What's New - Issue 23, March 2010

In this issue:

• What's on, and What's new
• Editorial: Something old, something new Chris Rusbridge, Director, Digital Curation Centre (DCC).
• Who's who: Sixty second interview with Polly Parry of the Natural History Museum
• One world: Sabine Schrimpf of nestor
• Your view: commentary, questions and debate from readers

The deadline for prospective members to file their application to join the Coaltion if they want to be considered for one of the scholarships to attend the Digital Preservation Training Programme in London.  Application papers should be lodged by 8th March.  More details of the scholarships including eligibility and how to apply are available online from the DPC Leadership Programme.

DPC, EDINA and JISC invite you to a briefing on continuting access and preservation of E-Journal content, London 26th April 2010.  For more details including registration, see the Events section of the DPC website.

Taking the long view for digital creativity: Scottish Arts Council joins the Digital Preservation Coalition

The Scottish Arts Council has taken a significant step to securing a lasting legacy from Scotland's digital creativity by joining the Digital Preservation Coalition. In doing so it joins a growing number of strategic bodies and memory institutions taking steps to ensure that digital objects can be accessible to future generation.

'The Scottish Arts Council takes digital preservation seriously', explained Kate Wallace, Senior Research Officer, Scottish Arts Council.  'Preserving a digital legacy for future generations of artists, organisations and the public gives greater access and can inspire learning.'

The Digital Preservation Roadshow 2009-10: The Incomplete Diaries of Optimistic Travellers

William Kilbride, DPC and Malcomn Todd, The National Archives report on the Digital Preservation Roadshow - an 11-month tour of the UK and Ireland designed to provide archivists and record managers with practical advice and support in managing digital resources.

See the full Ariadne report here:

http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue62/dp-rdshw-rpt/#author2

What's New - Issue 22, Feb 2010

In this issue:

• What's on, and What's new
• Discussion: Winning Formulas and the Enduring Web (William Kilbride, DPC)
• Who's who: sixty second interview with Iain Fleming, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland
• One world: William Lefurgy, The Library of Congress National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program
• Your view: commentary, questions and  debate from readers

Preserving our digital heritage: Digital Preservation Coalition and British Library Preservation Advisory Centre join forces to build digital preservation skills

The British Library Preservation Advisory Centre and the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) signed a major new memorandum of understanding on Tuesday 19 January.

Focussing on training and skills development, the first joint initiative will be an event on the preservation of digital objects aimed at librarians, archivists and technical staff involved in the creation and care of digital content. Fostering a culture of shared responsibility for and understanding of digital content amongst those caring for library and archive materials is a goal of both organisations.

The Digital Preservation Coalition is delighted to welcome as members the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, acting jointly through the 'SWISH Partnership'.

'The Royal Commissions collect, record and interpret information on the architectural, industrial, archaeological and maritime heritage of our countries,' explained Kirsty Lingstadt of RCAHMS.  'We have been doing this for more than a hundred years so our archives are vast and continue to expand.'

'Our digital collections are growing rapidly. Between us we curate more than 300,000 digital objects totalling over 11TB and we expect this to increase by more than 50000 objects and 3TB annually. We have very diverse types of data including GIS data, vector graphics and laser scanning.

'In 2003 RCAHMS and RCAHMW established a joint venture called - SWISH (Shared Web Information Services for Heritage) to share maintenance and development costs and to create a shared vision for future enhancements of our online resources. The partnership enables us to share ideas and experiences and develop joint strategies'

'We are looking forward to working with DPC so that we can develop a trusted digital repository that will help us curate and provide access to these important and popular collections.'

Richard Ovenden, Chair of the DPC said 'Naturally I am delighted to welcome these new members to the Coalition.  The organisations within the SWISH partnership have outstanding collections and a lot of experience within their staff: I expect we will learn from them as well as assisting them to achieve their own goals.'

'These latest recruits bring the membership to a new high of 32. That's very pleasing but it's not surprising. Digital preservation and issues relating to long term access to digital information can seem daunting: by working together, the Digital Preservation Coalition is developing the skills and approaches needed for our members to ensure the proper preservation of their collections, and continued services to their users.'

 For more on RCAHMS and their collections see: www.rcahms.gov.uk

For more on RCAHMW and their collections see: www.rcahmw.gov.uk

Click here to find out more about joining the DPC

New Year - and New Chair for DPC: Richard Ovenden

The DPC starts the new year with a new chair: Richard Ovenden, Associate Director and Keeper of Special Collections, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford was elected chair of the Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) at our AGM in November 2009.

Founded 2001, the DPC is a not-for-profit membership organisation whose primary objective is to raise awareness of the importance of the preservation of digital material and the attendant strategic, cultural and technological issues. 

Richard Ovenden is the third chair of the Coalition succeeding Ronald Milne who became Chair in 2006 and Dame Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive of the British Library who originally chaired the organisation.  

Richard Ovenden said: ‘I’m delighted to take on this role at an exciting time for the Coalition. With thirty members the DPC is a diverse and large coalition, representing a significant cross section of the scientific and cultural organisations in the UK and Ireland. All face the same challenge of ensuring that our digital memory is available for future generations. It makes sense that we all work together to achieve this common goal.  The challenge – and the opportunity – is shared by all of us.’

William Kilbride, Executive Director of the DPC said: ‘Richard has been a Board director for several years and I am very much looking forward to working with him in this new role.’

The DPC is pleased to announce that the Archaeology Data Service at the University of York has become the latest organisation to join the coalition.

'The Archaeology Data service is a national data archive for archaeology and related disciplines in the UK', explained Prof Julian Richards, director of the ADS.  'We are the mandated archive for archaeological data for the AHRC and NERC and work closely with a variety of national agencies such as English Heritage, to ensure the long term preservation and dissemination of digital data. We currently curate more than 250 archives covering thousands of archaeological projects, as well as a wealth of digital library resources.  There is a broad range of data types and several terabytes of data.'

 'The DPC is the lead UK forum for the promotion of digital preservation policy and best practice. We have worked with the DPC before - although our membership was as a constituent of the former Arts and Humanities Data Service. With the demise of AHDS we see the need to be directly involved with developments at a national and cross-sectoral and cross-disciplinary level.'

Welcoming the ADS, Richard Ovenden, Chair of the DPC commented 'We're really pleased that the ADS has joined the Coalition. They have been long time supporters and have a great track record of effective action as well as leadership within their community. Participation in our activities and events will be a great benefit to them and will keep them up to date with a fast moving field. But it is also good news for the other 30 members that we'll be able to access their expertise and experience.'

For more about the Archaeology Data Service see http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/