Preserving State Government Information
The Multistate Government Digital Information Program is a catalyst for state-level preservation of at-risk digital content.
Partners are preserving a variety of digital data valuable to state governments.
The initial four multistate demonstration projects will collect and preserve digital content of interest to Congress, including geospatial information, state legislative records and state executive agency documentation.
Each project will also share tools, services and best practices to help every state make progress in managing its digital heritage. The Multistate Government Digital Information Program will promote the development of standards, best practices and technical infrastructure necessary to provide for permanent access to a national collection of state and local government information.
See the full press release
News and Events
State Information Executives "Fly-In" to the Library
Chief information officers and staff from 10 states came to the Library to discuss preserving state government digital information. 
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Meeting Gets State Legislators Thinking About Digital Preservation
National Conference of State Legislatures representatives visited the Library as part of a meeting to kick off the digital preservation project being led by the Minnesota Historical Society to preserve state legislative information. Read More
Washington State Digital Archives Partnership Kicks Off
Washington and the eight other states working with it to preserve state and local government information met in Cheney, Wash., to kick off their Library of Congress-sponsored project. Read More
North Carolina States Project Holds Kick-Off Meeting
The inaugural meeting of the Geospatial Data Exchange Network for Preservation.
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Arizona States Project Kicks Off
Arizona State government preservation project holds kick-off meeting. Read More
State Government Digital Information Program Announcement
Twenty-one states, working in four multistate demonstration projects, are joining NDIIPP in an initiative to catalyze collaborative efforts to preserve important state government information in digital form. Read More
Partners
The lead entities and the focus areas of the initial four projects:
Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, "Persistent Digital Archives and Library System." Arizona is leading this project to establish a low-cost, highly automated information network that reaches across multiple states. Results will include techniques for taking in large quantities of state data as well as developing a strong data-management infrastructure. Content will include digital publications, agency records and court records. States working in this project are Arizona, Florida, New York, South Carolina and Wisconsin.
Minnesota Historical Society, "A Model Technological and Social Architecture for the Preservation of State Government Digital Information." The project is working with legislatures in several states to explore enhanced access to legislative digital records. This will involve implementing a trustworthy information management system and testing the capacity of different states to adopt the system for their own use. Content will include bills, committee reports, floor proceedings and other legislative materials. States working in this project are Minnesota, California, Kansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Illinois and Vermont.
North Carolina Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, "Multi-state Geospatial Content Transfer and Archival Demonstration." This project is focusing on replicating large volumes of geospatial data among several states to promote preservation and access. The project will work closely with federal, state and local governments to implement a geographically dispersed content-exchange network. Content will include state and local geospatial data. States working in this project are North Carolina, Utah and Kentucky.
Washington State Archives, "Multi-state Preservation Consortium." The Washington State Archives is using its advanced digital archives framework to implement a centralized regional repository for state and local digital information. Outcomes will include the establishment of a cost-effective interstate technological archiving system, as well as efforts to capture and make available increased amounts of at-risk digital information. Content will include vital records, land ownership and use documentation, court records and Web-based state and local government reports. States working in this project are Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, California and Louisiana.
Background Information
Preservation of State Government Digital Information: Issues and Opportunities Report
In April-May 2005, the Library held convening workshops with representatives from all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands. The Preservation of State Government Digital Information: Issues and Opportunities Report (PDF, 8.7 Mb), published in October 2005, presents finding gathered from all three workshops and was part of an exploration regarding potential involvement of the states within the scope of NDIIPP.
Center for Technology in Government Reports
The Center for Technology in Government, located at the State University of New York at Albany, provided facilitation support to the NDIIPP states workshops. CTG released two reports that built on observations from the meetings:
Building State Government Digital Preservation Partnerships: A Capability Assessment and Planning Toolkit, Version 1.0, 2005 (PDF, 736 Kb)
Preserving State Government Digital Information: A Baseline Report, 2006 (PDF, 1.03 Mb)
Original Request for Expressions of Interest
In May 2006 the Library released a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI), inviting interested state partners to submit proposal ideas for potential multistate demonstration projects for the preservation of state government digital information. View a copy of the RFEI (Microsoft Word document, 52 Kb).