The Northwest Digital Archives (NWDA), a program that provides enhanced
access to archival collections and facilitates collaboration among archives,
libraries, and museums in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska,
has reached a major milestone in its quest for stability beyond its funding
from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National
Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), which ended last
month. The NWDA, which began in 2002 with support from the NEH and NHPRC, is
now a program of the Orbis Cascade Alliance, an academic library consortium
with 34 member institutions in Washington and Oregon.
As an Alliance program, NWDA will continue to pursue its goals of creating
great information services through collaboration. The merger allows NWDA to
create a robust future that will include both sustaining its current
database of more than 4500 finding aids for archival collections, building a
regional digital content program, and continuing active involvement with
national-level conversations on the present and future of access to archival
materials across diverse institutions.
The NWDA website is located at http://nwda.wsulibs.wsu.edu/. There,
researchers can find information about archival collections through keyword,
subject, repository, and genre searches. The database offers researchers the
ability to find information about collections across institutions, at a
greater level of detail than is available through any other tool. The
collection information is also exposed to search engines.
Participating institutions have agreed to pay member fees to sustain the
program beyond grant funding and continue open and free access for
researchers. Member institutions are the Eastern Washington State Historical
Society, Gonzaga University, Idaho State Historical Society, Seattle Museum
of History & Industry, Whitman College, Montana Historical Society,
University of Montana, Oregon Historical Society, Oregon State University,
University of Oregon, the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies at Western
Washington University, Pacific Lutheran University, University of
Washington, Washington State University, Lane Community College, University
of Alaska Fairbanks, the Alaska State Libraryıs Historical Collections,
Whitworth University, Lewis & Clark College, the University of Idaho,
Portland State University, the Washington State Historical Society, the
Seattle Municipal Archives, Central Washington University, Eastern
Washington University, Willamette University, Western Oregon University,
Portland Community College, Oregon Health & Sciences University, Central
Oregon Community College, and Oregon Institute of Technology.
--
Jodi Allison-Bunnell
Northwest Digital Archives Program Manager
Orbis Cascade Alliance
[log in to unmask]
418 Woodford
Missoula MT 59801
v: 406.829.6528
f: 860.540.8281
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