Digital Preservation in the Local Authority Archive Sector

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In 2008 and 2009, the DPC with the National Archives and the Society of Archivists produced a set of resources around the topic of digital preservation for local authority archives.  This stated with a survey of needs and ended with a report on needs and an open consultation.  The results of this project can be accessed here.

An open consultation event was held at the TNA to consider the findings of the recent survey in the sector. The presentations from that event may be found:

  1. Introduction to digital preservation requirements. [PDF 2.8MB] Adrian Brown, Head of Digital Preservation, TNA
  2. Work on pre-ingest requirements at Hampshire CC. [PDF 578KB] Heather Needham.
  3. Work on ingest at Gloucestershire CC. [PDF 675KB] Viv Cothey
  4. Report of web archiving activity in Manchester [PDF 873KB] Kevin Bolton
  5. Report of research trip to US and Australia. [PDF 6.5MB] Alexandra Eveleigh.
  6. Report on the analysis of the digital preservation survey questionnaire, [PDF 2.2MB] Heather Needham & Alexandra Eveleigh.
  7. Feedback on mailing lists review of activities in Digital Continuity. [PDF 320KB] Karen Wilson TNA

Survey Report Published

The results of the survey [PDF 36KB] have now been published. The full report may be found at Digital Preservation Survey Report [PDF112KB]

Digital Preservation Survey for Local Authority Archivists & Record Managers.

At a recent meeting with colleagues from The National Archives, the Records Management Society and the Digital Preservation Coalition, we agreed to gather a snapshot of current preparedness for digital preservation within the local authority archive sector.

This survey is being supported by the Association of Chief Archivists in Local Government (in England and Wales), the Archivists of Scottish Local Authorities Working Group and the Records Management Society. It is the first step in ensuring that the needs of local authority archive services can be effectively recognised and represented in moves towards a new alliance of interested bodies to co-ordinate action on digital preservation.

ACALG and ASLAWG have kindly agreed to send out the questionnaire on our behalf as the best means of reaching archive services within local government. The questionnaire is also being circulated by the Records Management Society in order to gather responses from the records management perspective.

We all recognise digital preservation as being one of the fundamental challenges facing Archives and Records Management. The issue of digital preservation is also a very important one in the light of the current 30-Year Rule Review, the revision of the Government Policy on Archives, in the future relationship of the local archives network with TNA as Places of Deposit, and equivalent changes in the legislative and recordkeeping pattern in Scotland.

Even if you do not currently hold any digital archives, we would still like to receive a response from you as an incentive, you will have fewer questions to answer!

The results of the questionnaire will be presented at an open consultation event at TNA on 12th November 2008. A joint events programme for the UK archives sector involving the Digital Preservation Coalition and the Society of Archivists is also being planned for 2009.

Please pass this to the person best suited to respond within your organisation. Respondents are not obliged to identify their Service, but it would help our planning if you feel able to do so. No respondent will be identified in any published findings.

The survey is now closed and the full report may be found at Survey Report