Evolving Collections: Building an Infrastructure to Preserve the Power of Silence

The rise of digital data as a central component of 21st century research is a well-documented phenomenon, but examples of working institutional infrastructures to manage and preserve this data are relatively few and far between. The Texas Advanced Computing Center at The University of Texas at Austin is involved in a multi-year effort to build such an infrastructure, with an emphasis on collecting and managing digital data during the research process and a corresponding deep level of interactions with researchers and projects in a variety of disciplines. Collection and dissemination activities in areas from digitization of Natural History collections to documentation of ongoing Archeological investigation will be presented, and the infrastructure needs presented by this diverse community of practice will be discussed. Finally, the design of the present infrastructure will be discussed, along with the rationale for that design and the plans for future expansion of the capacity and functionality of a system which will enable and preserve a comprehensive record of research for future generations.