Expanding Online Access to Essential Historical Materials About Alaska and the Polar Regions

FAIN: PW-234772-16

University of Alaska, Fairbanks (Fairbanks, AK 99775-7500)
Suzan Hahn (Project Director: July 2015 to June 2018)
Ilana M. Kingsley (Project Director: June 2018 to May 2019)
Gary Holton (Co Project Director: March 2016 to February 2018)
Ilana M. Kingsley (Co Project Director: February 2018 to September 2018)

The configuration and implementation of a unified digital access platform for the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives, which includes diverse materials on the history and culture of Alaska.

Based at University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives (APRCA) is home to unique and significant collections of international value for both Arctic and Antarctic studies and the documentation of the history of Alaska. UAF is a leader in the development and implementation of distance delivery formats, and APRCA has pioneered digital content delivery. As digital preservation technologies and standards have evolved, APRCA now faces two challenges to providing continued digital access to its collection. First, our digital solutions have been developed in parallel with the evolution of digital technologies, resulting in siloed solutions created in-house or by contract vendors. Secondly, three APRCA units do not have a digital content delivery system. This project aims to develop and implement a common digital platform across all five APRCA units.