Digital Commonwealth, Inc. Statement to Membership

Dear Membership,

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Digital Commonwealth, Inc., we want to acknowledge the recent statement released by the Boston Public Library regarding our partnership. On Tuesday, March 18, 2025, the Board of the Digital Commonwealth, Inc., voted to go fallow for six (6) months effective July 1, 2025. A group of cultural heritage professionals, with current and past affiliations to the Digital Commonwealth, Inc., will spend this time investigating and conceiving a potential future for the Digital Commonwealth, Inc. The Board will officially reconvene in December 2025 to discuss the group’s outcomes. All membership dues are immediately paused.

During the period of March 2025 to June 30, 2025, the Board will continue to support existing Digital Commonwealth, Inc., activities as appropriate to the forthcoming fallow period. As such, we will hold Board Meetings in April, May, and June, during which we will begin discussing the organization's future.

The Digital Commonwealth, Inc., officially dates to when it received its non-profit designation in 2014. However, its work, partnerships, and mission started in 2004 when several Massachusetts cultural heritage professionals met to conceive a manner in which Massachusetts institutions could share their cultural heritage digitally. This was the birth of the ‘Digital Commonwealth.’ We say this as a reminder that while it might not always have been explicitly clear to those on the outside, the Board of the Digital Commonwealth, Inc., has always worked towards that purpose: to represent the cultural heritage institutions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and advocate for their digital needs. This is especially true now, more than ever. With this mission in mind, a desire to remain committed to our original purpose, and the acknowledgement that the digital landscape has changed in ways no one could have possibly anticipated, we recognize that we can no longer continue our partnership with the Boston Public Library.

At this time, we are unable to provide you with more details on the future of the Digital Commonwealth, Inc. We do want to assure you that we remain committed to our purpose, that there is a plan in place, and we will provide more information as our plans coalesce. We invite all of you to attend our remaining Board Meetings and the meeting in December to officially discuss the next steps. Please email digitalcommonwealth@gmail.com if you would like to be included in the invite for these meetings.

As a reminder, it is not now, nor has it ever been, a requirement to be a member of the Digital Commonwealth, Inc., to participate in the Statewide Digitization Project. Effective immediately, please direct all inquiries related to the Digitalcommonwealth.org Repository and any materials hosted therein to the Boston Public Library (digitalcommonwealth@bpl.org). Should you have any questions about your membership in the Digital Commonwealth, Inc., specifically those related to membership fees, please direct them to digitalcommonwealth@gmail.com.

Thank you,

Digital Commonwealth Team