Case Study: South Carolina Department of Archives and History achieves unified, future-proof preservation and increased access to state records with Preservica

South Carolina Department of Archives and History - Customer Case Study

The South Carolina Department of Archives and History (SCDAH) is the long‑term steward of 325 years of state documentary and cultural heritage, managing millions of paper, film, digitized and born‑digital records transferred from 250+ state and local agencies. Faced with a growing backlog of at‑risk electronic records, an exponential rise in born‑digital materials, and the need to retain in‑state control and accessibility, the Archives lacked a unified way to process and preserve records in all formats for the long term.

Since 2016 SCDAH has used Preservica’s enterprise active digital preservation platform to ingest, characterize and preserve hundreds of file formats, mirror agency file plans for faster search, and increase staff efficiency while reducing the transfer burden on agencies. The program has digitized roughly 500,000 records (with 60,000 more images planned), launched pilots with local agencies and web/social captures to prevent data loss, and is moving toward greater automation to scale preservation and ensure continued access.

South Carolina Department of Archives and History

Bryan Collars

Electronic Records and Imaging Supervisor