FAQs
Why should I share my collections with the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)?
Sharing your collection with the DPLA allows you to reach a wider audience on a national platform. You have the opportunity to increase traffic to your collections and therefore your institution. It also allows you to connect your collection stories with the stories held by other institution, creating a richer, more complete experience for the end user.
What types of collection items are included in the DPLA?
The DPLA contains metadata (descriptive information) for millions of historically unique items such as photographs, manuscripts, books, oral histories , moving images, serials, objects, and more. They do not accept monographs or books readily available through standard publishers, proprietary information that is not freely available through the contributor’s site, or theses and dissertations unless they are of historic importance.
What are the basic requirements for participating in the PPC and the DPLA?
An institution must have an online collection that is available for viewing through the web via an online content management system (CMS). Some commonly used CMS include: ContentDM, Luna, Past Perfect, Omeka, among others. Metadata for each item submitted must include: the name of the owning institution, a title, a rights statement, a thumbnail or preview image when appropriate and a unique URL back to the item at the home institution’s repository. For more detailed information about becoming a contributor, see Ready to Participate?
Will the PPC have a local discovery portal?
The PPC is a dark aggregator. This means it will work behind the scenes to collect your metadata, transform it and send it to the DPLA.
What is metadata?
Metadata is textual information that is used to locate, organize or describe an information resource. In the case of libraries, archives and museums that resources is generally a collection item that it digital or analog. This textual information could include the name of the author or creator, subject heading(s) that describe the collection item, or date the item was created. For more information about the PPC Metadata Guidelines, see Resources for Contributors.
How can we share our collection’s metadata with the PPC?
We receive data from providers usually via OAI-PMH but we can accommodate other options including CSV files when needed.
Does it cost anything to participate in the PPC and the DPLA?
The PPC does not collect any fees for participation in the PPC or the DPLA. Funding for the PPC’s membership in the DPLA and the technological infrastructure and Hub staff are paid for through grant funds provided by the the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and are contributed by the Colorado State Library and the Wyoming State Library.