post by Oya Rieger:

With generous funding from the Institute of Library and Museum Services (IMLS), we are pleased to initiate an 18-month research project to examine and assess how digital preservation and curation systems (DPCS) are developed, deployed, and sustained. Because our cultural, historic, and scientific heritage is increasingly being produced and shared in digital forms, libraries, archives, and museums are increasingly dependent on digital platforms to support the curation, discovery, and long-term management of digital content. Yet, some of these systems and tools have been shown to have substantial sustainability challenges. We will examine the business approaches of community-based DPCS and compare and relate them to strategies followed by commercial entities offering similar products. Also, our study aims to examine what it means for DPCS to be inclusive and accessible as they need to strike a balance between agility, inclusivity, and the diverse needs of users.

For the purposes of the study, we define DPCS as the tools and services used by cultural heritage organizations to undertake digital preservation and curation work. Examples include Archivematica, Cell Signalling Alliance (defunct), Chronopolis, ContentDM, Digital Preservation Network (defunct), DuraSpace, Dryad, EPrints, figshare, Greenstone, HathiTrust, Invenio, LOCKSS/CLOCKSS, Mukurtu, National Public Library of America (DPLA), Portico, Rosetta, Samvera/Hyku, and Zenodo.

Learn More, Read the Complete Blog Post

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Associations and Organizations, Digital Preservation, Funding, Libraries, Management and Leadership, News, Patrons and Users, Preservation, Public Libraries