The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded $218,154 to BCR to support workshops on digital preservation developed specifically for leaders of collaborative digitization programs. Knowledge and expertise of digital preservation and the ability to develop and execute digital preservation programs is critical to ensure the long-term viability of the digital materials now being created by libraries and cultural heritage organizations. Existing digital collaboratives will benefit from these workshops designed to make long-term digital preservation a core responsibility of the collaborative.

With the grant from NEH, BCR plans to assist existing digital collaboratives and their members: to develop the capacity for assuming responsibility for long-term accessibility of digital collections under their stewardship and to expand the number of collaboratives doing so; to conduct on-site digital preservation readiness assessments; and to test the efficacy of the CRL/OCLC Trustworthy Repositories Audit & Certification: Criteria and Checklist (TRAC) as a planning tool in a collaborative digital environment.

BCR’s Digital and Preservation Services program provides leadership, expertise and education through training and consulting services for libraries, cultural heritage organizations and digital collaboratives. Formed after the Collaborative Digitization Program (CDP) merged into BCR in April 2007, DPS offers collaborative and outreach services designed to support digitization efforts as well as access to digital and teacher toolboxes and best practice documents. During this grant, BCR will partner with PALINET (n/k/a Lyrasis) and OCLC Western.

About BCR
BCR brings libraries together for greater success by expanding their knowledge, reach and power. They offer a broad range of solutions and their hands-on, personal attention to each member enables them to deliver effective and timely solutions that help libraries keep pace with new developments in technology and services. BCR is the nation’s oldest and most established multistate library cooperative. Since 1935, the BCR team has helped libraries learn new skills, reach patrons, increase productivity and save money. BCR (Bibliographical Center for Research) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit headquartered in Aurora, Colorado. For more information, visit www.BCR.org or email info@BCR.org.