Vacancy at the British Library: Web Archiving Engagement and Liaison Officer

Web Archiving Engagement and Liaison Officer
Location: London, St Pancras
Position Type: Permanent
Specialism: Information Technology
Salary: £37,561 - £43,623 per annum
Closing Date: 19 June 2012.

The British Library has been archiving UK websites of cultural and scholarly importance since 2004 (http://www.webarchive.org.uk/ukwa/). The strategic priorities in web archiving are to engage dynamically with stakeholders and respond to their evolving needs.

In this key post, you will lead on engagement, developing, managing and delivering on an engagement strategy and annual action plan, to help increase efficiency and add value to the Web Archive. Your success will be shown by your ability to raise awareness and increase usage of the web archive, identify and work with new partners, develop relationships with existing stakeholders, create opportunities for collaboration and broker agreements. You will also co-ordinate input into the BL’s public programmes.
You will need to evidence your ability to work with multiple stakeholders, and develop beneficial partnerships whilst working towards the BL’s strategic priorities. You will also need to show your knowledge of new and emerging trends in digital research and the application of new technologies.

For an informal discussion please contact Helen Hockx-Yu by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For more details see: https://gs10.globalsuccessor.com/fe/tpl_britishlibrary01.asp?s=PyAxDIfSqHTyVvHqn&jobid=89083,5898770223&key=69811227&c=619854778752&pagestamp=dbmpcvxpbculqlqjss

DPC is in the process of commissioning a new Technology Watch Report on the topic of 'Preserving Computer-Aided Design' from Alex Ball of the DCC at UKOLN.  The report is due for completion in late 2012 and as with all reports will be subject to peer review.  The Technology Watch Report Series is designed to meet the needs of members so, at this early stage, we are inviting comments from members on a draft outline of the report.  Comments, on any aspect of the report are welcome by 6th June if possible.  The draft outline is available for members who need to Login or Register first, then access the draft outline.

Presentaion slides and notes from the DPC Briefing Day on 'Digital Resilience and Preservation' are now available online:

• Presentations are online for all as PDF files, linked from the programme
• Informal notes from the event are available only for members.  To access tthem, login or register then click here for Conference Notes Page

The Digital Preservation Coalition and Charles Beagrie Limited are delighted to announce the continuation of their collaboration, producing 3 more Technology Watch Reports.

 ‘5 Technology Watch Reports have already been produced – or are in production – and have been enthusiastically received by our members’, said William Kilbride of the DPC.  The next three will ensure that the production process continues through 2013 with themes and topics proposed and refined by DPC members to help them with digital preservation.’

 The three new reports will be:

• Web Archiving, Maureen Pennock
• Preserving Computer Aided Design, Alex Ball (jointly with DCC)
• Preservation Metadata, Brian Lavoie and Richard Gartner

Two of the reports are completely new, and a third one will allow us to update one of the more popular reports that has become dated since it was first published in 2005.  DPC members will have a period of privileged advance access to each report prior to wider public release.

The DPC Technology Watch Report series was established in 2002 and has been one of the Coalition’s most enduring contributions to the wider digital preservation community.  They exist to provide authoritative support and foresight to those engaged with digital preservation or having to tackle digital preservation problems for the first time. These publications support members work forces', they identify disseminate and discuss best practices and they lower the barriers to participation in digital preservation.

‘Each ‘Technology Watch Report’ analyses a particular topic in digital preservation, evaluating workable solutions, and investigating new tools and techniques appropriate for different contexts,’ explained Neil Beagrie, series editor.  ‘The reports are written by leaders-in-the-field and are peer-reviewed prior to publication.  The intended audience is worldwide, especially in the UK, Europe, Australia New Zealand, USA, Canada.’

‘We expect that these reports will have a wide readership.  The audience includes members and non-members of the coalition; staff of commercial and public agencies; repository managers, librarians and archivists charged with managing electronic resources; senior staff and executives of intellectual property organizations in the private and public sectors; those who teach and train information scientists; as well as policy advisors requiring an advanced introduction to specific issues and researchers developing DP solutions.’

Further publicity on each report in the series will be released over the course.  Draft outlines of each reports will be distributed to members for comment and the whole process will be overseen by an editorial board drawn from the membership.

What's New - Issue 45, May 2012

In this issue:

• What's On - Forthcoming events from May 2012 onwards
• What's New - New reports and initiatives since the last issue
• What's What - After Dark Archives, William Kilbride, DPC
• Who's Who - Sixty second interview with Matthew Herring, University of York Library and Archives
• Featured Project - Preserving Complex Visual Digital Objects: Experiences and results from the POCOS project, Leo Konstantelos, University of Portsmouth
• Your View? - Comments and views from readers

What's New is a joint publication of the DPC and DCC

The Digital Preservation Coalition is delighted to welcome the University of Manchester Library as its newest member.

'The University of Manchester Library has a strong interest in digital preservation at both a strategic and operational level,' explained Sandra Bracegirdle. 'We have recently carried out a significant review of our digital preservation work as we see this as a key issue for the Library. '

'Membership of the DPC provides us with opportunities to collaborate with a range of organisations and to share knowledge and expertise. By joining DPC as an Associate Member we hope to play an active role in building up the UK's digital preservation community.'

Richard Ovenden, chair of the Coalition, welcomed this newest member. ''We're really pleased to welcome the University of Manchester Library to the Coalition: it will strengthen their work but it will also strengthen the DPC. They are the fourth major academic library to have joined the DPC in the last 12 months and it's encouraging to see such a strong commitment to digital preservation from the major research libraries.'

The SPRUCE project has issued it's first call for proposals.  Grants of up to five thousands pounds are available to support small projects that extend themes and tools that were developed at the first SPRUCE mash-up event in Glasgow in April.  Applications should be submitted by: 5pm, 22nd May 2012 and projects to complete by: 31st October 2012.  For more details see: http://www.dpconline.org/advocacy/spruce

The Digital Preservation Coalition is delighted to welcome Royal Museums Greenwich as its newest member.

Richard Ferguson, Documentation Manager, Royal Museums Greenwich said 'Having the opportunity to join a community of practice which has a focus on addressing and developing greater understanding of the challenges of digital preservation is most timely.'

'We have a mission to illustrate for everyone the importance of sea, ships, time and the stars and their relationship with people through maximising access to its collections and its expertise.  Developing robust and sustainable strategies, processes and infrastructure to support management, care and preservation of both collection  and corporate digital assets is a core objective of our strategic plan.'

Richard Ovenden, chair of the Coalition, warmly welcomed the fifth new member this year. 

'Royal Museums Greenwich have first- rate collections, highly-skilled staff and progressive management so it is a particular pleasure to welcome them to the Coalition.  DPC's relationships with the museum sector were previously directed through MLA, with its strategic role to support the sector.  It is perhaps no surprise that - in the same month that MLA was finally wound up - a major national museum has decided to join the DPC.' 

'Royal Museums Greenwich and their staff will benefit greatly from their membership.  We hope that their decision encourages others to do the same.'

DPC has published its informal notes from the 2nd LIBER International Workshop on Digital Preservation, held in Florence from the 7th to the 8th of May 2012.  Notes are are linked from the DPC members area of the website at: http://www.dpconline.org/members/conference-reports (login required).

The DPC is offering two scholarships so that members can send staff to the Digital Preservation Training Programme in London 28th-30th May. The deadline for applications is 1200 on Friday 11th May.  For more details see: http://www.dpconline.org/component/docman/doc_download/744-dptpscholarshipsmay2012