Penn State’s University Libraries is among the increasing number of institutions concerned with the long-term durability of digital materials. Facing this pressing concern, Libraries and university technologists are working across institutions to find solutions for preservation of digital scholarly work, research data, digitized collections, digital AV materials, born-digital archival collections and more. Even though university data centers have IT backup, digital information is so fragile -- much more so than paper.

Penn State’s Libraries recently joined the Academic Preservation Trust (APTrust), a growing consortium of 20 academic institutions developing shared best practices, policies and technical infrastructure to support the long-term stewardship of digital material. Committed to the creation and management of a preservation repository that will aggregate academic and research content from many institutions, the APTrust will base solutions on respected open source technologies that are scalable, sustainable, and provide audit functionality.

Dean of Libraries Barbara I. Dewey noted, “The University Libraries’ recent membership in the Digital Preservation Network (DPN) makes us a part of a national strategy for long-term preservation, and at the local level, APTrust will provide a preservation environment for us, including disaster recovery services. By leveraging the expertise and resources of multiple institutions, APTrust will realize economies of scale and increase value for all members.”

The consortium will work together to determine the shape of future services and best practices as they align around solutions for the common good. Ultimately, APTrust will enable academic libraries to protect the scholarship produced by the academy, a value to all.

For  more information, contact Ben Goldman, digital records archivist, at 814-863-8333.