Libraries Preserving GLAM Collections: could we sustain needs and address growth at the same time?

Abstract

This paper deals with a question of whether libraries, particularly public libraries, could take the role of “digital hubs” for small to medium sized cultural and memory institutions, in an effort of providing sustainable and usable solutions of the long-term digital preservation of digitized and born-digital content in local communities. While many cultural and memory institutions within the cultural or GLAM sector (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) are already doing digitization of their collections, few of them have properly addressed issues in long-term digital preservation and access. This could be attributed to the fact that many smaller institutions lack resources for developing or implementing a long-term strategy in preserving their digital collections. The issue here is how to achieve collaborative agreement between cultural heritage institutions about resources and needs, on the one hand, while maintaining sustainable long-term digital preservation program of local heritage, on the other hand. The paper focuses on the case study of Serbia and the Public Library “Vladislav Petković Dis” Čačak, with a comparative approach through relevant examples from other countries.