Digital Library and Archives
Scholarly Publishing, Library Services, and Archives
New Resources Available
International Colloquium on Communicationand
The Serials Crisis and Open Access: A White Paper for the Virginia Tech Commission on Research
DLA, a department in the University Libraries at Virginia Tech, evolved from the Scholarly Communications Project (SCP) that began in 1989. Its focus is on working with the university community to host its unique born-digital works, beginning in 1991 with electronic journals. In 1995 we began envisioning ETDs completed by VT graduate students. In 1996 SCP and the Special Collections Department merged to enhance access to rare books, manuscript collections, and the University Archives. We formally renamed the combined departments in 2000 the Digital Library and Archives.
In 2008 DLA and Special Collections became two separate departments while continuing to collaborate to enhance online access to the library's unique and rare archival resources. The VT ImageBase hosts historical photographs as well as more contemporary images, for example, from the International Archive of Women in Architecture. DLA also created and maintains online resources such as the IAWA Biographical Database and the Survey Database where data is both collected, tabulated, and displayed. In April 2007 we began gathering documentation from the out-pouring of sympathy, some of which is available from the VT Memorial Archive, a collaboration with Rutgers University. DLA is in the process of developing the Virginia Tech 4-16-07 Archives of the University Libraries for the university's historical materials related to the tragic events of April 16, 2007.
DLA hosts a growing number of faculty archives and VT publications, including Employee of the Week.
DLA began collaborating regionally in 1992 when we hosted the first online news reports from the Roanoke Times. Since 1995 the public has also had access to the news as reported by CBS affiliate, WDBJ7. DLA also collaborates with various universities, for example, to provide a home for the South Atlantic Humanities Center and to develop and sustain in a distributed digital preservation network through the MetaArchive Cooperative.
Regional Resources
- MetaArchive of Southern Digital Culture
- South Atlantic Humanities Center
- Center for Ulster Migrations, Cultures, and Societies
Sampling of Digital Editions:
- Faculty Archives: Ray Dessy Mapping the Blues Genes
- Rare Books
- Special Collections: Manuscripts
- University Archives: Female Cadet Scrapbook [PDF 3.9 MB]
DLA History
