Digital Preservation Milestone
Over 1 Million Files Preserved
UW Libraries preservation repository, created in 2016, has just crossed the 100 TB mark, which represents the digital preservation of over one million files! Behind the numbers, however; this milestone reflects the prioritization and dedication to preserving UW Libraries materials for generations to come, including books, photographs, newspapers, government papers, audio recordings, films, and videos and more.
What is a preservation repository?
The preservation repository is the storage infrastructure in which digital content is preserved. The majority of files in the repository are from UW Libraries’ Special Collections, including the examples above, as well as born-digital files that were created by a computer or other digital technology (phones, cameras, etc.). The increasing number of born-digital files reflects the significant change and shift in the way people use digital tools to do their work, research, and document their lives.
A Job That Never Ends
While the term “digital preservation” on its own may seem as simple as saving a file on a server, it is actually an array of many different activities to process, maintain and update files to ensure users can access them for years to come, often adapting for software and hardware that may become obsolete, and protecting files from corruption or bitloss. This work is ongoing, requiring the expertise of dedicated staff to continually process materials and assess the integrity of the repository.
‘A Dark Archive’: Not what you think
The preservation repository is what is referred to as a “dark archive.” While disappointing to some, a dark archive is not the secret library of Darth Vader – it refers to a preservation repository that has limited access to reduce the risk of accidental or intentional edit, corruption, or deletion of digital files. When you access a digital file online via the UW Libraries catalog, Special Collections Digital Collections, Special Collections’ Internet Archives, in ArchivesWest and other online platforms, it is actually a copy of the preserved file. Files sit patiently in the preservation repository as they are monitored for any changes in their bitstream until a researcher or department requests the preservation copy from the Digital Preservation Librarian. A copy of the digital file is then restored from the preservation repository, processed, and delivered to the user or department.
Explore Digital Materials
UW Libraries digital collections are immense, covering a wide range of subjects and materials. Many students do not realize these collections exist, until prompted by their instructor or a librarian. To help inspire your next discovery, here are a few examples that illustrate a small selection of the amazing digital materials you can access in our collections:
Art and Culture
Doris Chase was an artist who specialized in dance/sculpture films that explore dance performance and sculpture. Digitized Doris Chase films, audio and video recordings are available on the Internet Archive.
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The Crocodile Cafe Collection contains over 3,000 hours of live recordings from 2002 to 2007 by audio engineer Jim Anderson of over 2,000 bands and artists. Genres include punk, indie rock, sludge metal, emo hip pop, and power pop, including The Harvey Danger concerts, online in Soundcloud
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The Jacobs Research Funds supports anthropological and linguistic research on living Native Americans. Recent additions to the preservation repository include digital content from the
- Laurestine Bradford field notes, recordings and related materials for Tlingit language collection,
- Anthony Mattina papers, 1968-2001,
- Sharon Hargus papers, 1974-2023,
- University of British Columbia Salish Working Group Éyɂáɂjuuthem (Comox-Sliammon) linguistic research, 2017-2018.
To learn more about Jacobs Research Fund projects, their website has a list of all past projects.
Civic / Government History
Japanese American collections that depict life in the Pacific Northwest. Collections include:
Materials in the Matsushita papers were featured in the Ken Burns documentary, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.”
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The namesake for the Jackson School of International Studies, Henry M. Jackson served Washington state for six terms in both the US House of Representatives and in the US Senate. Henry M. Jackson photographic and graphic materials are preserved in the preservation repository.
Environment and Nature
The Mountaineers photograph album collection depicts some of the first major expeditions of the Mountaineers including the first major outing to Mt. Olympus in 1907. Other areas represented in the collection include Mt. Rainier, Mt. Baker/Glacier Peak, Mt. Stuart/Mt. Daniel, Mt. Adams, Canada, Montana and various locations in the western United States.
Labor History
Oral history interviews of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Pacific Coast Pensioners Association Oral History Project: oral history interviews of ILWU pensioners and PCPA members on their work lives, career and membership.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 46: records began in 1914 and digitized records from 1917-1996 are available online in Digital Collections.
To learn more about the Libraries digital preservation program, visit the UW Libraries Preservation Services.
If you need more inspiration, or guidance on how to use digital materials in your research work, ASK US – our team can help you think through a project, recommend tools and resources to get you started! Explore student projects.
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