Aggregating distributed digital collections in the mountain west digital library with the CONTENTdm multi-site server

This paper describes the creation of the Mountain West Digital Library (MWDL), a cooperative regional program distributed throughout Utah and Nevada. Its metadata are aggregated at a single website. Six digitization centers at the largest universities in both states digitize their own collections and support partner institutions in their geographic regions. Each center runs a CONTENTdm server, and an aggregating server at the University of Utah harvests metadata into a single searchable index. Local control and identity of collections are hallmarks of the MWDL