The DPC is offering scholarships so that members can attend the University of London's Digital Preservation Training Programme at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London 6-8th march 2013.  Applications are due by 1200 on 22nd February 2013

• For more details of the scholarships including eligibility and how to apply see: http://www.dpconline.org/training/leadership-programme
• For more information about the Digital Preservation Training Programme see: http://www.dptp.org/

Bring out Your Dead (Files): Registration Open for Day of Action on File Formats, London 28th Jan

Registration is now open for a DPC 'Day of Action:Collaborative approaches to managing File Formats, 28th January 2013, Wellcome Trust Conference Centre, Euston Road, London

Making sense of the contents of files – especially large numbers of files in diverse formats – is a persistent and ubiquitous challenge for those undertaking digital preservation.  Understanding how information is packaged, transmitted and processed is essential for ensuring that it can remain intelligible through time. Understanding the intricacies of files can be a daunting and intricate exasperating task, but it is also an obvious candidate for informed collaboration.  There have been numerous initiatives in the last decade designing, developing and refining tools and registries that help us to understand the behaviour of files, and some of these are now plugged directly into the architectures of numerous repositories and archives already. 

This DPC ‘Day of Action’ will introduce a range of recent initiatives in this domain and it will provide a focussed burst of activity which will be of benefit to all with an interest in digital preservation.  Participants will be invited to bring problem files with them, and to work with experts in the field to catalogue problems and develop tools to help characterise and manage them.  Participants will

• Be updated on a range of recent activities in file characterisation and format registries
• Have an opportunity to support the development of file format registries
• Be shown how to develop and supply signature information for characterisation
• Encourage collaboration on shared challenges in managing diverse or ‘problem’ files
• Contribute to a wide ranging discussion about strategic needs

For more details see:

http://www.dpconline.org/events/details/51-file-formats-day-of-action?xref=54

Registration Open for Digital Preservation Student Conference, London 24th January

The DPC and the Archives and Records Association are pleased to invite students and researchers in archives, records management and librarianship to a half day conference on practical workplace skills in digital preservation,Birkbeck College London - Malet Street on 24/01/2013, 14:00 - 17:00.  Hosted by University College London, and organised in partnership with the Universities of Aberystwyth and Dundee, this mini-conference will bring a select group of leading practitioners together with the next generation of archivists, records managers and ibrarians to discuss the challenges of digital collections management and digital preservation.  In a lively set of presentations and discussions, each of the speakers will be invited to reflect on 'the things I wish I knew before I started', or 'what I actually do all day'  giving students an advantage in their own career development, and helping those who frame the curriculum a chance to extend their students' readiness for the workplace.

This event is free of charge but will be popular and numbers are strictly limited, so please be sure to register early:

http://www.dpconline.org/events/details/50-StudentConference2013?xref=53

Saving the digital decade: DPC rewards organizations helping to safeguard our digital memory

At a prestigious ceremony this evening the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) celebrated its tenth anniversary by recognising initiatives and individuals from around the world that have made an outstanding contribution to safeguard digital resources for the future. 

At the DPC’s Digital Preservation Awards, which took place at the Wellcome Collection in London on Monday night, three agencies received awards for their exceptional contribution to ensuring the long-term security of digital collections: the University of London Computer Centre for their pioneering and popular ‘Digital Preservation Training Programme’; the PLANETS project for its ground-breaking and innovative technologies; and the Archaeology Data Service at the University of York for its outstanding work securing valuable but vulnerable research data.

The three awards were presented this year were:
1. The DPC Decennial Award for an outstanding contribution to digital preservation
2. The DPC Award for Teaching and Communications
3. The DPC Award for Research and Innovation

The Award for Teaching and Communications was presented by Oliver Morley, Chief Executive of the National Archives to a small team from the University of London Computer Centre who run the Digital Preservation Training Programme (DPTP) - an entry-level, introductory course that develops critical thinking about digital preservation. It is designed to help all working in information management to understand effective approaches to the challenges of digital preservation, and enables students to assess the models and examples in the context of their own organisations. 

The Award for Research and Innovation was presented by Martyn Harrow, Chief Executive of JISC to the PLANETS project.   PLANETS brought together memory institutions, small businesses, major technology providers, and research institutions from across Europe to build practical services and tools to help ensure long-term access to digital cultural and scientific assets. It established the not-for-profit Open Planets Foundation to provide the digital preservation community with services, ongoing support, and a sustainable future for its Open Source results. It advanced the state-of-the-art in digital preservation and has permanently changed the digital preservation landscape by shifting the focus to practical, sustainable solutions that are soundly supported by practice-driven research.

The DPC’s most prestigious prize – the Decennial Prize – is awarded specially to mark the tenth anniversary of the founding of the DPC and it recognizes the most outstanding work over the decade that the DPC has existed.  An intense international competition followed and finalists from New York, Washington and London were selected after a painstaking assessment by an expert panel.  But when Dame Lynne Brindley announced the winner this evening, it was the Archaeology Data Service at the University of York that came out on top. The Archaeology Data Service is an innovative group based in the Archaeology Department of the University of York.  ADS has developed and thrived with an innovative business model that allows it to preserve an extraordinary range of data while providing free access to all comers.  It ensures the longevity of data that would rapidly be lost or obsolete, and it has an impressive track record of research and innovation. 

William Kilbride, Executive Director of the DPC said:  “These awards are important in showcasing the creative solutions that have been developed towards digital preservation.  Digital preservation is critical.  We know that significant parts of the economy, industry, research, government and the public life depend on the opportunities information technology creates, but the rapid churn in technology means data is also surprisingly fragile. We are the first generation that’s had to think about handing on a digital legacy, so we need to act quickly to develop the skills and techniques that will ensure our legacy is protected.” 

The contributions of nine other exceptional finalists were also marked in the ceremony hosted by Richard Ovenden, Chair of the DPC and Deputy Director of the Bodleian Libraries at University of Oxford, one of the world’s premiere memory institutions.  It is one of many agencies that have joined the Digital Preservation Coalition to help develop the new skills necessary to preserve their growing digital collections.

In different ways, the winners and finalists of the Digital Preservation Awards demonstrate an unassuming creativity that not only deserves to be better known and celebrated: it will be vital for the on-going exploitation of high value data.