About Digital Programs and Initiatives
Digital Programs and Initiatives’ primary function is as a data manager and project manager, developing, in collaboration and communication with other UMD Libraries divisions, plans and roadmaps for digital initiatives within the UMD Libraries. Once Library-wide decisions are made on priorities relating to digital initiatives, Digital Programs and Initiatives will launch and manage projects to ensure that those priorities are realized.
Digital Initiatives
While Digital Programs and Initiatives fills a project management role within the UMD Libraries, several long-term programs reside within Digital Programs and Initiatives, including Digital Collections and digital preservation, Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (DRUM), Research Data Services, and ePublishing.
Digital Projects
Digital Programs and Initiatives is responsible for managing digital projects throughout their lifecycles. Digital Programs and Initiatives guarantees certain custodial responsibilities for the products of digital projects, such as backup and archiving of files, acceptable system “up-time,” and migration of content to new servers or applications as appropriate.
Collaboration
Digital Programs and Initiatives collaborates with stakeholders throughout the UMD Libraries in order to turn a project into a reality. Most digital projects require coordination between other units within the Digital Systems and Stewardship Division, including Digital Conversion and Media Reformatting, Software Systems Development and Research, and User and Systems Support. In addition, Digital Programs and Initiatives maintains a close relationship with the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH).
