Persistent Digital Archives and Library System (PeDALS) South Carolina Department of Archives and History

2 Background – Last Year 2007 NHPRC grant proposal not funded AZ Archives submitted multi-state grant proposal to Library of Congress AZ proposal had same basic goals SC too late for funding Paid own expenses to join project

3 Electronic Archives Funding One-time funding from General Assembly for electronic archives initiatives Purchased hardware and software for PeDALS Library of Congress approved additional funds for project SC now a fully-funded partner

4 What is PeDALS? Persistent Digital Archives and Library System Multi-state grant project funded by the Library of Congress and the Institute for Museum and Library Services Five state partners: Arizona, Florida, New York, Wisconsin, and South Carolina Project will run months At the end of the project each partner will have a functioning digital archives system

5 Why is PeDALS Needed? A number of long-term and archival records created and maintained only in digital formats Traditional archival practices designed for paper records won’t work in digital environment Need ability to preserve electronic records so that we can demonstrate authenticity and protect integrity PeDALS is both a learning opportunity and a chance to implement a functioning system

6 Technical Goals To develop a curatorial rationale that can be implemented in software to support an automated, integrated workflow to process collections of digital records To build “digital stacks” – storage that has appropriate controls for preservation and disaster preparedness

7 Additional Goals To build a community of shared practice that meets the needs of a wide range of repositories - For best practices - For resource sharing To remove barriers by keeping costs as low as possible

8 PeDALS Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Network Architecture

9 Records Eligible for PeDALS Permanently valuable electronic records scheduled for transfer to the SCDAH Pilot project agencies and records: -Judicial Department – Supreme Court Case Files -Election Commission – Voter Registration Master files -Public Service Commission - Orders -DHEC – Electronic Index to Death Certificates

10 Project Status Core metadata defined and data dictionary completed System design completed Hardware and software acquired and installed Agency partners and records identified System prototype built (AZ & SC) BizTalk® training completed

11 On the Horizon Other states purchase and configure hardware & software First ingest of records this winter Develop public search website Post-grant – extend participation to additional agencies and records