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There is no doubt that Dartmouth is in a period of transition from a paper
to a digital-based institution. While paper will be with us for decades to
come, Jeffrey Horrell, dean of libraries and librarian of the College, has
noted that, "There is a compelling need for Dartmouth to develop an
institutional strategy to guide the transition from a paper to a primarily
digital environment for academic and administrative records. It is critical
that Dartmouth's core digital information, and the information of its faculty,
is safeguarded and available into the future."
From left: Jeffrey Horrell, Ellen Waite-Franzen, and Martin Wybourne are
leading the institutional effort to protect and preserve Dartmouth's digital
assets. (Photo by Joseph Mehling '69)
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Preliminary efforts on this issue have been underway with a campus-wide
survey and focus groups that highlighted the need for action, and recent work
between Dartmouth and Duke University sponsored by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This work
culminated in a meeting with library directors, vice presidents for information
technology, and vice provosts from Brown, Duke, Michigan, MIT, Yale, and
Dartmouth. All attendees agreed to remain in contact to share information and
progress.
"Input from this diverse group of institutions will help us work
through the many complex issues involved," says Martin
Wybourne, vice provost for research. When the Dartmouth-Duke report is
final, it will be made available to the Dartmouth community.
Ellen Waite-Franzen, vice president for information technology, says,
"A real challenge is to bridge between various forms of content, which
will require the development of new policies. Information itself has a life
cycle that differs by type. Some things need to be kept forever, while some may
be discarded after a certain period of time. Accessibility, privacy rights,
confidentiality of data, and intellectual property issues play into this as
well."
Provost Barry
Scherr has received a draft copy of the Dartmouth-Duke report and, as a
result, has charged a steering committee to develop a strategic plan for
Dartmouth. The plan will articulate and promote an enterprise digital
information management program, including policies and procedures, potential
costs, and an implementation process. The steering committee will be
responsible for obtaining input from academic deans, faculty, administrators,
and students. Scherr is committed to ensuring the accessibility of Dartmouth's
digital assets. "It's an enormous challenge, but a critical one that needs
to be addressed from an institutional perspective," he says.
By KELLY SEAMAN
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