The founding partners - Archives Nationale d'Haïti; Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM); National Library of Jamaica; La Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE); Universidad de Oriente, Venezuela; University of the Virgin Islands; Florida International University; University of Central Florida; University of Florida - officially established the Digital Library of the Caribbean on 17 July 2004 at a Planning Committee at a meeting held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Development and planning leading to up to the meeting included many prior cooperative projects for preservation and access. The Planning Committee for dLOC sought to leverage new technologies in service to those ongoing needs, yet with an expanded vision of what preservation and access could mean. dLOC partners applied for and were awarded a TICFIA grant for 2005-2009 (grant proposal online). With this grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education, along with cost share from the partner institutions, dLOC developed the technical infrastructure, training materials and network of active partners that have collaboratively built this resource. With continued institutional support and outside funding through grants and donations, the Digital Library of the Caribbean continues to support its goals of ensuring digital preservation of Caribbean materials and providing increased access.
Administered by Florida International University (FIU) in partnership with the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) and the University of Florida (UF), dLOC's technical infrastructure is provided by the University of Florida (UF).
dLOC's multi-institutional collaborative model is bolstered by a democratic governance structure which allows for all partner institutions to contribute to dLOC's evolution and success.