The digital archive will be launched on January 20, 2011, according the Boston.com, the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s inauguration.
The Library is the first one to go from hard copy to digital. Of the 13 presidential libraries only two, Clinton’s and Bush’s, were “born” digital.
The software and search engine will be provided by Endeca Technologies. According to Endeca’s press release the project objectives include:
• Preserve the records, manuscripts, photographs, documents, video and audio files, and objects held in the collections of the Kennedy Library’s Archives and Museum;
• Minimize wear and tear on these irreplaceable physical assets (vulnerable to deterioration from human handling and environmental exposure);
• Create a permanent digital library that provided online accessibility to these historic treasures for a worldwide audience;
• Enhance the public’s ability to search these collections using metadata and state-of-the art search technology;
• Protect these national treasures by keeping a digital copy in a separate location; and
• Serve as a prototype for the National Archives and other Presidential Libraries in developing standards and protocols for universal application.
There’s a lot more information about the library and the project in the release.
