Ben is an Assistant Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington where he founded the Lab for Computing Cultural Heritage.

On June 25, the Digital Public Library of America and the Chicago Public Library co-hosted Libraries and AI in Public Life, a convening that brought national library leaders together with civic leaders from Chicago at the Obama Presidential Center for a conversation about the role of civic institutions in the age of artificial intelligence. We […]

Bot attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated. It’s clear we’re operating in a new digital environment.

We’re excited to share that DPLA has received a $1.1 million grant from Humanity AI to ensure that libraries play a central role in shaping how artificial intelligence enters public life.

We believe in equal and barrier-free access to information for everyone. The recent extension of the WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance deadlines pushed us to dig deeper.

DPLA members expressed interest in learning how other partners were using their digital management systems (DAMS).

We are thrilled to welcome two new Hubs to the DPLA Hub network: the Jewish Heritage and History Hub and the Mississippi Digital Library.

The dashboard allows our partners to see how their digital collections are being used. We’ve brought the main functionality back online. 

Cleveland Public Library (CPL) and the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) today announced a partnership to chart a new vision for the national digital collection.

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Board of Directors elected Joe Lucia as its new chair at its first meeting of the year last month. Lucia succeeds Felton Thomas, Jr., Executive Director and CEO of Cleveland Public Library, whose term of service ended after six years, the last three of which he served as […]

A steady bright spot this year has been DPLA’s continued work using Wikimedia to expand access to collections. Even as many institutions across the country face shifting priorities and uncertain funding, and rapidly evolving digital expectations, our work expands access to cultural heritage collections through Wikimedia platforms to continue to demonstrate the kind of broad, […]

Announcement: We are thrilled to share that Tania Ríos Marrero is our new Engagement Coordinator. Tania is a librarian and community facilitator with a decade of experience in libraries and archives. Her most recent role is project coordinator for the Digital Library of the Caribbean at the University of Florida, where she led initiatives in […]

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is excited to share that our Board of Directors is commencing an open call for nominations for individuals to serve three-year terms as DPLA directors.  The DPLA Board of Directors establishes and upholds the organization’s mission and vision, establishes policies and procedures related to the organization’s governance, and […]

Preservation of digital cultural heritage has never been more pressing. With ongoing staffing and budget cuts in our field—plus many other kinds of threats, from natural disasters to technical disruptions—libraries and archives are facing increased risks to the long-term viability of our digital collections. After exploring decentralized storage approaches, last year we received funding from […]

The Palace Project, an audio and ebook app for libraries, moves to nonprofit Lyrasis The Palace Project — a mobile app and digital platform that provides ebooks and audiobooks to more than 700 libraries  — is changing ownership. Co-created by the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and Lyrasis in 2020, the app will now […]

Like many of you, we’ve been struggling these last few months as our institutions and our communities come under attack. There’s no playbook for the kinds of disruption, deletion, and destruction that we’ve been experiencing. To help find a path forward, I’ve had conversations with dozens of colleagues across the country over the last month. […]

I’m happy to share that DPLA has a new member of the team: Michelle Rago, formally of 18F.  As our new Engagement Coordinator, Michelle will be working with us part time from Washington, D.C., to increase the visibility and use of the material at dp.la.  Michelle joins DPLA after 25 years working for the federal […]

This year’s Independent Publisher & Librarian Forum (affectionately known as IndieLib), was a resounding success! Hosted by the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and the Independent Publishers Caucus (IPC) and held at New York University last week, IndieLib 2025 convened librarians, independent publishers, and thought leaders from across the country for a unique opportunity […]

Dear friends of DPLA,  Last month, we held our first DPLA Open Board meeting of 2025. As we were preparing for the call, we were alarmed by social media reports that friends and colleagues at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) were being sent home ahead of the agency’s elimination. It was a devastating day for […]

Reflections on the latest DPLA LibLearnX 2025 Session This is a guest post authored by DPLA Curation Corps lead, Jaena Rae Cabrera. As librarians, we’ve been alarmed by the rise in book bans in recent years. Book bans seek to silence black, brown and LGBTQIA+ authors and erase stories that educate and empathize with other […]