Reinventing the Wheel: Increasing Reusability of Digital Library Policies and Documentation

Abstract

Many of us in digital libraries find ourselves scraping together policies, procedures, documentation, and even software by borrowing bits and pieces from others, but rarely is there a single source or guide. At Virginia Tech, we have developed a collection of public-facing policies for our digital library, but like many other organizations, we have no idea if they are useful to anyone but us. As a digital preservationist, I know that my colleagues are always searching for a standardized template for creating a Preservation Policy, for example, and while there are some structures available as guides, use cases are more impactful. For this informal discussion, I would like to engage in strategies for creating reusable digital library resources for digital library practitioners. Allowing our internal resources to be discoverable and accessible, where appropriate, increases knowledge-sharing and saves us all time by not reinventing the wheel. This topic aligns with the general conference theme of community approaches as this discussion is a community brainstorm on how to solve a problem we all may encounter.