By Bill Schlotter

	Digital information preservation concerns University Librarian Sarah Pritchard.

Concerned that millions of nationally important digital information resources are in danger of being lost or corrupted, the Library of Congress has partnered with eight institutions—including UC Santa Barbara—to begin a $15-million effort to build a nationwide digital data collection and preservation system.

Under the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, each of the eight institutions and their partners will take the lead in preserving digital information in specific areas These range from historic documents to the arts.

UCSB’s project is to form a multi-partner repository for digital geographic information, such as maps, aerial and space photographs, population figures, and other data. Such information will be housed in a decentralized set of archives to be called the National Geospatial Federated Digital Repository that will be cooperatively organized and run by the University Libraries and partner institution Stanford University.

University Librarian Sarah Pritchard attributes the Library of Congress award to UCSB’s experience organizing and running the Alexandria Digital Library. It was formed in 1994 to serve as a digital repository of geospatial data for the campus and greater Santa Barbara community.

“We feel that we were chosen because of our proven success in developing and administering the Alexandria Digital Library,” Pritchard said. “The Library of Congress was looking for partners who not only understand digital libraries, but who also have the ability to implement.”

Pritchard said the need for such a repository is clear, since more and more information is “born” and only exists in digital form.

“Basically, none of this born-digital map information is being permanently archived anywhere at the present, under any sort of technical system that will ensure long-term persistence,” she said. “We don’t know how much of this information is at risk, but it is a lot.”

Pritchard and Michael Keller, university librarian at Stanford, serve as co-principal investigators for the project. Conducting the day-to-day work will be Larry Carver, UCSB’s director of library technologies and digital initiatives, and Julie Sweetkind-Singer, head of Stanford’s Branner Earth Sciences Library.

When finished the National Geospatial Federated Digital Repository will link many of the nation’s geographical data archives, Carver said. “The first part is to set up an infrastructure to allow that to take place.”

The repository will include anything that is geospatially referenced, he said. That would include things like maps, aerial photographs, and population figures, but also less obvious things, such as information on cities or regions.

“Anything that can be tied to a location on the earth’s surface can be geospatially referenced,” Carver said.

The Library of Congress will give about $2.6 million over three years to this phase. The funds are to be matched by UCSB and Stanford in either funds or services.