Wait, We May Need That: Saving Thousands of Born-Digital Documents from Imminent Deletion
Location
Dover Library Large Conference Room
Start Date
6-6-2025 2:30 PM
End Date
6-6-2025 3:00 PM
Description
At East Tennessee State University (ETSU), a common misconception existed that storing university documents (e.g., minutes, reports, newsletters) on the website was equivalent to archiving them. This perception began to shift after ETSU’s Office of University Marketing and Communications (UMC) announced in December 2023 that documents dated five years or older would be deleted from the university’s website starting July 2024. Around the same time, the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) had its final rule on Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in April 2024 mentioning requirements for accessibility on web content. Recognizing that many of these documents pending deletion were of enduring value to the University, Digital Scholarship Services (DSS) within the Charles C. Sherrod Library seized this opportunity to promote the use of the institutional repository, Digital Commons@ETSU (DC@ETSU). Because the institution lacks a dedicated university archivist, DSS worked together with library administration, UMC, and the Archives of Appalachia (ETSU’s cultural archive) to gain an official recommendation that DC@ETSU be the designated repository for older documents that, while they might not meet modern accessibility standards, still require public accessibility. DSS worked tirelessly to appraise any at-risk documents, scouring dozens of departmental and unit webpages for anything of enduring value. Once the bulk of what was at risk was secured before the July deadline, they began advocating to various stakeholders across campus about the upcoming purge and their plan to ingest as much as possible within the IR. For many, this email was the first time they had been notified of UMC’s policy change, highlighting the importance of DSS’ outreach and archival plan. The advocacy and work of Digital Scholarship Services resulted in over 1,500 documents uploaded into the institutional repository in approximately 40 new collections, inclusion in university-wide communications and policies, and partnerships across campus. However, undertaking such a project in the absence of a university archivist exposed many of the challenges in archiving born-digital university documents, as well as the difficulties in maintaining long-term momentum to continue their preservation. Join us to hear more about the successes and learned lessons of this project as well as discover workflows and communication strategies to apply at your own institution.
Wait, We May Need That: Saving Thousands of Born-Digital Documents from Imminent Deletion
Dover Library Large Conference Room
At East Tennessee State University (ETSU), a common misconception existed that storing university documents (e.g., minutes, reports, newsletters) on the website was equivalent to archiving them. This perception began to shift after ETSU’s Office of University Marketing and Communications (UMC) announced in December 2023 that documents dated five years or older would be deleted from the university’s website starting July 2024. Around the same time, the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) had its final rule on Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in April 2024 mentioning requirements for accessibility on web content. Recognizing that many of these documents pending deletion were of enduring value to the University, Digital Scholarship Services (DSS) within the Charles C. Sherrod Library seized this opportunity to promote the use of the institutional repository, Digital Commons@ETSU (DC@ETSU). Because the institution lacks a dedicated university archivist, DSS worked together with library administration, UMC, and the Archives of Appalachia (ETSU’s cultural archive) to gain an official recommendation that DC@ETSU be the designated repository for older documents that, while they might not meet modern accessibility standards, still require public accessibility. DSS worked tirelessly to appraise any at-risk documents, scouring dozens of departmental and unit webpages for anything of enduring value. Once the bulk of what was at risk was secured before the July deadline, they began advocating to various stakeholders across campus about the upcoming purge and their plan to ingest as much as possible within the IR. For many, this email was the first time they had been notified of UMC’s policy change, highlighting the importance of DSS’ outreach and archival plan. The advocacy and work of Digital Scholarship Services resulted in over 1,500 documents uploaded into the institutional repository in approximately 40 new collections, inclusion in university-wide communications and policies, and partnerships across campus. However, undertaking such a project in the absence of a university archivist exposed many of the challenges in archiving born-digital university documents, as well as the difficulties in maintaining long-term momentum to continue their preservation. Join us to hear more about the successes and learned lessons of this project as well as discover workflows and communication strategies to apply at your own institution.