About GSDC

Our Values

Mission

Empowering partners to share primary source materials in a sustainable program that provides access to the region’s unique archival resources. We connect communities and facilitate online access to significant collections within greater Southwest Virginia.

Vision

Connect communities, Share information, Preserve regional culture

Values

  • Community, inclusion, and diversity
  • Ownership and engagement
  • Trust, transparency, and accountability
  • Sustainability
  • Accessibility


The Southwest Virginia Digital Archive (SWVA) was established in 2016 by the Virginia Tech University Libraries to capture unique southwest Virginia cultural heritage into a comprehensive digital collection. With the support of an IMLS Community Catalyst grant (LG-15-19-0137-19), Virginia Tech collaborated with over a dozen community organizations and transitioned into a community-governed entity in 2022. In 2023, representatives from eight institutions in Southwest Virginia (SWVA) collaborated to lay the groundwork for an advisory board, named the Greater SWVA Digital Collaborative (GSDC). This group defines the scope of the collection and has autonomy to make decisions as to how materials are represented.


As we continue to grow with the addition of new institutions and contributors, SWVA is constantly evolving. Our goal is to gain insight into the current state of digital initiatives and collections within Virginia’s cultural heritage organizations, and explore ways in which SWVA can expand its services and support to aid these organizations.


We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with you!

Town of Crewe. Town Office. Draft Town of Crewe Curfew. Virginia Tech Digital Library, Virginia Tech Digital Libraries, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, University Libraries. http://idn.lib.vt.edu/ark:/53696/c014ns0n

The Challenges

There is a gap between well-resourced libraries with robust digital infrastructure and resourcing, and smaller community organizations, many of which produce analog and digital media across multiple platforms but often without a preservation strategy.

It’s common practice for institutional libraries to only accept materials in which they can take ownership, removing the autonomy and expression of the original organization.

The Strategy

Through communication and collaboration between institutional libraries and community organization, we have launched a community-owned collective steered by a community advisory board composed of community members and Virginia Tech University Library faculty members.

Our goal is to amplify the unheard voices in greater Southwest Virginia regions to ensure that the unique and valuable cultural heritage collections are made accessible and preserved following best practices.

Brammer’s Store, Under Brame Hotel. Virginia Tech Digital Library, Virginia Tech Digital Libraries, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, University Libraries. https://ssxezg5su1.execute-api.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Prod/ark:/53696/cb32hq63
“Thomas Edward Ferguson Senior Memories Autograph book, 1964.” Christiansburg Institute Digital Archive. Copyright has been assigned to Christiansburg Institute Museum & Archives by Gladys Sokolow. For permission to publish materials created by the donor, contact CIMA@christiansburginstitute.com. Materials not created by Gladys Sokolow may still be under copyright.

So Far

The formation of GSDC has helped facilitate several new collaborative partnerships that have successfully deposited collections into the Virginia Tech Digital Library without forfeiting ownership and with significant input on collection representation.

We continue to grow and diversify this community with new members and look forward to working with you!