Vanderbilt’s Heard Libraries, AWS launch cloud innovation lab to engineer solutions in digital preservation | Library News Online | Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt’s Heard Libraries, AWS launch cloud innovation lab to engineer solutions in digital preservation
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The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries and Amazon Web Services launched the Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab for Libraries and Applied Digital Preservation Oct. 27 at Central Library. Pictured (l-r) are Heard Libraries’ Chief Digital Strategist Andrew Wesolek; sophomore Wasi Hussain; sophomore Rithika Thambireddy; University Librarian Jon Shaw; sophomore Oybek Ablakulov; Todd Davis, director of U.S. State & Local Government and Education at AWS; sophomore Brian Viner; senior Abbie Chen; and Mike Bryant, global innovation strategist for AWS Cloud Innovation Centers. (Harrison McClary/Vanderbilt)
The
Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries
have partnered with
Amazon Web Services
to launch the
Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab for Libraries and Applied Digital Preservation
, powered by AWS. This initiative, the first of AWS’s cloud innovation programs to be housed in an academic library and focused on archival preservation, was celebrated Oct. 27 at a ribbon-cutting event and reception on the Vanderbilt campus.
Located within the
Digital Lab
at Vanderbilt’s Central Library, VCIL provides immersive learning experiences for students interested in using artificial intelligence and cloud technologies to develop and deploy advancements in digital preservation. The projects involve rapid prototyping sprints, in which student teams work under the mentorship of AWS and library experts, including cloud engineers and technologists in the Digital Lab and Library Technology and Assessment Services, as well as archivists in Vanderbilt’s
Special Collections and University Archives
University Librarian Jon Shaw delivers remarks at the Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab launch event on Oct. 27 in Central Library. (Harrison McClary/Vanderbilt)
VCIL represents a new model for industry and academic library collaboration, bridging the power of AWS cloud-based technologies with the talent of Vanderbilt students to solve real-world challenges, University Librarian
Jon Shaw
said.
“The Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab supports our central mission of enabling students to not only learn on the job but develop the skills that will help ensure public memory is preserved for future generations,” Shaw said. “I am deeply grateful to AWS for this partnership, and I’m excited to see what innovations the lab produces in the coming months and years.”
Five computer science majors comprise the first student cohort working on projects for the Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab. (Harrison McClary/Vanderbilt)
The first VCIL project, led by a cohort of five students, focuses on the
Vanderbilt Television News Archive
, a unique Heard Libraries resource that has been recording, preserving and providing access to television news broadcasts of the U.S. national networks continuously since Aug. 5, 1968. VTNA’s core collection includes daily evening news programs from ABC, CBS and NBC, along with CNN (since 1995) and Fox News (since 2004). The archive boasts more than 92,000 broadcasts, nearly 600,000 news segments, and some 55,700 hours of runtime to date.
The students will aim to improve the labor-intensive process of arranging this media collection and updating accessibility features, such as image descriptions, by developing an automated solution for video segmentation. In addition to gaining experience with AI and cloud technologies, the students will learn project management methodologies, experiential problem solving, and other skills that will help them thrive in the technology industry.
“This new lab represents an evolution in our already strong partnership with AWS. It is the first lab of its kind to be hosted in an academic library, and we’re able to combine the skill of our students, the expertise of our librarians on staff, and the power of AWS technologies to solve the challenges facing digital preservation and the analysis of our shared cultural memory,” said
Andrew Wesolek,
the Heard Libraries’ chief digital strategist and senior director of the Digital Lab.
Todd Davis, director of U.S. State & Local Government and Education for the Southeast and Great Lakes at Amazon Web Services, addresses attendees of the Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab launch event on Oct. 27. (Harrison McClary/Vanderbilt)
“Vanderbilt and AWS have collaborated on numerous initiatives over the past five years, including the implementation of cloud infrastructure to modernize and improve resiliency of various systems across the university,” said
Todd Davis
, director of U.S. State & Local Government and Education for the Southeast and Great Lakes at Amazon Web Services. At the Heard Libraries in particular, the Television News Archive was successfully migrated to the AWS cloud and capabilities such as transcription, translation and enhanced search were introduced.
“We’re especially excited about the VCIL launch because it’s directed toward library initiatives and applied digital preservation in an area that is so critical to our society today and to the globe as a whole,” Davis said. “The way we consume and use information is changing all the time. This collaboration will accelerate the development of AI solutions that can have a real-world impact on the lives of students, on libraries, and on digital preservation across industries, not just within academia. We are delighted to be here today and to continue to contribute to Vanderbilt’s innovation and academic leadership.”
The AI solutions developed by Vanderbilt students will be shared as an open-source prototype to benefit other organizations that deal with extensive media archives. In addition to these solutions, the students will deliver technical documentation that outlines the solution architecture, as well as a user guide and cost analysis.
The Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab for Libraries and Applied Digital Preservation is the fifth AWS-powered cloud innovation center in North America. The others are at
Arizona State University
, the
University of British Columbia
California Polytechnic State University
and the
University of Pittsburgh
Jamie Butler, director of solutions architecture for U.S. State & Local Government and Education at Amazon Web Services, speaks at the Oct. 27 launch of the Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab. (Harrison McClary/Vanderbilt)
“Our cloud innovation programs start with the concept of design thinking and source great ideas to challenges from our communities in academia. We recruit students who are passionate about technology and give them the training and support from AWS to help make solutions possible. Then we launch it like a rocket ship to build these amazing tools,” said
Jamie Butler
, director of solutions architecture for U.S. State & Local Government and Education at Amazon Web Services.
“Cloud innovation programs are not only transforming the way we think about software development, but also creating amazing opportunities for students,” Butler said. “I appreciate you having me here today and all the amazing work that’s happening at Vanderbilt.”
Read more about the Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab launch on the
AWS Public Sector Blog
Explore Story Topics
Digital Lab
General News
Heard Homepage
Special Collections
Amazon Web Services
Andrew Wesolek
AWS
Digital Lab
Jon Shaw
Special Collections
Special Collections and University Archives Library
Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab
Vanderbilt Television News Archive
VCIL