In order to preserve and explore the history, languages and cultures of the Arctic, it is essential that citizens understand the nature and extent of the public archival record and contribute to its digitization, for preservation and access. While many communities want to address this challenge, they are often inhibited by uncertainty on best practices and standards, on comparative experiences, and on the range of available tools ? in particular, open source options.
Most discourse on digital archive solutions is centered on the needs of large research libraries and national institutions. This project seeks to make a unique contribution to the development and maintenance of open source tools and systems for digital archival content in small communities.
The project begins by gathering a diverse set of local, state, federal, academic and non-governmental stakeholders from the US, Norway and Canada for a workshop at Monticello to share insights on tools and case studies for archive digitization, and to jointly develop the still unmet requirements for open source tools for Arctic archive digitization. As Arctic archives come on line, the research team hopes their work will empower and directly engage the pan-Arctic communities in better understanding how they came to be and how they interrelate with one another in confronting the challenges of the present.
This project was a unique contribution to the discourse on practices in the development and maintenance of open source tools and systems for the curation, preservation, storage, hosting, migration, and support of digital archival content in small arctic communities. Most digital archival initiatives center on the needs of large research libraries and national institutions, not small institutions, which make up the vast majority of archives. Specific project outcomes include: A living vibrant collaboration platform on arctic archives. Open source development teams responding to the publicized feature requests and case studies with practical solutions. Visibility for examples of partnership between federal, state and local institutions on behalf of enabling citizen access to primary historical materials. Recognition by the Smithsonian, NARA and the Library of Congress of the utility of case studies from Arctic digital archive experiences for other US communities. In a broader sense, this effort will enable and inspire increased awareness of available tools and best practices, specific requirements for practical steps forward and pan-arctic replication. The Jefferson Institute is a founding member of the Library of Congress National Digital Stewardship Alliance and a member of the NDSA Open Source working group, an ideal federal vehicle for continuing outreach on our effort’s findings. As arctic archives come on line, we hope this initiative will help to empower and directly engage the pan-arctic communities in better understanding how they came to be and how they interrelate with one another in confronting the challenges of the present.
