Kelvin Smith Library maintains a highly active Preservation program inclusive of physical and digital preservation, digital collections, and cultural heritage imaging.
Digital Preservation is everything we do to make sure that our born-digital and reformatted collections will last as long as we need them to. This involves checking files for integrity, moving items to stable formats, packaging them with all the contextual data they will need to be understood in the future, and storing them in archival-level digital storage in multiple locations.
If you are interested in how to best preserve your own files, check out our guide here!
By providing unmediated access to digitized content from University Archives, CWRU Special Collections, and Partner Institutions, our Digital Collections aim to enhance the discoverability and accessibility of CWRU’s distinctive collections through our repository, Digital Case, where users can view, download, and explore the unique content along with its corresponding data for their research, teaching, and learning needs. In addition to providing freely and openly available digitized materials, we assist with digital research support, instruction, and community engagement across our digital collections!
Explore our collections on Digital Case!
Want to Learn More about CWRU’s Digital Collections? Check out our Research Guide!
As part of the Kelvin Smith Library's Preservation Suite, our Digitization Lab is equipped with state-of-the-art reprographic systems, calibration devices, and workflows that ensure we are reformatting and making digital surrogates of our collection items with extreme accuracy. We conduct conformance analysis through custom color profiling, validation using the Golden Thread system, and keep up to date on FADGI standards.
Students?
Charged with the physical stewardship of Kelvin Smith Library's circulating and special collections, Preservation & Conservation addresses both the preventive and acute needs of these items. Preservation takes many forms including monitoring and controlling storage and display environments, integrated pest management, disaster planning, collection surveys, and strategic rehousing. This part of the department also conducts interventive treatments that stabilize at-risk materials. In collaboration with University Archives and Special Collections staff, we determine treatment plans that will most benefit our researchers while respecting the artifactual value of the object. We are guided by the AIC Code of Ethics in our physical repair work and strive to bring sustainability and ingenuity to all we do.
We are always looking for students interested in exploring this interdisciplinary career path as Preservation Lab Student Technicians. Please contact andrew.mancuso@case.edu for more information.
Help support Cultural Heritage Preservation at CWRU
You can directly support the work being done in KSL's Preservation Services Department by visiting our 'give' website and selecting 'Preservation Services' under the designation. We thank you in advance for your generosity.