BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY AND DIGITAL COMMONWEALTH RENEW PARTNERSHIP TO DIGITIZE STATE CULTURAL TREASURES

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY AND DIGITAL COMMONWEALTH RENEW PARTNERSHIP TO DIGITIZE STATE CULTURAL TREASURES

250 Massachusetts Cultural Institutions represented in Digital Commonwealth

BOSTON – November 19, 2015 – Today Boston Public Library announced its renewed partnership commitment with Digital Commonwealth to maintain and expand Digital Commonwealth.org,which provides access to digital resources of cultural heritage organizations throughout Massachusetts. Collections in Digital Commonwealth.org include thousands of images, documents, and sound recordings from member institutions which are openly accessible to researchers, students, and the intellectually curious. Boston Public Library’s development of the Digital Commonwealth repository system provides a means of managing and preserving digital collections to ensure they will be accessible to future generations.

“As part of our statewide responsibilities, we are happy to enter the next phase of our relationship with Digital Commonwealth, partnering to ensure Massachusetts’ shared history and culture are not only preserved but made accessible and discoverable by all,” said Boston Public Library President Interim President David Leonard. 

"Our mission is to bring together the collections of libraries, archives and cultural institutions across the state, and make them accessible to all,” said Elizabeth Thomsen, President of Digital Commonwealth. Our partnership with the Boston Public Library has been essential to the development and support of the Digital Commonwealth and we look forward to continuing to work together."

Since 2010, the BPL has worked to digitize and preserve collections from 250 cultural institutions in 150 municipalities across Massachusetts, totaling 218,000 items. The BPL’s digital team recently visited Harvard Forest Archives, Northern Essex Community College, Reading Public Library, and the Chelmsford Town Clerk’s Office to prepare items for digitization. Materials recently added to DigitalCommonwealth.org include botanical prints from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society Library, photograph collections from Pine Manor College and the Massachusetts Archives, and glass slides from the Hatfield Historical Museum.

In addition to its role as a partner to Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library serves as Library for the Commonwealth for the entire state of Massachusetts. Anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in Massachusetts can have a Boston Public Library card. Visitwww.bpl.org/commonwealth to learn more about Boston Public Library’s statewide services to residents and to other institutions.