CTG - lc

Library of Congress Collaboration for Preservation of State Government Digital Information

Summary

Project started on Jan. 1, 2005 (Completed)

State and local governments are creating vast amounts of information solely in digital form, including land data, school records, official publications and court records. Much of this material is of permanent legal, legislative, or cultural value, yet is at risk because of a number of technological as well as policy and management issues. Technological issues include fragile media, technological obsolescence, or other technical hazards. Policy and management issues include organizational inertia, a lack of executive and legislative leadership, and the absence of appropriate decision-making frameworks and operational guidelines. State libraries, archives, and other state and local institutions face complex barriers in developing an effective strategy to meet this challenge.

The purpose of this project is to assist the Library of Congress (LC) in working with U.S. states and territories to develop strategies for the preservation of significant government information in digital form and to build the collaborative arrangements necessary to implement these strategies.

Scope of Work

State Government Digital Information Preservation Survey

From the Library of Congress States Workshops, LC and CTG learned that state librarians, archivists, records managers, and other partners related to digital preservation, overwhelmingly supported LC efforts to:

Assemble information to develop digital preservation profiles for each state and territory, and
Explore opportunities to establish collaborative partnerships with the states.

CTG’s work in the next phase of this project involved managing a systematic survey of the states and territories to:

Task 1.Collect information needed for the state and territory digital preservation profiles.
Task 2. Gather details about the specific kinds of digital information identified as priorities by workshop participants and that has value to the Congress and the nation as a whole.

For both tasks, CTG worked with the leadership of relevant professional organizations serving state librarians, archivists, and others with an interest in the long-term management of state government digital information.

CTG launched the State Government Digital Information Preservation Survey in January 2006. The Web-based survey was e-mailed to state librarians, archivists, and records managers in all 50 states, 4 territories, and the District of Columbia.

During the final phase of the project, CTG analyzed the results of the survey and produced the following two resources to support current and future state and national digital preservation efforts.

Preserving State Government Digital Information: A Baseline Report
State Government Digital Preservation Profiles

CTG notified via e-mail all survey participants, attendees of the Library of Congress States Workshops, and others who expressed an interest in the survey results that the survey products were available on CTG’s Web site.

CTG will stay engaged with the Library of Congress and other members of the digital preservation community to explore ways to continue the state profiles beyond 2006 and maintain an updated and useful resource.

Finally, CTG always encourages feedback on its publications and other resources in support of producing practical and useful resources for government professionals and those academic and private sector professionals that support them. Therefore, do not hesitate to contact us.

Library of Congress States Workshops and Digital Preservation Capability Assessment and Planning Toolkit

In the spring of 2005, CTG assisted the Library of Congress (LC) in orchestrating a unique national forum for states and territories to discuss digital preservation needs. The aim of this forum was to guide investments to preserve at-risk state government digital information by hearing from state government practitioners about the issues they are facing in planning and managing digital preservation projects. This activity was part of the Library’s National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) and the forum was a continuation of LC’s effort to serve as a change agent for digital preservation through partnerships with stakeholders. It allowed LC to collect experiences, concerns, perspectives, and recommendations to inform the development of next steps for LC in ensuring the preservation of state government digital information. This collection of input will be used by LC to leverage existing partnerships and build new ones that will result in new preservation strategies and successes.

The national forum included three one-day workshops conducted by the Library of Congress and CTG in the Washington, DC area. Workshop participants included state-level librarians, archivists, records managers, representatives from state offices of the Chief Information Officer (CIO), and other professionals.

All 50 states, the District of Columbia, and three territories sent teams, the majority of which were comprised of three members, to one of three workshops. Across the workshops, 67 librarians, 53 archivists, 13 records managers, and 20 IT professionals were in attendance. Each workshop had a geographically diverse mix of between 14 to 19 states and at least one territory represented. CTG facilitated a series of large and small group discussions and exercises to obtain information from states in the following areas:

Top concern related to the preservation of state government digital information.
Major state government information digital preservation success story.
The topic about which each state would most like to network with others states.
The state government digital information considered to be most at-risk.
How can states extend or build partnership networks?
Preservation-related roles the states and the Library should fill and not fill

Also, in conjunction with planning the workshops, CTG developed a capability assessment and planning toolkit to assist state government practitioners in planning and implementing digital preservation projects. Copies of this toolkit were provided to all of the workshop participants during the three workshops.

