Note: We're renovating the Preservation in Massachusetts Libraries guide during Summer 2024. Please bear with us as we add, update, and reorganize MBLC's preservation resources.
Digital Commonwealth is the digital library for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The repository is maintained and operated by staff at the Boston Public Library, with more information about the project available here.
Digital Commonwealth is one of the best statewide repositories I've seen, able to handle media of various types, robust searching and filtering, and of course, exceptional content!
For institutions with unique collections, Boston Public Library Digital Services may be able image portions of your collections for free. Start a conversation with them by filling out their application form.
For institutions that have already digitized content (in a variety of formats): there are options to have your content uploaded, hosted, searchable, accessible, and preserved in the DC repository. Find out how by filling out their application form.
Mass Memories Road Show (MMRS), a statewide, event-based participatory archiving program that documents people, places, and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories, is facilitated by archivists and public historians in University Archives and Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston.
MMRS staff collaborate with local planning teams and volunteers to organize free public events where individuals bring photographs to be copied and included in a digital archive at openarchives.umb.edu. Since its launch in 2004, the Mass Memories Road Show has digitized more than 12,000 photographs and stories from across the state, creating a unique educational resource for future generations. Learn more about Mass Memories Roadshow and how to bring it to your community