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For two decades, the Texas Digital Library (TDL) has helped libraries, researchers, and institutions make knowledge more accessible. What began as a collaborative effort to expand access to scholarly work has evolved into a statewide network supporting digital repositories, research data, open-access publishing, and digital preservation.
On a recent episode of Libraries Transform Texas, host Michelia Mason, head librarian at Southwest Research Institute, spoke with Kristi Park, executive director of the Texas Digital Library, about TDL’s 20-year journey, its impact on higher education, and what lies ahead for digital scholarship.
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At its core, TDL exists to make scholarship and research more accessible through collaboration.
“We are a collaborative consortium of mostly academic libraries, and we provide services enabling free and open access to digital materials,” Park explained. “We provide affordable shared infrastructure, both social and technical infrastructure, for disseminating and safeguarding digital content.”
Today, TDL supports institutions by hosting digital repositories, research data repositories, electronic theses and dissertations, open-access journals, and digital preservation services while also bringing librarians together through conferences, working groups, and professional development.
Park noted that the organization’s founding mission remains remarkably relevant today.
When TDL launched in 2005, its founders recognized two significant challenges: valuable research produced at Texas institutions wasn’t easily accessible, and the cost of traditional scholarly publishing was becoming unsustainable.
“The intellectual capital that exists within the state’s higher education institutions is extremely valuable, but its actual value is zero if it’s not readily accessible to others,” Park said. Over time, that mission expanded to include research data management, cultural heritage collections, and participation in initiatives like the Digital Public Library of America, while continuing to champion open scholarship.
As artificial intelligence and digital technologies continue reshaping higher education, Park believes libraries are uniquely positioned to provide something increasingly valuable: trust. “Libraries continue to play an absolutely central role… We’re no longer just endpoints where information is accessed, but active partners in building information systems, serving as platforms for research, for collaboration, for access, and for long-term thinking around some of these issues.”
She also emphasized that libraries play an essential role in ensuring information remains reliable and transparent.
“In an age where information is increasingly available, but also subject to many forms of manipulation, trust is in really short supply.”
While AI offers exciting opportunities, Park cautioned against adopting new technology simply because it’s available.
“I think first and foremost, we have to have an actual problem we need to solve. AI for its own sake is not that interesting to me. What is the problem that needs a solution, and let’s find it.”
Instead, she advocates for a collaborative, member-driven approach that prioritizes ethical implementation and focuses on solving real challenges. TDL is already exploring practical uses of AI, including improving web accessibility for large collections of digital files.
One example of TDL’s collaborative philosophy is its peer-assisted digital preservation audit program. The initiative pairs institutions together to assess digital preservation practices, build confidence, and develop practical action plans.
While the audits themselves have been valuable, Park said one of the greatest benefits has been the relationships participants build throughout the process.
Participants “talked about the way that the process built their confidence in their own ability to do the work,” she said, while also creating lasting professional connections with colleagues across institutions.
The program has already entered its second cohort, with participants from the first group now mentoring new institutions.
As TDL begins its next chapter, Park believes the foundation built over the last 20 years will continue to support innovation while remaining grounded in collaboration.
“I continue to believe that the answers… are really in collaboration and collective action. We’re much stronger together—and not just stronger, but more innovative, creative. We have more mind power and person power to draw from when we’re working together.”
After 20 years of building shared infrastructure for Texas libraries, the future of the Texas Digital Library remains focused on the same principle that inspired its creation: making knowledge more accessible through partnership.
To hear more stories and ideas from libraries across Texas, listen to the Libraries Transform Texas podcast and browse past episodes in your favorite podcast app.
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