Library of Congress

Digital Preservation

The Library of Congress > Digital Preservation > Partners > Preserving State Government Information

Preserving State Government Information - A Library of Congress InitiativeThis initiative focuses on capturing, preserving, and providing access to a rich variety of state and local government digital information.

Four lead projects work with 35 states to collect and preserve publications, geospatial data, legislative records, executive agency documents, and other information of long-term value.

Each project works to develop and share tools, services and practices to help all states make progress in managing their digital heritage.

Project partners include state archives, libraries, historical societies, and other organizations with an abiding interest in the ongoing stewardship of government digital information.

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News and Events

Final States project report released:
States of Sustainability:A Review of State Projects funded by the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP)

Produced for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program by Christopher A. Lee of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, this report summarizes findings of a review of the NDIIPP state projects, including an analysis of project deliverables and documentation, individual engagement with project participants at conferences and professional events, visits to the lead partner sites for all four projects, and monitoring of project activities and announcements.
States of Sustainability:A Review of State Projects funded by the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) (PDF)

Partners

The lead entities and the focus areas of the initial four projects:

Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, "Persistent Digital Archives and Library System." Arizona is leading this project to establish a low-cost, highly automated information network that reaches across multiple states. Results will include techniques for taking in large quantities of state data as well as developing a strong data-management infrastructure. Content will include digital publications, agency records and court records. States working in this project are Arizona, Florida, New York, South Carolina and Wisconsin.

Minnesota Historical Society, "A Model Technological and Social Architecture for the Preservation of State Government Digital Information." The project is working with legislatures in several states to explore enhanced access to legislative digital records. This will involve implementing a trustworthy information management system and testing the capacity of different states to adopt the system for their own use. Content will include bills, committee reports, floor proceedings and other legislative materials. States working in this project are Minnesota, California, Kansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Illinois and Vermont.

North Carolina Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, "Geospatial Multistate Archive and Preservation Project (GeoMAPP)." The GeoMAPP effort will address the preservation of at-risk and temporally significant digital geospatial content. This data is at risk of being overwritten when updates are made, with the superseded data lost for future use and analysis. The project will model an organized network engaged in the transfer and replication of geospatial data content within and between states, exploring different methodologies and tools for the preservation of geospatial data. This will include recommendations on archival processes to ingest and manage the snapshots of geospatial data. States working in this project are North Carolina, Kentucky and Utah.

Washington State Archives, "Multi-state Preservation Consortium." The Washington State Archives is using its advanced digital archives framework to implement a centralized regional repository for state and local digital information. Outcomes will include the establishment of a cost-effective interstate technological archiving system, as well as efforts to capture and make available increased amounts of at-risk digital information. Content will include vital records, land ownership and use documentation, court records and Web-based state and local government reports. States working in this project are Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, California and Louisiana.

Background Information

State Government Digital Information Program Announcement

Twenty-one states, working in four multistate demonstration projects, are joining NDIIPP in an initiative to catalyze collaborative efforts to preserve important state government information in digital form.
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Preservation of State Government Digital Information: Issues and Opportunities Report

In April-May 2005, the Library held convening workshops with representatives from all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands. The Preservation of State Government Digital Information: Issues and Opportunities Report (PDF, 8.7MB), published in October 2005, presents finding gathered from all three workshops and was part of an exploration regarding potential involvement of the states within the scope of NDIIPP.

Center for Technology in Government Reports

The Center for Technology in Government, located at the State University of New York at Albany, provided facilitation support to the NDIIPP states workshops. CTG released two reports that built on observations from the meetings:

Building State Government Digital Preservation Partnerships: A Capability Assessment and Planning Toolkit, Version 1.0, 2005 (PDF, 736KB)

Preserving State Government Digital Information: A Baseline Report, 2006 (PDF, 1.03MB)

Original Request for Expressions of Interest

In May 2006 the Library released a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI), inviting interested state partners to submit proposal ideas for potential multistate demonstration projects for the preservation of state government digital information. View a copy of the RFEI (Word, 52KB).