OurDigitalWorld, Toronto, ON

ODW is committed to expanding the community of digital content contributors and to ensuring that our shared digital history is discoverable and searchable by users in an evolving sustainable web environment in which everyone can be a part. OurDigitalWorld is a collaborative initiative with a wide-ranging subscriber base involving all of the cultural heritage sector — libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and other community groups who create and/or manage cultural content. An essential component of our work is encouraging collaboration within and between regional, national, and international networks so that resources can be discovered and delivered to a growing number of users. Standards are integral to manage information and to present data in a consistent and meaningful way. Standards are also essential in allowing for integrated access to and searching of a wide range of resources across different systems. It’s important that the metadata that allows for the discovery, searching, delivery, presentation and exchange of our digital resources be robust and reusable. This ensures a flexible and adaptable behind-the-scenes model for integrating data across networks and for guaranteeing sustainability. We are committed to ensuring that all content managers have an opportunity to participate, no matter the size or type of institution. It is about leveling the playing field by providing the tools and other support services that will allow content providers with limited resources the ability to be a participant in this global venture. For the ODW team, it’s about working with the community of contributors to enable digital content to be searchable and discoverable by end-users. User-centred discovery and engagement is the benchmark for delivery of our services to end-users. ODW services aim to provide an interactive experience for our digital generation users.