The Stock Artists Alliance and the American Society of Media Photographers are among the eight organizations awarded a total of $2.15 million by the U.S. Library of Congress. The funds will be used to ensure the survival of digital media under the Preserving Creative America initiative of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program.

SAA will use its award to fund educational initiatives that promote the importance of metadata in the long-term use of digital images. The organization plans to survey and report on current practices, develop online resources and tutorials, create a traveling educational program and dedicate an edition of its ezine solely to metadata. SAA welcomes partner support from image licensors and users.

ASMP will fund a collaborative project promoting standards, improved workflows, archival methods and best practices based on the Universal Photographic Digital Imaging Guidelines. The project will include a Web site and an awareness campaign. ASMP Foundation and Photo District News will contribute toward the matching funds target proposed to the Library of Congress during the grant application process.

In addition to SAA and ASMP projects, Preserving Creative America is supporting the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, ARTstor, BM/Chace, Universal Press Syndicate, UCLA Film & Television Archive and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Funded projects include training for creating archive-ready imagery, development of digital transfer processes, sustainability of independent filmmaking and preserving movies, digital games, cartoons and interactive fiction.

According to Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, all projects are geared to "saving our nation's heritage, which is increasingly being created only in digital formats." The set of eight awardees join a network of more than 90 partners working on digital preservation, including government, educational and research organizations and institutions.