The Digital POWRR Project - A Final Report to the Institute of Museum and Library Services

Abstract

The POWRR project investigated and reported on scalable digital preservation (DP) solutions for small and mid-sized institutions often faced with small staff sizes, restricted IT infrastructures, and tight budgets. Its major deliverable, a white paper, has been well-received and widely read. During the investigation, POWRR uncovered the particular challenges and needs of under-resourced institutions and worked to address and overcome obstacles that often prevent practitioners from taking initial steps in preserving digital content. As a result, POWRR also delivered a well-marked, practical path towards sustainable digital stewardship by: creating a graphic-based tool grid that maps the functionalities of 60+ DP tools/services to an OAIS-based curation lifecycle; developing and teaching a pragmatic, hands-on workshops across the country on the initial steps necessary to accession digital content and how to realistically approach developing a DP program; and producing case studies, collaboration models, and other tools to aid smaller institutions in their DP efforts.