Digital Preservation in Wisconsin Libraries is Entering a New Chapter

PreserveWI, Wisconsin’s statewide digital preservation program, is moving into its next chapter. Digital preservation – the long-term, monitored storage of digital cultural heritage materials – is an essential but often underfunded part of any digitization program, and PreserveWI exists to make it achievable through shared statewide infrastructure. This collaborative initiative between Recollection Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium (WPLC) is transitioning Wisconsin’s preservation infrastructure away from mirrored servers hosted at South Central Library System (SCLS) and LEANWI and into APTrust, a trusted consortium-based digital preservation service hosted at the University of Virginia and in continuous operation since 2012. This transition represents a long-term investment in a sustainable, shared digital preservation ecosystem for Wisconsin’s digital cultural heritage.

This next phase builds directly on years of foundational LSTA-funded work by the WPLC digital preservation workgroup, which included piloting workflows, testing infrastructure, and onboarding participating library systems. That knowledge and experience will carry forward into PreserveWI’s work with APTrust.

In this next phase, Recollection Wisconsin serves as the central administrator, managing day-to-day operations and contributor support, while WPLC provides governance and strategic oversight. APTrust membership officially begins July 1, 2026. Training for the first cohort of participating library systems is already underway, with the remaining systems coming on through the fall, and full operational launch is on track for the end of 2026.

Not at a participating library system, or not a library at all? Future phases of the program will open participation to additional libraries and cultural heritage organizations through Recollection Wisconsin’s umbrella membership, so there will be a place for your institution yet. If you’re digitizing materials and wondering where they’ll live for the long haul, stay tuned!