Assessing, Processing, and Preserving UH Libraries’ Digital Archives: a TDL Resident Librarian Collab

The Special Collections department at the University of Houston has a backlog of born digital materials that were donated with analog items. Once upon a time, several files were transferred from physical media to the network drive before the original media devices were placed in storage. An inventory spreadsheet was created. And this is where our story begins…

Processing and preserving born digital materials poses particular challenges for university special collections and archives. Our project is a joint effort between the University of Houston’s Special Collections and Preservation and Reformatting Department, and the Texas Digital Library, to develop some workflows that can be shared with the larger digital archival community in the state. This presentation gives an overview of the project goals, steps taken so far, and future plans. Some of the main challenges we are seeking to address include: various types of file formats, handling different types of storage media, description and finding aids, and tailoring digital preservation system workflows. The presenters will also welcome feedback and ideas from attendees, encouraging knowledge sharing and potential future collaborations.