Report: The HBCU Digital Library Trust Preserves History

From the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Initiative:

Launched in 2023, the HBCU Digital Library Trust is on a mission to reach the next generation of students, researchers, and information seekers through one digital platform with materials showcasing the history of Black academia in the United States post-emancipation.

Funded by the Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery Initiative, the work of the Trust is built on the strong foundation of the digital preservation movement, which began in the 1970s. This movement gained momentum in the United States in the 1990s. In the early 2000s, Janice Franklin and Loretta Parham led the way in introducing collective digital preservation to HBCUs, co-founding the HBCU Library Alliance, a group committed to supporting the sustainability of historically Black colleges and universities libraries at large. In 2006, the Mellon Foundation provided a $375,000 grant to Cornell University and the HBCU Library Alliance. This grant supported the launch of the HBCU Digital Collection.

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In 2008, the Atlanta University Center Woodruff Library became the host of the digital collection, an early digitization program that aimed to expand access to the archival collections at historically Black colleges and universities.

As part of a four-year commitment, Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery (H&LS) Initiative contributed six million dollars in 2023 to launch the HBCU Digital Library Trust with Harvard Library, working in partnership with the HBCU Library Alliance and the Atlanta University Center Woodruff Library. The Trust is a priority for Harvard Library in its efforts to improve the discovery and accessibility of special archival and digital collections for all. To expand the HBCU Digital Collection, the Trust both broadens access and builds capacity so that institutions can benefit from advanced technology and digitization expertise and support.

By 2027, the Trust hopes that all 102-plus HBCUs are contributors. To date, the Trust has digitized over 16,000 materials.

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Filed under: Digital Collections, Digital Preservation, Funding, Interactive Tools, Libraries, News, Preservation