This lightning talk presents the results of a project to preserve the original appearance and functionality of the West Chester University Institutional Repository during a site redesign. Beginning in late 2025 and finishing in early 2026, West Chester University Digital Commons underwent its first redesign since it was first launched in 2014. The redesign was intended to meet current accessibility requirements, improve site navigability and browsability, and refresh the site's overall appearance for 2026. Throughout the project, repository administrators, wishing to honor the work of previous administrators and document the growth of the repository over time, sought to preserve and archive the site's history. This goal was prompted, in part, by the presence of several non-traditionally archived websites already held within repository collections. Because West Chester University does not maintain a formal web-archiving program, multiple approaches were explored to ensure ongoing and functional access to the legacy site. The presentation highlights the methods used to capture and preserve the original site's appearance and functionality, describes how the archived version was made accessible to patrons, and situates the project within broader repository goals related to institutional memory, preservation, and transparency for the campus community.
Julia Doelling (Mon,) studied this question.