Mountain West Digital Library

Mountain West Digital Library is a digital library that provides access to a wide range of cultural heritage materials from Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and other Western United States regions, in partnership with University of Utah, Utah State University, and Brigham Young University. The library's collections include materials from National Archives and Records Administration, Library of Congress, and Smithsonian Institution. The Mountain West Digital Library is a service hub of the Digital Public Library of America, providing access to digital collections from University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University of Arizona, and New Mexico State University.

Introduction

The Mountain West Digital Library is a regional digital library that aggregates digital collections from cultural heritage institutions across the Western United States, including Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery of Art, and Getty Museum. The library's metadata standards are based on Dublin Core Metadata Initiative and Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting, allowing for seamless integration with other digital libraries, such as Internet Archive and HathiTrust Digital Library. The Mountain West Digital Library also collaborates with Online Computer Library Center and OCLC Research to develop best practices for digital preservation and access. The library's digital collections are also accessible through WorldCat, a global cataloging system maintained by OCLC.

History

The Mountain West Digital Library was established in 2001 as a collaborative project between University of Utah and Utah State University, with funding from Institute of Museum and Library Services and National Endowment for the Humanities. The library's early development was influenced by Digital Library Federation and Coalition for Networked Information, and it has since become a model for regional digital libraries across the United States, including Minnesota Digital Library and Colorado Digital Library. The Mountain West Digital Library has also partnered with DPLA to provide access to digital collections from New York Public Library, Boston Public Library, and Chicago Public Library.

Collections

The Mountain West Digital Library's digital collections include materials from Special Collections at University of Utah, Utah State University, and Brigham Young University, as well as from National Park Service, US Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management. The library's collections also feature materials from Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Society of California Pioneers, and California Historical Society. The Mountain West Digital Library's digital collections are organized using taxonomies developed by Library of Congress Subject Headings and Art & Architecture Thesaurus, and are accessible through search interfaces developed by Apache Solr and Blacklight.

Services

The Mountain West Digital Library provides a range of services to support digital scholarship and cultural heritage preservation, including digitization services, metadata creation, and digital preservation planning. The library also offers training and consultation services for cultural heritage institutions and researchers, in partnership with Society of American Archivists and Association of College and Research Libraries. The Mountain West Digital Library's services are also integrated with those of DPLA, providing access to digital collections from Harvard University, Yale University, and Stanford University.

Partnerships

The Mountain West Digital Library has established partnerships with a range of cultural heritage institutions across the Western United States, including Nevada State Museum, Arizona State Library, and New Mexico Museum of Art. The library also collaborates with regional library consortia, such as Western Library Network and Pioneer Library System, to provide access to digital collections and services. The Mountain West Digital Library is also a member of Lyrasis, a non-profit organization that provides services and support for cultural heritage institutions.

Technology

The Mountain West Digital Library's technology infrastructure is based on open-source software platforms, including Apache HTTP Server, MySQL, and PHP. The library's digital repository is built using Fedora Repository and DuraCloud, and its search interfaces are developed using Apache Solr and Blacklight. The Mountain West Digital Library also uses OAI-PMH to harvest metadata from cultural heritage institutions and aggregate it into its digital collections, in partnership with California Digital Library and Texas Digital Library. The library's technology infrastructure is also integrated with that of DPLA, providing access to digital collections from Google Books and Internet Archive. Category:Digital libraries