For results of the workshops please see the Library of Congress report at http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/partners/states.html

Press Releases & News Stories

Press Releases

CTG In the News

Publications & Results

Issue Brief

Managing and Preserving State Government Digital Information

Guides

Related Websites

The Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/
The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program
http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/
The Institute of Museum and Library Services
http://www.imls.gov/

Partners

Lead Partners

Library of Congress
Connecticut State Library
Institute of Museum and Library Services
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration/The National Historical Publications and Records Commission
American Association of Law Libraries Washington Affairs
New Mexico State Library
National Science Foundation
National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council
Delaware Public Archives
South Carolina Department of Archives and History
Washington State Archives
Virginia State Library
Minnesota Historical Society
Georgia Division of Archives and History
Texas State Library & Archives
State Library of North Carolina
Illinois State Library
Maine State Archives
Arizona State Library
Maine State Library
National Association of State Chief Information Officers
Maryland State Archives
Center for Technology in Government

Participants

State and Territorial Agencies

Colorado State Library
Colorado State Archives
State of Hawaii Information and Communication Services Division
Hawaii State Public Library System
Hawaii State Archives
State of Idaho
Idaho State Historical Society
Idaho State Library
State Library of Massachusetts
Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners
Maine State Archives
Maine State Library
Library of Michigan
Michigan Historical Center
Minnesota Historical Society
Minnesota Office of Technology
Missouri State Library
Missouri State Archives
Missouri Office of the Secretary of State
Joeten-Kiyu Public Library
Nevada State Library and Archives
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
State Library of Pennsylvania
South Carolina Department of Archives and History
South Carolina State Library
Office of the State Chief Information Officer - South Carolina
State of Tennessee, Dept. of General Services, Records Management Division
Tennessee State Library & Archives
Washington State Archives
Washington State Digital Archives
Washington State Library
Wisconsin Department of Administration
Wisconsin Reference and Loan Library
Wisconsin Historical Society
Wyoming State Library
State of Wyoming Department of Administration and Information
Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources
District of Columbia Public Library
District of Columbia Office of Public Records Management
Alaska State Library
Alaska State Archives
Arkansas State Library
Arkansas History Commission
American Samoa Government
Feleti Barstow Public Library
Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records
Delaware Public Archives
Delaware Division of Libraries/State Library
State Library and Archives of Florida
Kansas State Library
Kansas State Historical Society
State Library of Louisiana
Louisiana State Archives
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Montana Office of Secretary of State, State Records [ Dead Link ]
Montana State Library
Montana Historical Society
New Jersey State Library
New Jersey Division of Archives & Records Management (NJDARM)
New Mexico State Records Center and Archives
New Mexico State Library
New York State Archives
New York State Education Department, Office of Cultural Education
New York State Library
State Library of Ohio
Ohio Historical Society
Oklahoma Department of Libraries
Oregon State Library
Oregon State Archives
South Dakota State Library
South Dakota State Archives
Salt Lake County Records Management and Archives [ Dead Link ]
Utah State Library
Utah State Archives and Records Services
Vermont State Archives
State of Vermont, Department of Libraries
West Virginia Archives and History
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Network of Alabama Academic Libraries
Alabama Public Library
California State Archives
California State Library
Connecticut State Library
Connecticut Department of Information Technology
Georgia Archives
Georgia Technology Authority
State Library of Iowa
Iowa State University
State Archives of Iowa
Illinois State Library
University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Illinois State Archives
Indiana State Library
Indiana Commission on Public Records
Kentucky Department for Libraries & Archives
University of Kentucky
Kentucky Commonwealth Office of Technology
Maryland State Archives
Maryland State Department of Education
State Archives of North Carolina
State Library of North Carolina
State Historical Society of North Dakota
North Dakota State Library
Nebraska Library Commission
Nebraska State Historical Society
New Hampshire State Archives
New Hampshire Division of Records Management and Archives
New Hampshire State Library
Office of the Secretary of State - Rhode Island State Archives Division
Office of the Secretary of State - Rhode Island State Library
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas Department of Information Resources
Library of Virginia
Virgin Islands Territorial Library System
University of the Virgin Islands

Federal Agencies and Professional Associations and Organizations

American Association of Law Libraries (AALL)
Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA)
Cornell University Library
Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR)
Council of State Historical Records Coordinators (COSHRC)
U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO)
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
National Association of Government Administrators Records and Archives (NAGARA)
National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)
Online Computer Library Center (OCLC)
Society of American Archivists (SAA)

Funding Sources

This project is funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation.