CT State Library Receives $948,000 Federal Grant Funding to support the automatic transfer and preservation of historical digital records from state agencies

The Connecticut State Library (CSL) is pleased to announce that it has received a Congressionally Directed Spending grant of $948,000 through the efforts of Senator Richard Blumenthal and Senator Christopher Murphy.  The grant is awarded through the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), a statutory body affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

The grant supports efforts by CSL to automate the transfer of archival digital state government records to the Connecticut Digital Archive (CTDA) digital preservation repository and to research and plan the preservation of records restricted by federal and state law. The project is a collaborative effort between CSL, CTDA, and the Department of Administrative Services’ Bureau of Information Technology Solutions (DAS BITS).

As state government moves towards fulfilling Governor Lamont’s goal of a modern, streamlined organization, digital record-keeping, especially the management, preservation, and security of vital long-term and historically significant records, has become a challenge. Connecticut’s citizens all benefit when state government records are managed from creation to disposition as required by approved records retention schedules and when historically significant digital records from multiple state agencies are transferred to and preserved by the State Archives.

The State’s current digital records transfer system was constructed in 2014 to support a single data workflow to transfer state administrative regulation records from the Office of the Secretary of the State to the CTDA.  With multiple state agencies now needing to transfer essential long-term digital records to a digital preservation repository, the system needs to be expanded and enhanced.  Furthermore, concerns about personally identifiable information (PII) and other sensitive and confidential information in government digital records require the three partners to plan and implement a secure digital preservation repository in compliance with federal and state security requirements.

With this grant, CSL along with DAS BITS and CTDA will take the next step forward in preserving Connecticut’s digital history and its people’s stories.  The tools developed during this project will provide cost savings to state agencies by automating the transfer process and improve access for agency personnel and the public.