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IMLS Digital POWRR Project - Preserving Digital Objects With Restricted Resources

While many larger institutions have made considerable headway on digital preservation, many medium- and smaller sized institutions have struggled to make similar progress, largely due to a lack of economy of scale. This project will investigate, evaluate, and, as its close, recommend scalable, sustainable digital preservation solutions for libraries with smaller amounts of data and/or fewer resources. Working closely with nationally recognized standards-based vendors of digital preservation solutions, the project will also investigate potential business models that would provide equitable access to digital preservation to libraries of all sizes. The Northern Illinois University Libraries will carry out this research with a board of advisors and partner libraries at Chicago State University, Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, and Western Illinois University.

Project Staff

• Project Investigator: Lynne Thomas (Curator, Rare Books/Special Collections)
• Project Investigator: Drew Vandecreek (Director of Digital Initiatives and Co-Director, Digital Convergence Lab)
• Project Director: Jaime Schumacher
• Technical Coordinator: Stacey Erdman (Technical Coordinator, Digital Initiatives and SEADL)
• Regional History Center Liaison: Katharine White (Curator of Manuscripts, Regional History Center Department)
• Systems Administrator: Joseph Thomas (LAN Administrator, Technology Initiatives and Support Services)
• Graduate Assistant: Sarah Fraser

Partner Institutions

• Chicago State University Project Lead:( Aaisha Haykal)
• Illinois State University Project Lead:( Patrice-Andre Prud'homme)
• Illinois Wesleyan University Project Lead:( Meg Miner)
• Western Illinois University Project Lead:( Dr. Jeff Hancks)

Advisory Group

• Liz Bishoff (Principal Partner, Bishoff Group, LCC)
• Steve Bromage (Executive Director, Maine Historical Society)
• Martin Halbert (Dean of Libraries and Associate Professor, University of North Texas)
• Jerome McDonough (Assistant Professor, University of Illinois)
• Christopher Prom (Assistant University Archivist and Associate Professor, University of Illinois)
• Amy Rudersdorf (Director, Digital Information Management Program, North Carolina State Library)

Project Sponsors

• Institute of Museum and Library Services

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Through grant making, policy development, and research, IMLS helps communities and individuals thrive through broad public access to knowledge, cultural heritage, and lifelong learning.

Project Websites

• Main Webpage
• Project Blog

Grant Submission Materials

• Project Narrative
• Project Workplan

Project Calendar & Significant Milestones

• Project Calendar
• Significant Milestones

Meeting Notes

• [Monday, June 18th Conference Call]
• [Monday, July 30th Conference Call] Meeting Minutes -- Meeting Agenda

Grant Research Resources

• Bibliography of Primary Resources