Most of the time, the work of digital preservation just looks like people sitting in front of computers, or standing in front of server racks--but this week, digital preservation looked a lot more like a party! That's because the node hosts, contributing organizations, sponsors and partners of the Michigan Digital Preservation Network all gathered for a virtual ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the happy occasion of their first successful round of content being ingested to the network--complete with actual ribbons, big ceremonial scissors, and celebratory cupcakes.
The Capital Area District Library team stands by with the big scissors for the Michigan Digital Preservation Network's ribbon-cutting countdown on March 12. Not pictured: Box of celebratory cupcakes
MDPN holds a special place in the LOCKSS community, and in the hearts of everyone on the LOCKSS Program team. In addition to being the newest star in the constellation of Private LOCKSS Networks, it's also the first LOCKSS 2.x-native network, offering proof positive that the completely re-architected LOCKSS software can deliver great results for both preservation and usability. The enthusiastic collaboration of MDPN as alpha-testers was invaluable in getting us to the LOCKSS 2.x beta launch in July, and their contributions toward a growing library of documentation, ingest tools, and other community resources will make the process of launching each new LOCKSS network easier still.
Michigan State Librarian Randy Riley (second row center) presided over the august occasion, calling collaborative, forward-looking projects like MDPN "the best part of my job."
No ribbon-cutting ceremony would be complete without celebrity guests, of course. In this case, Michigan's State Librarian, Randy Riley, attended and offered heartfelt words of congratulations to everyone involved in the effort to bring affordable, reliable digital preservation services to memory institutions throughout the state. Being part of collaborative and visionary projects like this, he said, is "the best part of my job." Scott Garrison, Director of the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services, concurred: "It is and has been a privilege for MCLS to be involved with and serve as the institutional host for MDPN. What we are building together is a recognized model and a great example of how MCLS aims to drive innovation for libraries and other cultural organizations."
Garrison went on to acknowledge the many players who have contributed to the project, underscoring that the reach and impact of the MDPN project extends far beyond the Midwestern region: "“Thanks to the international digital preservation community, who have embraced the effort to build MDPN as a recognized example for others to follow, and who have supported Chelsea and the others in their work...thanks to the LOCKSS Team for delivering LOCKSS 2.0 software that MDPN now runs in production, as well as to the Private LOCKSS Network community for their support.”
That international and PLN preservation community was well-represented at the virtual event: from the Alabama Digital Preservation Network, members Aaron Trehub and Clint Bellanger; Anthony Leroy and Rondinelli Saad, representing the SAFE PLN and Cariniania networks, respectively; AP Trust Executive Director Nathan Tallman; and DPC Americas Head Anna Perricci all added their applause for MDPN's achievement. Several Zoom windows in the grid held not just one face but a whole gaggle of IT folks, digital archivists, and library leadership from network members, further demonstrating how many people were working behind the scenes at each member organization to make the MDPN vision a reality.
With this ribbon-cutting ceremony, MDPN also conveyed how important it is to leverage available technology for coming together as a community--a point carried forward from the talk on statewide digital infrastructure that was delivered by MDPN Coordinator Chelsea Denault, Biz Gallo of the Michigan State Library, and Richard Adler of the DPLA Michigan Service Hub at the 2024 DLF Forum in East Lansing. MDPN's member recruitment and training efforts has taken its leadership team on site visits to every corner of the state, in addition to countless hours spent on webinars, support calls, emails, and other conferences and community meetings. The title of their DLF presentation was "Farther, Faster, Together," and the party this week reflected just how far and how fast their work to advance Michigan's digital infrastructure for the benefit of institutions large and small has progressed.
Since geographic separation is one of the key elements of risk management in preservation networks, bringing the community together virtually to learn, reflect, and celebrate is the most practical approach. As MDPN Coordinator Chelsea Denault noted in her opening remarks, "“So often, the work of digital preservation is obscured, hidden away in our server rooms and data centers. At the MDPN, we felt it was important to have this event to elevate and recognize that work—the people who do it, and the places where it happens. These are the machines and the people that make this work possible.” The audible excitement of everyone in attendance as we counted down to the moment when node hosts all over the state of Michigan cut the ceremonial ribbons draped in front of their LOCKSS boxes strongly suggests that celebrating those hardworking machines and people is a best practice other PLNs can incorporate as they reach their own milestones...and it is a whole lot of fun, too.
