Collaborating for Equitable Access to Knowledge for All: A Renewed Strategy for DPLA
A single point of access. A gateway to America’s cultural riches. Available to everyone. This was the founding vision of the Digital Public Library of America: an open, distributed national digital library to educate, inform and empower everyone. Today, we are doubling down on that vision with a new strategic plan to guide our work in the coming years.
Our mission remains constant: to provide equitable access to knowledge for all. We will advance this mission by expanding the cultural heritage aggregation network that has been our hallmark achievement, growing our collaborative ebooks solutions for libraries, and heightening our role as a library convener and innovator.
DPLA’s strategy is guided by three beliefs: that we are stronger when we work collaboratively; that everyone—particularly those historically marginalized from projects like ours—is included; and that digital technology can be a positive force for unleashing knowledge and enabling creativity.
This plan is the result of dozens of conversations with partners from across our field as well as with colleagues working in other areas. We thank all of those whose insight and feedback has shaped our thoughts over the last year, especially our Advisory Council and Network Council and the dozens of people who participated in interviews and surveys. Special thanks to Sarah Mayeda of InStride Advisors and to an anonymous donor who made the work possible.
Our task is ambitious: to make available to everyone the knowledge entrusted to our nation’s libraries, archives and museums. We’ve made progress towards that goal, thanks to the participation of people across the country. Together, we can extend that work and ensure that everyone that wants to is able to share their knowledge for the benefit of everyone.
Please join us at the next DPLA public board meeting, July 16th at 1:30pm ET, where we will field questions about the new strategy and share work plans for the new fiscal year. Find call-in information on the Board of Directors page.