The California Digital Newspaper Collection has two main objectives. It provides access to digitized California newspapers and it also archives the digital files of those newspapers for posterity. Most users only encounter the CDNC "archives" through the search and retrieval software used to access the data. Yet there is more to archiving than just providing access, and archiving our state's newspapers is both a vital and challenging undertaking.

A number of commercial interests have digitized California newspapers. Those newspapers are only available for a fee, usually an individual or institutional subscription, thereby restricting their access for all Californians. Moreover, companies retain the electronic files of the papers they digitize and are under no obligation to follow international standards for digitizing newspapers. The arguments that Robert Darnton has made against entrusting Google Books with our printed book heritage also applies to commercial digitizing of California newspapers. Simply put, we cannot and should not rely on commercial interests to properly digitize and protect our newspaper heritage for future generations. The CDNC archive adheres to the international METS/ALTO standard for newspaper digitization, thereby ensuring that all our titles are usable across platforms and into the future, and manages those files for the public good.

The CDNC archive is immense: 120 terabytes of data and growing. All this data is being preserved on onsite, with tape backups, and backed up to the "cloud". Managing and safekeeping this archive requires a substantial investment in hardware and personnel.

Your donation to the CDNC will help us to maintain and preserve this unique digital archive for years to come. Donations will not be used to digitize newspapers, only to maintain the current collection. If you are an individual or institution interested in digitizing a California newspaper, please contact us by email at cbsrinfo@ucr.edu.

Thank you for your support of the CDNC.