Vanderbilt University launches Cloud Innovation Lab in collaboration with AWS

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Vanderbilt University are excited to announce the launch of the Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab (CIL) for Libraries and Applied Digital Preservation, powered by AWS. This new creative collaboration marks a significant milestone in the advancement of digital preservation technologies and cloud-based solutions.

Pioneering digital preservation through AI and cloud innovation

Vanderbilt University’s Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries are pioneers in the digitization and preservation of unique archival collections. The Vanderbilt Television News Archive is one of the most extensive television news archives in the world, containing news recordings from US national networks since August 5, 1968. While Vanderbilt has worked to preserve its unique special collections and historical archives, including the Slave Societies Digital Archive and Rev. James Lawson Papers, the university has also looked to the future, launching cutting-edge initiatives to harness the power of emerging technologies. In 2024, Vanderbilt made another important stride forward by unveiling Amplify, an enterprise generative AI platform available to its entire campus community and open-sourced to enable adoption at around 40 other universities (to date).

Housed in the Heard Libraries, the Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab aims to develop breakthrough advancements in applied digital preservation by leveraging artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge cloud technologies. By combining Vanderbilt’s expertise and resources with AWS’s comprehensive set of AI and data services, this collaboration will solve critical challenges in digital preservation across libraries and digital collections.

“Innovation thrives when cutting-edge technology meets inquisitive minds tackling significant challenges,” said Val Singer, general manager for global education at AWS. “By combining Vanderbilt’s renowned expertise in library and information science with AWS’s advanced cloud solutions, we are creating a collaboration with the potential for transformative impact. We’re excited to see how this initiative will not only benefit Vanderbilt, but also accelerate digital innovation across the broader library and digital preservation communities.”

Student Fellows leading innovation

Incorporating best practices established at AWS-powered Cloud Innovation Centers at Arizona State University (ASU), the University of British Columbia (UBC), California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), and the University of Pittsburgh, the Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab will feature talented students at the heart of this initiative. Student fellows will work alongside Vanderbilt and AWS experts on projects during rapid prototyping sprints, building valuable solutions that address recurring challenges sourced from Vanderbilt and other institutions from the broader library and digital preservation community. These talented individuals will develop innovative, cloud-based technical solutions, complete with source code, comprehensive documentation, and engaging demonstrations to accelerate broader technology adoption across the community.

Initial solutions developed within the Cloud Innovation Lab will be released as open source. This approach not only fosters innovation, but also promotes knowledge sharing among libraries and cultural institutions.

“Vanderbilt has a rich history of collaborative problem-solving and engendering environments where students can build critical skills,” said university librarian Jon Shaw. “This initiative combines these efforts in an exciting way, empowering students to develop innovative solutions that will lead to meaningful advancements in digital preservation.”

What’s next?

To learn more about this collaboration and how you can get involved, visit the Vanderbilt Cloud Innovation Lab webpage. To learn more about similar collaborations that feature student-developed technical solutions, visit the AWS Cloud Innovation Centers website, or view our more than 150 other student-built, open-source solutions from ASU, Cal Poly, and UBC!