Hello! My name is Morgan Paavola and I am the Interim Head of the University Archives and Area Research Center, and Records Manager at the University of Wisconsin River Falls. This summer we have had the pleasure of hosting Kristen Whitson, an MLIS student at the UW Madison Information School.
The University Archives at UWRF is responsible for the management, preservation, and access to historical records of the university. Including electronic records! Many accomplishments have been achieved in the last few years, but we still struggle to establish a comprehensive plan and set achievable goals regarding the preservation of our digital records.
Upon her arrival, Kristen faced a scattering of documentation and procedures for our digital records archive but quickly made sense of it all, combining key information into a single comprehensible document. This document now serves as the University Archives Digital Preservation Policy, which will be shared within our organization’s administration and on the CCDC website later this summer.
In a short amount of time, Kristen has done amazing work and has very quickly taken up the mantel for dealing with our digital records. She learned, reviewed and updated our current workflows for accessioning and migrating analog content to our servers. She also explored and made recommendations for various technologies, software, and hardware that will best suit our needs.
Located in the lower level of the Chalmer Davee Library at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, the University Archives and the Area Research Center operate within one facility but are two distinct entities, each with their own collections. The UW-River Falls University Archives is the official repository for the permanent, historical records of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. The River Falls Area Research Center (ARC) is one of fourteen research facilities in a statewide network coordinated by the Wisconsin Historical Society in partnership with the University of Wisconsin System.
Visit Curating Community Digital Collections for more information about this project. This project is made possible by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, #RE-85-17-0127-17
