AC26 | Session 02 
Building a Comprehensive Digital Repository: Strategies for Collaborative Collection Development
Target: Federal, State, Local, Public Institutions of Higher Learning
Focus: Archives, Technology/Tools
Levels: Intermediate
GARA: "Digital Repository Management" OR "Archives & Long-Term Preservation" 
Overview

The Digital History and Archives team at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has developed an innovative approach to building comprehensive digital collections across multiple platforms. In this session, practical strategies will be shared for identifying gaps, acquiring materials from diverse sources, and creating cohesive collections that serve both public access and institutional memory.

The Federal Reserve System is a unique public-private hybrid, combining an independent federal agency (Board of Governors) with 12 regional corporations (Reserve Banks). Our team supports three integrated historical information platforms for the Federal Reserve System: FederalReserveHistory.org, the FRASER digital library, and FedPreserve, our internal digital archive. Like many institutions, our physical holdings of historical records are incomplete. This ecosystem creates challenges that require systematic approaches and creative solutions. To build truly comprehensive collections, we look beyond our institutional boundaries—partnering with other libraries, leveraging the Wayback Machine to recover "lost" content from the 1990s and 2000s, and establishing collaborative relationships with other government agencies.

The presentation will include real-world examples from our experience building collections to support a variety of uses, from internal research agendas to public records requests. We will discuss prioritization strategies for evaluating potential collections, demonstrate digital techniques for recovering lost web content, and provide examples of successful collaborative relationships with internal and external partners.  The presentation assumes working knowledge of archival concepts and some practical experience in the field.

Learning Objectives
  • Explore systematic approaches to identifying critical gaps in collections
  • Consider prioritization frameworks that balance historical significance, serving multiple audiences and purposes, and resource constraints
  • Learn adaptable approaches to expanding digital collections beyond institutional holdings
  • Explore methods for measuring and communicating the impact of collection development efforts to stakeholders
Presenters
Pamela Campbell
Senior Archivist, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Pamela Campbell is a digital projects librarian and the archivist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. In that role, she works to facilitate and promote preservation and use of historical materials from across the Federal Reserve System. She supports FRASER, the digital library of economic and business history, and the Bank's internal archives.
Genevieve Podleski
Genevieve Podleski
Senior Digital History Librarian, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Genevieve Podleski is a digital history librarian at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. In that role, she supports both FRASER, the St. Louis Fed’s digital library of U.S. economic, financial, and banking history, and FederalReserveHistory.org, the Federal Reserve System's history gateway for educators, students, and the general public.