Digital Preservation Readiness Assessment to Preserve Special Collections and Archives

FAIN: PG-51604-12

SUNY Research Foundation, Albany (Albany, NY 12222-0001)
Karen E. Brown (Project Director: May 2011 to June 2013)

The hiring of two consultants to conduct a preservation assessment of the digital collections at the M.E. Grenander Special Collections and Archives Department. The survey would evaluate policies and practices and create a preservation plan for digitized photographs, newspapers, manuscripts, video, and audio recordings from three collections that document cultural activities in New York and the Northeast.

Consultants from Lyrasis will complete an assessment of the digital collections produced by the Department of Special Collections and Archives. We aim to make our valued humanities collections accessible beyond our locale and ensure the preservation of digital assets for generations to come. The project will run from January to December 2012. It will focus on the three most important humanities collections available digitally. The Norman Studer Collection documents the work of an important educator who worked in New York City and the Catskill Mountains. The WAMC Northeast Public Radio collection features 5,000 hours of original programming. WAMC is one of the largest producers of nationally syndicated journalism programs outside of Washington, D.C. The New York State Writers Institute audio and video collection includes nearly 200 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winners.