1 November 2013 | 10:00 - 16:00 Dawson Street, Dublin | Royal Irish Academy


The Digital Preservation Coalition, the Digital Repository of Ireland, the Health Sciences Library Group and the Academic and Special Libraries Section of the Library Association of Ireland are delighted to invite you to join them at a workshop which will equip collection managers, archivists, librarians and conservators with the skills necessary for ‘getting started in digital preservation’Digital preservation – representing all the activities necessary to ensure that digital objects and data can be found, accessed and deployed beyond the limits of technological obsolescence, media failure or creator dependency – is a growing challenge for agencies and individuals in all kinds of contexts. Our generation has invested as never before in digital resources and we've done so because of the opportunity they bring. Digital collections have grown in volume, complexity and importance to the point that our children are baffled by the inefficiencies of the analogue age. Pervasive, fluid and vital: digital data is a defining feature of our age. Industry, commerce, government, law, research, health, social care, education, the creative industries, the heritage sector and private life depend on digital materials to satisfy ubiquitous information needs and expectations. But digital objects are fragile: at risk of loss, corruption or obsolescence, not to mention unlawful alteration or theft. Collection managers, IT officers, academic researchers, broadcasters, developers and industrial regulators need to ensure that the digital collections which they use and depend upon are accessible for the long-term: but training in these new skills can be hard to acquire.This day-long introduction assumes no prior knowledge except a willingness to engage with digital preservation. Through a series of presentations, case studies and exercises, participants will learn how to apply techniques of assessment, risk management and planning to help secure their digital collections.Presentations and exercises will help participants:

  • Understand the range of issues associated with digital preservation
  • Survey and characterize a digital collection
  • Undertake preliminary risk assessment to manage their own digital collections
  • Understand preservation planning and write a basic preservation plan
  • Meet and network with others locally working in digital preservatio

Who should come?

This workshop will interest:

  • Collections managers, librarians, curators and archivists in all institutions
  • IT managers in memory institutions
  • Records managers in institutions with a need for long-lived data
  • CIO’s in organisations with commercial intellectual property
  • Students and researchers in information science and related fields
  • Researchers with interests in research data management

Outline Programme

1000 – Registration open, tea and coffee

1030 – Welcome and Introductions - Natalie Harrower (DRI)

1035 – Introducing digital preservation - William Kilbride (DPC)

1100 – Making sense of your collection case study - Meadhbh Murphy (RCSI)

1120 – Discussion

1130 – Tool demo: making sense of a collection - William Kilbride (DPC)

1140 – Risk assessment and Digital Preservation - Sharon McMeekin (DPC)

1200 – Risk assessment exercise

1240 – Discussion

1245 – Lunch (provided)

1330 – Preservation planning case study - Aileen O'Carroll (DRI)

1350 – Preservation planning for beginners - William Kilbride (DPC)

1405 – Preservation Planning exercise

1450 – Short discussion

1500 – Comfort break

1515 – Next steps in digital preservation - William Kilbride (DPC)

1545 – Roundtable discussion

1600 – Close


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