About Us

Mission

The mission of the MetaArchive Cooperative is to engage in sustainable digital preservation through community collaboration.

Vision

Preserving the past, harnessing the present, preparing for the future

Values

  • Encourage and support the long-term preservation of digital content;
  • Promote a cooperative, robust, and decentralized approach to digital preservation;
  • Encourage archives, libraries, research institutes, museums, and other such organizations to build their own preservation infrastructures and knowledge rather than outsourcing this core service to external vendors;
  • Encourage the growth of distributed digital preservation networks for preserving copies of replicated content in secure, distributed locations over time;
  • Maintain a minimal overhead and straightforward mechanisms for collaboration;
  • Administer services that have wide applicability to a range of organizations and digital content;
  • Utilize and create open standards and systems;
  • Ensure that digital materials are stored and maintained in migratable formats and data structures;
  • Promote and support high standards for preservation metadata capture;
  • Undertake research and development projects to advance digital preservation best practices

In addition to these values, we support and adhere to the Digital Preservation Declaration of Shared Values.

History

In 2004, six libraries in the southeastern United States banded together to develop a digital preservation solution for their special collections materials. The outcome of that collaboration was MetaArchive, a community-owned, community-led initiative comprised of libraries, archives, and other digital memory organizations. Working cooperatively with the Library of Congress through the NDIIPP Program, we achieved what none of us could have alone: a secure and cost-effective repository that provides for the long-term care of digital materials – not by outsourcing to other organizations, but by actively participating in the preservation of our own content.

2004

Founded by six research libraries through a project with the Library of Congress National Digital Information Infrastructure & Preservation Program

2006

Transitioned from a grant-funded project to a sustainable organization under the auspices of Educopia Institute

2008

Awarded $300,000 by the NHPRC to plan for sustainability, both organizational and technical

2009

Expanded to become an international distributed digital preservation network with preservation nodes on three continents

2011

Awarded $300,000 by the NEH to address thorny technical and social challenges in digital news preservation

2014

Celebrated 10 years of successful preservation network activity with more than 60 member institutions

2017

Produced the “ETD+ Toolkit” under a $250,000 IMLS-funded project to help institutions prepare and support students to manage their digital legacies

Members

Membership in the MetaArchive Cooperative is open to any organization whose activities and objectives are consistent with MetaArchive’s mission and principles. We encourage you to contact us with any questions about the cooperative.

  • California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo

  • Carnegie Mellon University

  • case western reserve university logo

    Case Western Reserve University

  • Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya

  • Historically Black Colleges and Universities Library Alliance

  • InDiPres

  • Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

  • Ohio Univerisity Libraries

    Ohio University

  • Oregon State University

  • Penn State University

  • Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro

  • Purdue University

  • Rockefeller Archive Center

  • University of Louisville

  • Virginia Tech University

Governance

The MetaArchive Cooperative is an independent, international membership association administered by the Educopia Institute. The Cooperative’s purpose is to support, promote, and extend the MetaArchive approach to distributed digital preservation practices.

Charter

MetaArchive Cooperative members drive all governance decisions through voting on important issues and in Leadership Team elections, and through their participation in MetaArchive committees.

Strategic Directions

The MetaArchive Cooperative Strategic Directions 2018-2021 document outlines a three-year organizational work plan for the community.

Leadership Team

The Leadership Team is responsible for overall management, coordination, communication, and reporting efforts of the MetaArchive Cooperative. The Leadership Team consists of a Chair, Chair-Elect, Treasurer, and Secretary.

  • Hannah Pryor
    Secretary (2024) - University of Louisville
  • Christine Wiseman
    Chair (2024) - HBCU Library Alliance
  • Alex Kinnaman
    Treasurer (2024-2025) - Virginia Tech University
  • headshot of Reid Boehm
    Reid Boehm
    Chair-Elect (2024) - Purdue University Libraries

Community Meeting Calendar

The MetaArchive Community Meeting Calendar lists upcoming community calls, committee and working group meetings, and Private LOCKSS Network meetings.

If you’re a MetaArchive member and would like to attend one of these meetings, get in touch with the Community Facilitator for joining information.

You can subscribe to this calendar in Google Calendar or Outlook using this link: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/c_38ab24dc97188e1d1c7d9d4399003312029cef7b6300b3d67d0a5d625abc0912%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

Committees

The MetaArchive Cooperative maintains several committees on various schedules (monthly, quarterly, as-needed) that are tasked with strengthening the capacity and operations of the preservation network and the membership community.

Documentation Committee

The Documentation Committee is responsible for developing and maintaining documentation to support the governance, outreach, and technical activities of the MetaArchive Cooperative.

Outreach & Membership Services Committee

The Outreach & Membership Services Committee is responsible for planning, developing, and evaluating strategies for deepening engagement and providing support across the Cooperative’s membership, and educating prospective and continuing members on MetaArchive’s distinctive approach to community-driven digital preservation.

Technical Committee

The Technical Committee is responsible for developing and maintaining technical specifications and coming to agreements on hardware, software, and networking protocols, overall server architecture, application development, and software maintenance.

Staff

MetaArchive’s administrative host, the Educopia Institute, is a nonprofit that advances cultural, scientific, and scholarly institutions by catalyzing networks and collaborative communities. Ongoing support for administrative infrastructure, financial management, publicity, and scheduling is collectively supported by Educopia’s administrative and communications staff for all Educopia-hosted communities.

Jackson Huang is the Community Facilitator for the MetaArchive Cooperative. Get in touch with Jackson if you have any questions about MetaArchive or if you are interested in becoming a member!