John M. Meador, Jr.
Dean of Libraries
Binghamton University
State University of New York
Ido Peled
Rosetta Project Manager
Ex Libris Group
Binghamton University Libraries began digitizing special collections in 2006 and utilizing multiple digital repository platforms for storage and access. However, it was the 2010 admonition by the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Sustainable Digital Preservation and Access (“without preservation, there is no access”) that prompted a re-examination of this strategy. Realizing that several digital silos had been developed, each with its own public interface, and all lacking long-term preservation components, the institution embarked upon building a digital library mirroring the traditional library values of a print library.
The Library began anew with the foundation of the digital library being Rosetta, a proven Open Archival Information System (OAIS)-compliant digital preservation system from Ex Libris that is used by several national and state libraries as well as archives and research institutions. This new strategy has garnered campus support from two new directions: University Publications and data-intensive researchers, primarily because of the institution’s newfound emphasis upon preserving born digital artifacts as well as unique digitized research. A discovery tool that integrates Rosetta with print and licensed collections via a single search box provides access to it. Several of the born digital collections, however, have restricted access similar to that found in print archives. This presentation will elaborate upon the local digital strategy and describe Rosetta’s digital preservation methodology.