The Digital Commonwealth Conference Committee designs and executes the Annual Conference for Digital Commonwealth. Committee members work collaboratively to develop a theme for the conference; identify and engage speakers; and develop innovative ideas that will maintain membership interest in attending the conference. The Committee meets monthly, usually by teleconference. A professional Conference Manager is contracted to manage the majority of the conference planning details, thereby allowing committee members to focus on the content. Following the conference, attendees are asked to complete an online survey. The committee reviews the survey results, and uses attendee feedback to inform its decisions for the following year’s event. Most committee members have served for several years but new members are always encouraged to join to ensure continuity and, more importantly, to bring new ideas to the table!

The Digital Commonwealth Membership Committee is dedicated to expanding membership to the Digital Commonwealth while ensuring current members are actively engaged with the organization and aware of the services available to them. The Committee works in conjunction with the Board of Directors and other Digital Commonwealth Committees to carry out events and programs for members in order to build connections and strengthen the Digital Commonwealth community.

The Digital Commonwealth Outreach & Education Committee is dedicated to creating and maintaining a strong sense of community, engagement, and support among current and prospective Digital Commonwealth members. It achieves these goals by communicating regularly with members and the public, providing programming and other educational opportunities, and promoting Digital Commonwealth collections through the organization’s blog and social media platforms. The Committee also provides resources and support to encourage classroom use of Digital Commonwealth collections.

The Repository Committee facilitates effective communication among the Digital Commonwealth Board, the Boston Public Library development team, and Digital Commonwealth users and members. The Repository Committee provides digitization, metadata, and technology expertise for the Digital Commonwealth as needed.

The Repository Committee is specifically charged with:

• Gathering feedback and input on the Digital Commonwealth website through both formal and informal means. This may include usability testing, surveys, focus groups, bug reporting options, etc.

• Synthesizing this information and using it to provide input on the prioritization of features and functionality.

• Working with the Outreach Committee to promote and provide instruction on new and underused features of the website.

• Providing guidance on how and which national/international digitization/metadata best practices should be applied to partner/member projects.

• Providing expertise on format, metadata, and technical aspects of relevant projects of the Board.

• Helping to connect Boston Public Library’s IT infrastructure with broader digital preservation communications and strategies