About Digital Preservation Services (DPS)
History and Mission
The core teaching and research missions of Harvard University are increasingly dependent upon digital content. Digital materials are inherently fragile and dependent for their long-range viability on technologies that change continuously. One of the key challenges of the twenty-first century is how to preserve the usefulness of this digital content for future generations of scholars.
In response to these challenges, Harvard Library developed the Digital Repository Service (DRS) in 1999. In 2008, a more formal digital preservation program was established, building on years of digital preservation projects and initiatives conducted at Harvard University. As of 2018, Digital Preservation Services (DPS) was launched as a formal unit within Harvard Library Preservation Services (HLPS).
Service Portfolio
Digital Preservation at Harvard Library supports university-wide libraries, archives, museums and reformatting units. Learn more about the Digital Preservation Services Portfolio, how we approach our work, and review our Fiscal Year 2026 roadmap.
Digital Preservation Services (DPS) Team
Julianna Barrera-Gomez (she/hers)
Digital Accessions Specialist
Julianna Barrera-Gomez leads the Digital Accessions Program (DAP), a central service that works with Library partners to safely extract digital content from legacy computer hardware or cloud storage as part of the Library's process of evaluating and accepting digital collections. Prior to her arrival, she worked in many capacities and roles in libraries and archives, spanning public services, technical services, digitization, and all aspects of archival management, most recently as Head of Digital Preservation and Stewardship at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Brandeis University; an M.A. in Anthropology from University of California, Riverside; and an M.S. in Information from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Tricia Patterson (she/hers)
Interim Head of Digital Preservation Services
Tricia Patterson champions the sustainable stewardship of Harvard's digital collections through her work on a variety of DPS projects and program offerings, such as email archiving, the DRS, and software preservation. She holds a BA in English and BA in Russian Language and Culture from the University of Texas, where her love of libraries was sparked as a reference assistant at the Life Sciences Library in the UT tower. She earned her MSLIS with a concentration in Archives Management from Simmons College while working across the greater Boston area at the JFK Presidential Library, Harvard Film Archive, Houghton Library, and Boston Athenæum. Tricia was a National Digital Stewardship Resident at MIT Libraries before (re-)joining Harvard Library in 2015.
Abby Wolf (she/they)
Digital Preservation Specialist
Abby Wolf collaborates with colleagues from across Harvard Library units and Library Technology Services to provide operational support for digital preservation systems and services. Abby enjoys the challenges of digital preservation, particularly the ever-evolving nature of the work. She is passionate about providing support, guidance, and practical solutions for her colleagues, and she relishes opportunities to strategize about workflows and how to align short-term needs with long-term goals. She holds a BA in English from Colby-Sawyer College and an MSLIS from Simmons College. Prior to joining the Digital Preservation Services team, she worked at the Harvard Art Museums, where she spearheaded the development of digital preservation initiatives and provided oversight for the digital file lifecycle.
Twenty-Five Years of Digital Preservation at Harvard Library
Digital preservation is the continuation of Harvard Library’s longstanding stewardship mission in the digital realm. The digital transformation over the past 50 years has radically affected all aspects of contemporary life. However, the information artifacts underlying this progress are inherently at risk of damage and loss without continual proactive preservation attention. Befitting its position as the world’s premier academic research library, Harvard Library has been a leader in the field of digital preservation for over a quarter century.
This timeline provides a brief introduction to a number of highlights from the last 25 years of digital preservation at Harvard Library.