A Sustainable Repository Infrastructure for Digital Humanities: The DHO Experience

Abstract

The Digital Humanities Observatory was created to support the long-term management of electronic cultural heritage resources for the digital humanities in Ireland. However, the project grant was for three years and the economic downturn has diminished opportunities for continued funding. The challenge is to demonstrate the importance and value of maintaining these e-resources, and to make it feasible for the resource owners to do so without the DHO if necessary. ICT systems can support cost effective and value-adding access and management of resources in a way that might be sustained in the short-term by organizations and projects that lack the funding, staffing, and skills to build and operate a digital preservation environment. In this project paper we describe how the DHO uses technology to promote the value of preservation and interoperability of e-resources, and to provide a means for achieving these goals in the face of significant sustainability risks.